No news is good news – this adage doesn’t apply to pilots. When running a pilot, there is always news to share with the customer.  The only questions are what’s relevant to share, when, by whom to whom, and in which forum. 

Here are some situations that can occur. A startup may be working late nights on enhancing product performance. But the customer doesn’t know that. A startup may have provided a dashboard. But the busy senior exec doesn’t login to the dashboard. 

1. What’s relevant

What’s relevant depends on the audience. At the outset, think of the 30 second version of the message that the intended audience would really want to know. Then expand from there. For example, 

The product is demonstrating an 18% lift in revenue. The lift is statistically significant. We are facing a challenge in the X segment. Our plan is to tune our algorithm for this segment. So we see a path to getting to 25% lift. We thank you for partnering on this pilot.

2. When (and sequencing)

Early and often is best. Setting up a recurring calendar invite is a forcing function to report on the pilot’s performance. In times of challenges, update daily or even hourly depending on the circumstances.

A related and important topic is sequencing the sharing of information. For example, sharing performance data with the customer’s analyst first before reporting to the executive is commonly wise. In other situations such as when requesting additional dedicated resources or time from the customer, getting the executive’s buy-in first could be more productive.  

3. By whom and to whom in which forum

First step is for the startup to map the organization structure at the customer. After you plan the sequencing of the message, the right person at the startup shares the information with the person they map to at the customer. In the day to day handling of the pilot, be sure to keep in the loop the executive who first brought in the startup or who will eventually sign the check. 1-on-1 meetings are particularly productive because people on both sides may be willing to share more than they would otherwise  

Regarding the forum, in general face-to-face is better than phone calls, which is better than emails. Any topic that can cause a lot of back and forth questions should be ideally face-to-face or phone call.