What makes a good or bad customer success team member?
A good Customer Success Champion cares deeply about making customers successful. A good Customer Success Champion is the advocate and champion of each and every customer. A good Customer Success Champion approaches each interaction with a fresh mindset and attitude. They recognize the uniqueness of each customer and always look for a way to both educate and learn from the customer.
A bad Customer Success Champion responds with emotion when dealing with a negative customer and carries that emotion into their interactions with other customers. They blame the customer for their problem. A good Customer Success Champion understands that everyone has bad days and does not let that one negative experience ruin their day. They work from a place of empathy and empower the customer to resolve their problem, rather than blaming them for having the problem in the first place.
A good Customer Success Champion empowers customers by taking the time to educate them. A bad customer success person spends their time answering the same questions over and over. A good customer success champion follows through with customers and keeps them updated. A bad Customer Success Champion leaves customers wondering if they were forgotten.
A good Customer Success Champion thoroughly researches customer problems before giving a response. They look for ways to improve the user’s experience with the product. They are familiar with available documentation and use it to help customers accomplish their goal or job to be done. They look for opportunities to improve existing educational material and create new materials when none exist. A bad customer success champion uses existing documentation as a way to cut corners in replying to customers. They use documentation to treat every problem the same when we know that every user has a unique need.
A good Customer Success Champion is a front line to the entire team and communicates customer frustrations, requests, and compliments to the right people. They know what we are working on, how this will affect users, and they know how to communicate this effectively to users. They are proactive in reaching out to customers and know when this is appropriate. A bad customer success person finds out about a release after the customer notices it.
A good Customer Success Champion has the mindset of a detective. They know where to find information, how to combine resources to track down problems like a bloodhound, and when to ask for help. They know how to ask for help from teammates to minimize the support workload for everyone. A bad Customer Success Champion asks a customer or developers for information they can easily find on their own. They quickly assign an issue to a developer without taking the time to work through the problem to understand and solve it. A bad customer success person asks the customer a question that has already been answered, or that can be easily discovered.
A good Customer Success Champion knows how our products make customers successful and that they may not be the best fit for some people. They know when it is appropriate to tell someone they won’t be a good fit, and what to suggest instead. A bad Customer Success Champion doesn’t care who our customers are or how successful they may be with our products.
A good Customer Success Champion knows the competition thoroughly. They proactively conduct user research and produce actionable information as a result. A good Customer Success Champion will identify a particular successful customer, map out their journey, and then guide other customers using a similar path.
A good Customer Success Champion uses conversational language and tone. They communicate with customers using clear and concise writing to ensure the best resolution. A good Customer Success Champion explains workflow steps in clear and plain terms rather than shorthand or internal jargon.
A good Customer Success Champion focuses on the right measurements. They develop and monitor clear metrics to understand customer happiness and engagement with their products. A bad Customer Success Champion focuses on the wrong metrics and values quantity over quality. They are only interested in getting to the end of their day by quickly answering questions.
Originally published at wildbit.com on April 7, 2016.
