"It’s real easy to trash customer trust and very hard to earn it back. Transparency is the way here." - Robert Scoble

For the past few days, I was giving serious thought about the transparency and feedback and how to improve these two qualities within MSFT Dev Div culture in engagement with the community. I was trying to break these two items down and from there think of mechanisms (e-channels/ programs [software or community interactive means]) to encourage them individually.

This evening, I was reading a recent post by Robert Scoble ("I’m pushing for more transparency, here’s why"). Then the above quote struck an idea across my mind and I had a breakthrough. Transparency comes before feedback. Why do I say that?

When customers have observed and begin to understand the transparent manner you operate, gradually they would begin to trust your responses and provide you with their honest feedback. Certainly this trust could not happen over night but it can certainly be seen ... *I dare to say* within one year.

What does this transparency mean and where does it start from? In simple terms, it means short-listing the issues to be considered ahead, planning the release of these issues, establishing the purpose of the disclosure, what are the desired outcomes and how the input will be processed.

As the trust builds up (nurtured) layer by layer, a meaningful relationship is established. The customer starts to feel ownership of the tool they are using and not treating it just like a off the shelf product. How should feedback be viewed?  Every important piece of feedback given from the customer to MSFT, it has to be responded in an equally or if not even more positive manner in words (response to the customer, don’t let a feedback fall into a management/ product team black-hole) and in deed (citing the feedback and how it was actioned). *I don’t mean rushing to send every customer an ACE award.*

From that point in the relationship, a great number of frank and honest feedbacks will begin to come forward. I always believe that there are many such opinionated customers with fabulous ideas who will come forward once they "trust" Microsoft. I am also willing to put my money down that the feedback quality from customers at that stage will be more "actionable" and more meaningful than at present. 

Now listening:

The Sound of White - Missy Higgins