Tag Archives: growth

How do we help our customers success?

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If top CEOs were asked to answer the question “How do you help your customer succeed?”, their responses would focus on a mix of strategic, operational, and customer-centric approaches.

Here’s how they might structure their strategies…

1. Customer-Centric Approach:

  • Listen Actively: Continuously gather customer feedback through surveys, interviews, and data analytics to understand their evolving needs.
  • Tailor Solutions: Design products and services that align with customer goals and adapt offerings based on feedback to ensure they provide maximum value.
  • Provide Personalised Experiences: Leverage data to offer personalised interactions, focusing on anticipating customer needs before they arise.

2. Innovation & Agility:

  • Innovate Relentlessly: Invest in R&D to develop cutting-edge solutions that keep customers ahead of their competition.
  • Be Agile: Cultivate an organisational culture of flexibility to quickly respond to customer needs and market shifts.
  • Partner with Technology: Use AI, machine learning, and automation to offer faster, more accurate service and insights that help customers succeed.

3. Customer Success as a Partnership:

  • Co-create Value: Work collaboratively with customers, treating them as partners. Build solutions together to ensure mutual growth and success.
  • Educate and Enable: Invest in educating customers on how to leverage your products/services to drive their success through training and resources.
  • Outcome-Based Focus: Move beyond transactions to a relationship built on helping customers achieve their strategic goals, tracking metrics that matter to them.

4. Operational Excellence:

  • Proactive Support: Implement predictive customer service models to address issues before they become problems.
  • Invest in the Right People: Build a world-class customer success team that is empowered to support and delight customers.
  • Streamline Processes: Ensure that your internal processes are efficient and can scale to deliver a seamless, reliable experience for customers.

5. Long-Term Strategic Alignment:

  • Align on Vision: Ensure that your company’s mission and values align with those of your customers, reinforcing trust and a shared vision of success.
  • Measure Success Together: Establish KPIs and success metrics that both you and your customers can track, making sure progress towards their goals is transparent.
  • Foster Long-Term Relationships: Build loyalty by consistently delivering results, staying connected to customers’ long-term business objectives, and offering ongoing value.

6. Sustainability & Responsibility:

  • Sustainable Solutions: Ensure your products and services support customers’ ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) goals, offering sustainable practices that benefit both the customer and the environment.
  • Corporate Responsibility: Be a responsible partner, ensuring your values on diversity, inclusion, and community engagement align with those of your customers to foster trust.

What does it really mean to be customer centric?

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Being customer centric is not just about setting the right goals – it’s about creating a culture where every team member, no matter what team they’re in, is empowered to put the customer first and to focus on delivering results for the customer.

Here are some practical steps for leaders:

(1) Set the example: As leaders, we need to champion customer-centric behaviours and decisions in everything we do.

(2) Foster a unified vision: Align every department and team around a shared understanding of customer value (and how to measure it), ensuring consistency in the customer experience and journey.

(3) Empower teams: Give your teams the tools, autonomy and insights they need to solve customer problems proactively.

(4) Continuous learning: Encourage ongoing learning from customer feedback and market trends to stay ahead of evolving needs.

(5) Recognise and reward: Celebrate and reward employees who demonstrate customer centric actions and decisions, fostering a culture of putting the customer first.

Think of it as a continuous journey not a one off project or initiative with leadership as the driving force behind it. By creating the right environment, we ensure both our customers and teams thrive together.

⭐️ Building a Winning Customer Success Strategy ⭐️

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A successful customer success strategy goes beyond solving problems, it’s about ensuring customers achieve their desired outcomes and feel supported throughout their journey with your product or service.

Here are the key components for a working strategy:

(1) Understanding customer needs: Develop detailed buyer personas and map the customer journey to understand goals, challenges, and preferences.

(2) Clear communication: Maintain open, transparent communication to address queries promptly and ensure customers feel valued.

(3) Proactive engagement: Regularly engage with your customers, not just when problems arise. Proactive outreach (with value each time) demonstrates your commitment to their success.

