This post originated from an RSS feed registered with .NET Buzz by Eric Gunnerson. Original Post: Make your customers the marketing department Feed Title: Eric Gunnerson's C# Compendium Feed URL: /msdnerror.htm?aspxerrorpath=/ericgu/Rss.aspx Feed Description: Eric comments on C#, programming and dotnet in general, and the aerodynamic characteristics of the red-nosed flying squirrel of the Lesser Antilles Latest .NET Buzz Posts Latest .NET Buzz Posts by Eric Gunnerson Latest Posts From Eric Gunnerson's C# Compendium

I've been reading GapingVoid for a few months now. Hugh has some very interesting insights, and draws great cartoons, though some of them are not safe for work. Yesterday, he wrote a post titled Make your customers the marketing department, with the cartoon that I've included above. The post has some good points in it, but I'm more interested in the message in the cartoon. I've seen lots of examples at Microsoft where teams have become enamoured with technology, while not connecting with customers.

Customers are betting their livelihood on your software. If they don't trust you, it doesn't matter what your techology is, though it's a pretty fair bet that if you haven't been talking with customers, what you build will not be a good fit for their needs.