If there is one thing that can make or break a business, it is good customer service. Customer service has become a staple for many organizations across the world because it is a direct indicator of whether or not the customers are satisfied with the product or service that is being sold. That is why it is very important for businesses, especially startups, to implement customer success. First, businesses should understand what this concept entails.
What Is Customer Success?
This term basically means ensuring that customers achieve the desired outcome that the product in question promises. For example, if you are selling a service that promises to help clean up someone’s kitchen faster, they will be expecting those results. This is often confused with customer service, and the two should be distinguished.
Customer service is different in that it revolves around the customers facing an issue or is struggling with a particular problem. The customer service aspect comes in the business’ approach to solving the issue, how fast it is resolved and what the company did to make things right. That is different from ensuring that customers get a desirable outcome from utilizing the product being sold.
With that said, startups can implement interventions for customer success in a variety of ways. Here is how.
Marketing
Effective marketing should be the calling card of any business. Sales and marketing are directly related to the success of the customer. The marketing team has the immense responsibility of identifying the people who would need the service you are selling the most and the best way to sell it to them.
After marketing, the next part comes in clearly explaining what it can offer a potential customer. You have to ensure that the marketing team is not making false promises or grandiose claims that cannot be backed up. If you do this, you will be essentially subjecting your business to customer churning (a term used to describe customers ceasing to do business).
Finally, you will want to ensure that the potential customers being targeted are compatible. In turn, this means to convert only the prospects that will most likely become long-term users. You do not want to waste lit of time, money and resources on customers who may be dissatisfied with the product, or grow weary of it after just one week.
Onboarding and Delivering Value
This is key because onboarding will be the first time in which the user has an opportunity to engage with the product and experience what it has to offer. This means that the company is responsible for ensuring that promises are delivered in a swift amount of time.
If there is one thing that many customers are looking for these days, it is convenience. Patience is a virtue, but when it comes to customers, time is of the essence. If a business cannot provide a solution to their problem that is swift, they will simply move on to another organization that may have what they are looking for.
The onboarding experience needs to be optimized as much as possible, and should not be overlooked by any means.
Customer Support and Satisfaction
Inevitably, there will be customers that will be in contact with the support team, and the customer service that is being provided has to be top-notch. Remember that while service is different from success, it can indirectly affect one’s experience with the product.
Ensure that the support team is effectively trained to deal with certain issues and customers that can be difficult. The golden rule of dealing with customers is to understand that they are not frustrated at the person but at the problem. If a customer does not receive good customer service, you will see customer churn rates increase as a result.
Remember that the support team acts as a line of defense to the product’s integrity and they are the ones who will have the most direct contact with the customers themselves. If they know how to deal with specific issues and are well educated on the service being provided, you will see success rates be sustained or increase.
