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While it’s my rule, I didn’t create it. Initially it formed one of the core tenets of effective software testing protocols pioneered by James Bach, one of the field’s premier thought leaders.
“Never hide the pain [from your clients],” Bach intoned as he mentored us into the software testing world. As project test leads, our clients were huge software and hardware companies with millions of dollars on the line, and their ship date was determined by whether I found a significant number of “show-stopper” bugs.
I remember one HP Product Manager in tears, pleading with me to not submit that week’s bug report because he didn’t want to miss the carved-in-stone ship-date-from God. But I stood my ground for the client’s ultimate benefit. And ultimately they were happy. Though in the short-term, they were not.
Especially not with me.
The shift in attitude probably happened when one of the bean counters did a cost-benefit analysis on how many millions it would cost them had they shipped a product ridden with major bugs. That’s what probably saved his job.
What does this all have to do with writing copy and marketing? Plenty. Though you’ll have to tune in tomorrow because this post is too long already. Tomorrow I’ll conclude with how this rule and one other will save you thousands of dollars. Provided you apply them.
Like what you read? Then click here to buy me a coffee.
By Walter |
Topics: Client Top Secret, From The Trenches, Inside The Mind, Marketing Mishaps |
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