Steve Robb, CygNet, Inc., San Luis Obispo, California
As oil and gas companies deploy enterprise software technologies to optimize business operations and improve market responsiveness, an important issue needs to be addressed: How can they best protect these major capital and staff investments? Having an opportunity to influence the ongoing development of their vendors' products can play a key role in ensuring long-term value. This article explores the role of Customer Advisory Boards in aligning end-user requirements with vendor product roadmaps, creating a win-win proposition for all parties involved.
Ask corporate executives and operations managers in our industry about their software vendors, and you'll frequently hear stories about misalignment and miscommunication. You'll hear complaints about updated products that fell short of expectations. This happens because all too often, oil and gas vendors fail to engage their customers in meaningful ways. Few are organized enough to identify customer needs beyond responding to an RFP or some vaguely defined request. But it doesn't have to be this way.
The most proactive oil and gas technology vendors are now taking a lesson from leading innovators in other industries and deploying Customer Advisory Boards. For vendors, these Boards offer a great way to gain valuable industry insight on business trends, end-user priorities, and how product development can be best aligned with real-world requirements. For oil and gas companies, Customer Advisory Boards provide a venue for truly collaborative engagements that allow them to shape the direction of the products that fuel their businesses.
Following are some of the key benefits that participating in a Customer Advisory Board can bring:
"In the trenches" perspective. Once a static, commodity price-driven environment, the oil and gas industry is today both dynamic and highly volatile. Delivering advanced product capabilities within shorter and shorter time frames can be tough for vendors that are one step removed from the front lines. Customer Advisory Boards are a great forum for companies to share their "in the trenches" perspectives on this ever-changing market, so that their vendors can align product development initiatives with the most current industry requirements. This level of engagement goes a long way towards ensuring a successful vendor-client relationship over time - one that results in a long-term return on investment.
Neutral product feedback. All too often, discussions between vendors and customers on issues related to product performance take place within a contentious setting. They only communicate with one another when something has gone wrong - when the customer is angry or frustrated and the vendor is on the defensive. By presenting an opportunity for end-users to communicate their unvarnished assessments of vendor products in a neutral setting, Customer Advisory Boards offer a much more productive method of strategizing around product capabilities, pricing and upgrades. Furthermore, when customers can take part in shaping the engineering roadmap and future release schedule (even testing new features and functionalities that are coming down the pipeline) vendors are better able to deliver the quality and usability that will ensure optimal customer satisfaction in the first place.
Building industry bridges. Beyond assuring the development of innovative, robust and reliable oil and gas products, Customer Advisory Boards can also help participants forge more synergistic industry relationships. In this venue, customers can play the role of matchmaker, by making suggestions of other technology providers, systems integrators, even trade associations and consortiums that would make sense for their vendor to partner with. In this way, vendors and customers can work together to build a more unified information ecosystem for the oil and gas enterprise.
CygNet's experience with its own Customer Advisory Board has certainly delivered investment protection to both our business and our customers', and has demonstrated the importance of setting aside the time and resources for this important relationship-building initiative. However, even if a customer can't participate in their vendor's Advisory Board as a member, they will still realize benefits as long as a cross-section of end users are engaged. A strong and well-organized Customer Advisory Board ensures alignment between the needs of similar customers and the vendor's direction, generating value for all.
Technology vendors in the oil and gas industry strive to introduce enterprise software and industry solutions that deliver a faster time to benefit, while reducing the ongoing cost of ownership. End user companies can protect their investments by participating in the ongoing development of their vendors' products through active involvement in a Customer Advisory Board. Through this vendor management best practice, customers can truly take the lead in shaping the software that helps shape their success.
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