Customer Success: What it Means, Why it Matters & Why do you Need it?

Most businesses today focus on acquiring new customers. However, retaining your current customers is just as important - and can be even more profitable.

It costs five times more to attract a new customer than to keep an existing one.

Since success with your product and service will mean different things to different customers, it's critical to let them define it.

The best time to focus on customer success is to begin right away, at the start of your business.

So what is customer success, and why is it so important?

 

What is Customer Success?

Customer Success is the process of helping customers achieve their goals by delivering value to them through your product and service.

Customer Success = Value + Satisfaction

They will also have varying levels of success depending on how well you educate and support them throughout their customer lifecycle.

For this reason, it's important to offer different support options - like self-serve help articles and knowledge base articles that can be used without needing direct assistance from your Customer Success team.

It's also crucial to help customers find the information they need on your website, rather than leaving them to fend for themselves or contact support.

Once customers are satisfied with your product and service, they become loyal customers who are likely to upgrade or even buy additional products and services from you in the future.

 

Why does Customer Success Matter?

Customer success is a business strategy that helps you turn your current customers into advocates and gain a competitive advantage in the market while minimizing attrition rates and increasing customer lifetime value (LTV).

Building a strong customer base is one of the best investments your business can make!

Customer satisfaction is the number one driver for repeated purchases and customer retention. This means that if customers are happy with what you offer them, they will come back again - while new customers often won't take the risk of purchasing until they feel sure about exactly what it is they're buying.

Moreover, satisfied customers are much more willing to provide referrals. They know how important positive word-of-mouth is when it comes to building solid sales figures - which also you weed out unreliable affiliates who may not be doing your product or service justice.

Putting your customers first and addressing their needs, is likely to result in a long-term client/brand relationship. This is where customer success teams come into play by delivering value to customers through your products/services.

 

Why do you need it?

Providing value doesn't just mean answering support tickets or fixing bugs; it also includes activities like onboarding, training, education, and account management.

By making sure that your customers are getting what they need, you're setting them up for success - hence the term "customer success."

 

Customer Success Team

Since customer success is such a diverse term, it can mean different things to different businesses. Some companies break their customers into segments and assign them to the appropriate member of the customer success team based on product/service usage or activity level (i.e., free vs. paid).

There's also a wide range when it comes to numbers: some small teams have less than five people while other large ones consist of more than 20.

Of course, that number includes everyone from the executive leadership down to account managers and support desk technicians who work together with Service Management and Engineering to provide an exceptional experience for our customers.

What's most important is collaborating across teams and having a cohesive relationship with your product or service development team to create the best possible solutions.

 

Customer Success Managers

Customer success managers (CSMs) work closely with account managers, but they also need to make sure that everyone else is on their team.

Finding people from different backgrounds who have a passion for customer support or success is essential.

Their skills should include

• problem-solving,
• critical thinking, and
• resourcefulness

because there are bound to be obstacles along the way!

 

What is the Goal of Customer Success?

The goal of customer success is to help customers achieve their goals.

It's not about making more money off of customers or keeping them locked in for the long term; it's about finding ways to make sure they're getting value from your product and service and that they're able to get their desired outcome.

To do this, customer success teams need to have a deep understanding of what each customer wants to achieve and how your product or service can help them do that. CSMs need to be proactive in reaching out to customers and helping them get the most out of their product or service.

This also includes continually assessing their satisfaction levels (surveys can help!) and making sure they're getting the most value from their subscription. If not, then it's up to the CSM to find ways to improve the situation.