(4) Structured onboarding: Guide new customers with a well planned onboarding process that includes training, tutorials and resources for smooth adoption.

(5) Leverage technology: Use customer success tools and CRMs to centralise data, track interactions and automate tasks, allowing teams to focus on building relationships (that grow).

(6)Measuring success: Set KPIs to assess satisfaction and retention, reviewing metrics regularly to refine and adapt your approach.

(7) Ongoing support: Provide continuous support across various channels, ensuring customers have access to help whenever they need it.

(8) Continuous improvement: Regularly evaluate and enhance your strategy based on customer feedback and evolving needs.

(9) Cross-departmental collaboration: Align sales, marketing, engineering, product and support teams to create a seamless, unified approach to customer success.

By focusing on these components, companies can foster customer satisfaction, retention and long-term loyalty.

Revolutionising Business with ‘The Lean Startup’ Approach

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In the dynamic world of startups, where agility meets innovation, Eric Ries’s “The Lean Startup” stands as a pivotal guide for entrepreneurs seeking to make their mark without the burnout of resources. This groundbreaking book shifts the focus from traditional business models to a more iterative, customer-focused approach that champions the concept of ‘validated learning’.

Core Principles of ‘The Lean Startup’:

  • Build-Measure-Learn: At the heart of Ries’s philosophy is the Build-Measure-Learn feedback loop, encouraging startups to speed up their product development cycles by rapidly testing their ideas with minimal initial investment.
  • Minimum Viable Product (MVP): Ries introduces the concept of the MVP to test business hypotheses with the least effort required to start learning cycles, ensuring that product development is as efficient as possible.
  • Pivoting or Persevering: The book emphasises the importance of being flexible in business strategies. Startups must be willing to pivot (make substantial changes to their products) based on feedback or persevere with their current strategies based on validated learning.
  • Innovative Accounting: Ries advocates for a new form of accounting designed for startups—measuring progress, setting up milestones, and prioritising work to improve entrepreneurial outcomes.

Why ‘The Lean Startup’ is Essential Reading:

For those of us navigating the complexities of the tech industry, “The Lean Startup” offers a blueprint for managing startups in a way that radically improves their chances of success. It’s not just about ideas; it’s about learning how to adapt and adjust before it’s too late.

Conclusion:

A highly recommended read – click the link to get a copy from “The Lean Startup” by Eric Ries . The book is an indispensable resource for anyone involved in the startup ecosystem. It challenges traditional business methodologies and provides a practical framework for achieving success through continuous innovation and customer feedback.

 

 

 

Amp It Up – Leading For Hypergrowth

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I love Christmas for having more time for diving into great book – and not just those you were lucky enough to get for Christmas presents.

A great one I’ve read this year is Amp It Up by Frank Slootman.

In today’s dynamic business environment, ‘Amp It Up’ is a must-read for leaders and entrepreneurs eager to turbocharge their companies. The book skillfully bridges the gap between theoretical strategies and real-world applications. It offers a treasure trove of actionable insights on enhancing team productivity, fostering innovation, and instilling a culture of continuous growth. What sets ‘Amp It Up’ apart is its relatable content, filled with practical advice and inspiring examples that resonate with both new and seasoned professionals.

This book is not just another business guide; it’s a catalyst for transformation. Whether you’re steering a startup or managing a well-established enterprise, ‘Amp It Up’ provides the tools to elevate your business strategy and operational efficiency. If you’re looking to ignite a new spark in your leadership approach and drive your business to new heights, ‘Amp It Up’ is your roadmap to success.

Ready to revolutionise your business journey? Get your copy today and start amplifying your impact!

Evolving Customer Success: The Path Ahead In 2024

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The feedback on my last post about the changing landscape of Customer Success was so good to see and it’s clear we’re going through a transformation now. The insights from the community have been invaluable. We’re in a period of some big and need changes for our industry and it’s going to be an exciting 12 months ahead.

A recap on the big insights and changes coming…

1️⃣ : It’s crucial to differentiate between what matters to the economic buyer vs. other stakeholders at our customers. A happy user base is great, but if we’re not hitting the metrics that matter to those who make the renewal decisions, we’re missing the mark.

