“Customer success” has become one of the business’ biggest buzzwords. While other business terminology comes and goes throughout the years, this is one that isn’t likely to disappear. In fact, regardless of your brand, customer success is one of its most important factors.
“Customer success” has become one of the business’ biggest buzzwords. While other business terminology comes and goes throughout the years, this is one that isn’t likely to disappear. In fact, regardless of your brand, customer success is one of its most important factors. It’s basically the difference between your company losing it all or going totally viral, so to speak.
Customer success is a means of making sure that the desired outcomes your customers have been reached when they use your products or services. Where account management focuses on the success of accounts, customer success focuses on relationships – those between you and your customers, specifically. Creating an effective and efficient strategy for customer success can result in less customer churn and more upselling opportunities.
Have you ever used a product that you absolutely loved? One that actually gave the same results the brand said it would? It doesn’t happen all the time, but it does happen. And it happens because that brand took to heart what its customers desired in such a product.
After all, it comes down to the success of your customers when using your products. How can you assist your customers and make sure they succeed with your product? First, you have to discover when they use it, why they use it, and how they use it. This information is a requirement of customer success, and to have a truly successful program, you must:
These three steps are proactive, rather than reactive. Account managers tend to respond to issues, whereas customer success managers greet customers. In the evolution of business, customer success management is far superior to account management because:
Armed with the required knowledge of those customers, previous issues become a thing of the past. The customer and the company reap the rewards.
Customer service managers, or CSMs, can see various responsibilities depending on the company or industry they work within. Whether you’re just beginning and your startup doesn’t even have support agents yet, or you’re with an enterprise-level software company, you have certain responsibilities, such as:
There are several steps to start building a fantastic customer success program in your company.
Why does your customer need what you’re providing? The answers you come up with help you build customer personas, which allow you to further segment your audience and organize your customers according to their desired outcome.
After you’ve done this step, then:
With the above information, draw up a map of your customers’ journeys. Along this road, there are several instances where you can make an impact. At which point do your potential buyers face challenges? Are their challenges financial or product-specific? Decide what you can do at each hurdle to help your customers make a purchasing decision that makes them happy. If you’re unsure how to go about this, consider these questions to help you determine your actions:
Finally, determine the metrics you’ll use to measure customer satisfaction and unhappiness. As you progress, make small changes. Tweak your customer journey map, product or service offerings, or approach one step at a time. You don’t want to overwhelm your customers during their journey or make your company appear to lack direction.
Customer success boils down to your company truly understanding your customers. Customer success managers have a unique position – they’re constantly in contact with your potential customers. Because of this, this team knows your customers better than any other department in the whole company. CSMs understand customer goals and hurdles, as well as how your company can offer solid value to the brand/customer relationship.
Any feedback your CSMs receive should be utilized in all decision-making activities throughout the company. You can use this information to shape customer profiles, optimize your pricing, and even determine the product or service features your company should offer next. 14
Bottom line – your CSMs are the in-office voice of your customers and they can provide all departments with the ability to proactively respond to the needs of your potential buyers.