Customer Success is a new way of looking at the business-to-customer relationship that focuses on helping customers reach their goals at any cost. It entails reaction to customer problems, proactive outreach with solutions to foreseen problems, and a host of hard and soft skills to lead your customer to success. Hence the name.
To read more about Customer Success and why it matters to your business, click here.
Here’s a list of the skills and traits that will help take your Customer Success game from good to great.
1. Empathy
This one goes at the top of the list for a reason: empathy puts you next to the customer rather than across from them. Sharing the feelings of angry or frustrated customers will not only help you steer the conversation towards de-escalation but will also make you a more effective advocate if you bring their problem to another department.
My empathy has contributed to solving customer complaints numerous times. Being able to bring a problem to my supervisor and say, “This person is frustrated because of x reason, I think the best way forward is y solution” puts me ahead of the curve and streamlines the solution process. The end result? A happy customer excited to interact with us again.
2. Going the Extra Mile
Customer Success is about recognizing the customer’s goals as your goals and helping them to achieve them. In The Lord of the Rings, Samwise tells Frodo, “Come, Mister Frodo! I can’t carry it for you… but I can carry you and it as well!” before proceeding to carry him up the slopes of Mt. Doom.
Because Samwise was in full pursuit of the same goal, Samwise went the extra mile when Frodo’s strength failed. This is the attitude you should have in Customer Success. Not that every goal is of the same importance as Frodo’s and Sam’s, but that you should desire the reaching of their goals even when their strength fails them.
3. Automation
Part of the effectiveness of Customer Success is the human aspect: personally reaching out to the customer by phone or email, for instance. But not everything needs to be direct at all times. You can automate email notifications based on usage, for instance, and then follow up if they need more assistance. You should not automate everything. Machines can’t build rapport and empathize with customers.
4. Listening
While this skill is vital in any relationship, it’s especially important here. It’s straightforward: you can’t help people reach their goal if you never listen to what it is. In addition, people can tell when you’re not really listening, so being attentive lets them know you’re plugged in and ready to help.
5. Knowing the Product
You should have personal, in-depth knowledge of the product so that you can identify how it will help your customer. In addition to that, you should know how to explain it to someone who lacks the technical expertise you’ve gained. A great product with hundreds of useful features is useless if you don’t know how it works. This is where empathy is a major player: without it, explaining the same feature the hundredth time that day will grind you down.