Gemba – try out for sales

Gemba in Sales

Gemba is generally associated with actual place typically at  shop floor in manufacturing and in Agile development right at the sprint teams.

How about using them in Sales.  Some thoughts. Should Sales team simulate customer usage and customer experience and customer communications too. May be yes worth trying out.

Customer usage : How customer tests and uses all features of the product in functional, performance and security aspects. How is the user environment response?  Perhaps Devops has simplified this aspect in major way.

Customer experience : The initial response, feeling. This is quite complex and difficult as this pertains to customer emotions. Perhaps using a third party representative from the same domain will give some idea.

Customer communication : Simulation activity as if customer reacts after release of product into user environment. Here in addition to present requirements, customer will think of using the software vendor for future requirements also if the vendor product behaves as expected or more.

These said, it is easier to simulate above perspectives for existing customer, however for new customers it maya be a challenge. Still it is better to try it out simulating than being at the receiving ends.

Do you agree?