Elena Natyrova
Customer development specialist
More than 4 years in Artec 3D
Luxembourg office
Customer development is purely a team effort, not only within our small department, but within the whole company. The focus of our interest is what our clients can do with the scanner, what they cannot do, what they would like to do, what would motivate them to buy a new one.
My role is to extract comprehensive information from the client's perspective and then effectively channel it for processing.
My colleague Valery Gorchakov explores our competitive environment, which is important to figure out our place on the market and knowing our competitive advantage for each particular application.
We always have a very diverse set of tasks. Some involve networking, in-depth interviews, close communication, and others make you stay on top of some spreadsheets and files for a couple of days. I like that kind of switching from one to the other.
But probably the most interesting part of my job is getting to know our customers, potential customers or partners, because those who work with Artec 3D scanners are doing some incredible things. I even keep a list of the most unexpected applications for our scanners, such as tattooing, sport medicine for horses or safety of sidewalks.
One of the most gratifying aspects of my job is the concluding conversation with the client. At that moment when all questions have been asked, answers have been obtained, and there's a shared realization of a genuine connection.
My personal strategy for a productive workday involves tackling tasks requiring creativity or decision-making in the morning or before lunch, reserving routine, mechanical tasks for later in the day.
One of the advantages of residing in Montenegro, which I discovered upon relocating, is that the local language facilitates understanding among people from entirely different countries. A basic grasp of Montenegrin significantly eases communication with individuals from Croatia, Serbia, and even Slovenia. I aspire to continue learning this language to explore these neighboring countries further.
In Luxembourg I would like to try to find a fire show team, because I performed with such a team for six years during my institute years and a little bit after. I also like to play guitar. Or I rather like to sing, but that requires guitar accompaniment.
Cats, dogs, mice, hamsters, insects, crocodiles and most people.
2/ If you would like to pick up any famous person to have a drink in a bar, who would it be?
It depends on the drink. There are certain politicians who deserve to be given a very specific drink.
3/ If not working in customer development, what would you like to do?
Honestly, once I determine the answer to that question, I'd likely embark on a different path. It seems to be how I operate: I'm currently engaged in precisely what I'm passionate about.