In this latest installment highlighting in-person user events, we turn the spotlight on Lunch and Learns. Since not every customer needs a JMP Inspire event, Lunch and Learns are a more informal, yet targeted, way to interact with users. Principal SE Kemal Oflus, otherwise known as the King of Lunch and Learns, shares some best practices:
After identifying customers who fit a profile indicating they could benefit from a learning session, we approach these customers with a free Lunch and Learn. Our goal with the initial call is to get a better understanding of their world so that we have a picture of the overall structure of the organization and understand how JMP could fit into other departments. The whole team (me, AE Brian McCreary, and IS Ashley Tannert) is on the call and at the event.
During this call, we ask:
- What problems are you facing at your company (such as quality, R&D, delays in ramping up production, other frustrations, etc.)?
- How do these problems affect your group?
- Did using JMP help? (In most cases, they have either downloaded the trial version or there are some existing users in the company.)
- Can you identify any other individuals in your group who benefitted from your applications or are there any other groups in the company that might benefit?
This call allows us to have a better picture of how JMP is used in the company and how best to expand its use. Our advocates generally use JMP for one purpose. For the Lunch and Learns, we propose ways to help our advocates extend that particular knowledge to the rest of their group and to the company at large.
Also, since we work with other companies in the same/similar industries, we are also able to propose some other topics for the Lunch and Learn that we believe will help their organization catch up with other companies. We also give them an idea of what they might expect down the road. We want our customers to understand that we are here for the long haul and not for just closing a sale.
During our call, sometimes we do a quick, impromptu demo for our advocate to help us tailor the Lunch and Learn demo to their needs. And, of course, we always ask our advocate to invite any others in the company who might benefit from the presentation, especially non-users.
After the initial call, we send a follow-up email that includes the agenda. This email also contains a link to the free trial so that non-users can become familiar with JMP before the event.
The Lunch and Learns are held at the customer site; JMP provides the lunch, not just the learning. We begin each session by going around the room to reiterate the agenda and ask for anything else they think would be helpful for us to cover. We always encourage them to ask questions. Being flexible helps and makes the session more dynamic and relevant to their needs.
After the event, we provide a follow-up email for feedback, which includes information about additional learning resources. We do a more formal follow up after 30 days or so to discuss adding additional users (when the time is right).
This follow-up allows us to address other needs or concerns as the customer expands its use of JMP. For example, at a large life sciences company in San Diego, we had an advocate in R&D who only used JMP for designing experiments. Our first Lunch and Learn covered design of experiments to complement our advocate's knowledge and to introduce the concept to the rest of their group. In the same session, we introduced Graph Builder as a visual discovery tool. In the next session, we introduced quality tools, and so on. After a number of Lunch and Learn sessions, JMP usage has expanded into all aspects of the company’s manufacturing process, allowing them to troubleshoot any manufacturing problems.
For customers who have benefitted from Lunch and Learns, the next step could be a JMP Inspire event. Since JMP Inspire isn’t offered to everyone, it would show JMP’s commitment to the customer by bringing in additional company resources.
So there you have it. Hosting a Lunch and Learn is simple: identify customers, ask questions, set an agenda, find a good deli, answer questions, and stay in touch.
