Your Client Success Team - The Key to Your Company’s Success

Customer success vs. customer support—is there a difference and why does it even matter? As a business owner or leader, have you ever asked yourself that question? We invite you to consider it. After all, customers are the lifeblood of a business, and understanding how to attract and retain them is essential to success.

Let’s start with customer success. Customer success is not just about providing good customer service; it’s about ensuring that customers achieve their desired outcomes and goals with your product or service. It’s about being proactive in creating an environment where your customer success team guides and supports your clients to use your product or service in a way that optimally meets their needs.

Think of it like this: Have you ever watched curling in the Olympics? There is a person who glides the stone across the ice to its intended target and a sweeper who helps guide the stone. Your company is that person, your product or service is the stone, and the target is your client. The client success person is the sweeper. They are looking to create less friction and create a pathway for the stone to be delivered exactly where it will be most beneficial within the targeted area. Their role is to make certain that the client’s needs are met and that the sale, project, or implementation is completed smoothly. They work closely with both the client and the sales team to be sure that everyone is on the same page and that the transaction is successful.

Customer success team members are not primarily problem solvers in the same way that customer service or support is. The goal of most customer service and support teams is to resolve issues when the client brings them forth. And granted, that is an important job function. However, that role is reactive in nature. To be truly effective, it is crucial to also have a proactive approach that involves anticipating potential issues and implementing preventive measures. This helps to minimize risks and maximize smooth operations. One of the best ways to do this is to have a customer success team that interacts with your prospects and clients regularly, before crises occur.

A client success person will get to know your customers and why they are purchasing from you in order to understand how your product or service brings value to them. Understanding your customers goals will help the client success person to tailor their approach and provide personalized support, ultimately leading to increased customer satisfaction and retention. Additionally, this knowledge can also inform product development and marketing strategies to better meet the needs of your target audience.

Why is this important? According to research, only one out of every 26 customers will take the time to contact a business to complain, and 91% of unhappy customers simply leave without letting the business know they weren’t happy with their purchase. Without a proactive client success strategy, you may never know where you are missing the mark when it comes to your deliverables. It is crucial for businesses to prioritize client success and actively seek feedback from customers in order to identify areas for improvement. This can lead to increased customer satisfaction, loyalty, and, ultimately, business growth. And the ideal time to build this relationship is before your clients contact you with a problem.

Customer success and customer support are two different aspects of a business’s customer service strategy. Customer support is reactive and focuses on resolving customer complaints and issues that arise after a sale or transaction. On the other hand, customer success is proactive and focuses on ensuring that customers achieve their desired outcomes and goals with the product or service. While customer support is crucial, it does not go far enough to lock in customer satisfaction and retention. Providing effective onboarding and ongoing support, monitoring and analyzing customer behavior, and anticipating potential issues are all key components of a comprehensive customer success strategy. Customer success is becoming increasingly important as customer experience is a key factor in customer decision-making.

By prioritizing customer success, businesses can improve customer satisfaction and loyalty, differentiate themselves from competitors, and drive business.

Previously seen on I95 Business Magazine.