Product Specialists occupy a special role in the Avinode Group ecosystem. They sit in the middle of a bunch of teams, and essentially bring the voice of the customer directly into the heart of the company. Here our Product Specialist Manager, Dana Potucek, explains how (and why) we’re special like this. 

So your team works with tier 1, day-to-day customer support. But then you also take what you’re learning from the customers and use this to make the products better. Can you explain how you make this happen? 

On the support team, we work closely with the Product Owners, who set the strategic direction for the tech teams. We tell them about the pain points we are hearing from our members, which we gather at onsite trainings or client visits or during onboarding. We have weekly meetings and monthly meetings depending on the product, where we assess and review what we’re hearing and set development priorities. 

This is customer-driven approach is quite special for a tech company, no? 

Yeah I would say that’s what’s special about this organization. I think the Avinode Group has really mastered how to build out a product. Instead of building out something they think aligns with the customer, they start small. They get the feedback, work with sales and support, work with product owners, and then they take measured steps towards creating a larger product or a more comprehensive product. In the end, the product actually aligns with what the customer is trying to achieve. I think that makes us as an organization very unique and I think why we’re so successful. 

What is Avinode’s philosophy when it comes to customer support? 

We are very passionate about customer support. We definitely have the philosophy of no email, no call left behind. Moreover, as customers continue to reach out to us through different channels and with various departments, it’s really important to us that we deliver a cohesive customer experience. We also take the opportunity to connect with each customer on a human level. 

Any fun examples? 

I actually have one “regular” that calls me all the time and we talk about the NBA Miami Heat. He’ll call me and before he even dives into his question or issue, we will talk about basketball for the first 5 or 10 minutes. And once we’ve talked about what’s happening in the NBA and Miami Heat and the trades and what’s going on, then he’ll say “ok, why I really called is…” 

There are product specialist teams in both the Miami office and in Gothenburg. Do you find you get similar feedback from customers? 

Both teams will meet with the product owners once a month and it’s interesting because though we’re across the globe and we have so many different customers, it’s amazing how many similarities we have in regards to feedback and product enhancement and customer experiences. There are very few outliers. I work closely with my counterpart in Gothenburg and we’re always trying to come up with ways to improve the customer experience.