The promise of software that optimizes specialized customer workflows has been fulfilled. Whether it is in claims management, sales enablement, order taking, or customer on-boarding, workflow solutions can offer a slew of advantages that can ultimately result in improved customer satisfaction, reduced costs and increased productivity for your end customers. Among these advantages are:

1. The reduction of manual tasks by using automation
2. The improvement of the overall IQ of the group of people performing the task by learning from the best and applying it to the rest
3. The collection of metrics to manage the process and further optimize it
4. The availability of all the necessary information in one place to improve the interaction with the end customer

However, getting the end users to embrace the new workflow is not always easy. Concerns typically arise around job losses, having more work to do, having to compete against other co-workers because individual metrics are now available, or simply because of the perception that the new workflow will limit freedom or creativity.

Many organizations that had success implementing workflow solutions have used change management best practices to facilitate the acceptance of the new solution. Corporate alignment, proper incentives and training, and enhanced Human Resources support have done wonders to make the end-user embrace the switch to the new workflow solution and help users see it as an opportunity instead of a threat.

However the vast majority of organizations today may not have the structure, the inclination or the resources to invest in a lengthy, cross-departmental change management effort.

So what can product managers do to maximize their chances to have the workflow product deliver on its promise by gaining the user’s acceptance?

Product Managers have many levers at their disposal to create a dynamic of success:

• Set expectations during the sales process: Ensure that the buyer understands the impact of the change the deployment will have on their organization and make sure this buyer prepares for that change internally
• Do a pilot but set the rules upfront: If there are reservations about the product and the buyer determines that a pilot is necessary, accept but set up the rules: determine the length, exit strategy and success criteria of the pilot. Request what you need from the buyer to make the pilot successful. If the buyer balks, then the pilot will not be successful and the opportunity may not be a good fit afterall
• Propose a multi-phase approach. Big resistance against change? Proceed step-by-step. Work with the buyer to define a roadmap that will make the change more palatable over time
• Make your product more configurable. Flexibility, along with well-documented best practices makes prospects more comfortable, especially around User Interface issues. Making a screen look different to please users and taking their input into consideration can help drive acceptance
• Make your product more customizable. Every customer thinks they are different, but we know that they are not all completely different; otherwise everyone would use completely custom solutions instead of products. That being said, the ability to accommodate a certain level of customization required by an advanced customer will set you apart from the competition and facilitate acceptance
• Improve your product’s integration capabilities. By integrating with applications already established at your prospect’s environment, you can help the buyer leverage their existing investment, while minimizing the impact of change
• Offer change management services. By building best practices and offering a service to execute these best practices, or simply by having a “change management workshop” with the buyer and relevant prospect’s stakeholders, you can jumpstart the change thought process and clearly put the ball in the customer’s court, while providing all the assistance they need
• Communicate: Training, Ebooks, white papers, and webinars documenting why your customers are successful will go a long way in facilitating your prospects’ understanding of what it takes to implement your product

But….

• Your sales force may see the change management discussion as a negative for their opportunity and become reluctant to communicate your message
• Your sales force may also be hesitant to pull out of a deal even though you know that the chances of a successful implementation are slim
• Phased approaches also mean phased revenue, which is something your CFO may be reluctant to accept
• Your product architecture may not be suitable to accommodate customizations or configuration
• Your service organization also may not be able to implement or support multiple configurations or customizations of your product, making this alternative a non-scalable situation

Can you see a pattern?

If your prospects cannot arm themselves to make the necessary changes, YOUR organization must step up to the plate for success: the sales force must be able to weed out prospects with a large chance of failure early in the process. Your CFO needs to understand that in some accounts revenue may be delayed. Your R&D organization must improve customization, configuration and integrations capabilities. Your service organization must organize to satisfy customers with a more diverse set of implementations. Your Documentation and Marketing department must ensure that the non-technical aspects of your solution are covered properly.

And you, the Product Manager, an active observer of the market and of your internal organization, must be objective and recommend the right mix of the options described above, based on what the market can accept and the limitations and strengths of your organization. It’s a tough job, but it is why you are doing it.