2️⃣ 2024′ : Focusing on core values and specific metrics is more critical than ever. As we streamline Customer Success roles, we need to redefine our expectations to combat burnout. It’s about working smarter, not harder.

3️⃣ : The conversation has shifted to identifying and improving the outcomes that matter most and providing value there. This is where we can truly demonstrate our value and impact, without overwhelming our teams.

4️⃣ : There’s a growing realisation that being a great CSM isn’t just about technical expertise or sales prowess. It’s about understanding, listening, and responding to customer needs. The role of the CSM is evolving beyond traditional boundaries.

5️⃣ . : In our haste to solve problems, are we losing sight of the customer’s voice? It’s time to refocus on what really matters – understanding and addressing customer needs, not just showcasing our expertise.

Let’s keep this conversation going. How are you planning to navigate these changes in your organisation? What strategies are you adopting to align with the evolving role of Customer Success?

Explain what customer success 🛃 is to a 10 year old – care of ChatGPT… 💻

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“Alright, let’s break down what customer success is in a simple way:

Helping Customers: Imagine you’ve bought a new video game. Customer success is like having a friend who helps you understand how to play the game, so you can enjoy it more.

Listening to Problems: If you have trouble with the game, this friend listens to your problems and finds ways to solve them.

Making Things Better: They also suggest new games or updates that can make your gaming experience even more fun.

Keeping in Touch: This friend keeps checking in with you to make sure you’re still having a good time with your game.

Happy Customers: The goal is to make sure you’re really happy with your game and help you get the most out of it.

So, in a job, customer success is about making sure people who use a company’s products or services are happy and getting the most out of them.”

Then asked if it was really about keeping customers happy and…

“Customer success is more than just keeping customers happy. Here are a few key points:

Achieving Goals: It’s about understanding what customers want to achieve with the product and helping them reach those goals.

Building Relationships: Developing a strong, trusting relationship with customers is crucial. It’s not just a one-time interaction but an ongoing partnership.

Feedback and Improvement: Listening to customer feedback and using it to improve products and services is a big part of customer success.

Proactive Support: It involves anticipating customer needs and problems before they even arise and addressing them proactively.

Customer Retention: Keeping customers using the product for a long time is important. It’s not just about making them happy once, but ensuring they continue to find value.

Educating Customers: Teaching customers how to use the product effectively so they can get the most benefit from it.”

Not too bad a start – one mention of value and none of outcomes. Now to test it out with a 10 year old – or one of the “not so little” Nobles.

Dare To Lead

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Christmas is my favourite time of the year and I always love getting new books (well actually that’s not just at Christmas). One book I’d highly recommend and one that truly transformed my perspective is:

(And it’s not “How to Win Friends and Influence People”)

→ “Dare to Lead” by Brené Brown

4 lessons I learned

👉🏼 1. Embrace Vulnerability.

– Being vulnerable doesn’t mean being weak. It means having the courage to show up when you can’t control the outcome.

👉🏼 2. The Value of Trust.

– Trust isn’t built overnight. It’s a series of small moments where integrity, accountability, and reliability are proven.

👉🏼 3. Self-awareness Leads to Empathy.

– Understanding our own emotions helps us empathise with others. This paves the way for stronger, more meaningful connections.

👉🏼4. Clear is Kind.

– Clear, honest feedback, even when uncomfortable, is kinder than vague, unhelpful criticism.

Learn these lessons → you’ll become an exemplary leader.

New Customers Only

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“New customers only”…

New Customers Only

… this is a phrase I really don’t like to hear but sadly it’s still widely used in many B2C industries and businesses – including the traditional home TV, phone and internet service providers.

Even as a loyal customer of many years, brand new customers can get significantly bigger discounts with these providers and this doesn’t seem right.

The logic being used feels outdated in 2022 and I’d love to see more companies focusing on delivering value at the right price and keeping customers. I think many of these companies are relying on customers finding it too difficult to leave and move elsewhere but even if that’s true today it won’t be for much longer.

It’s great to see some more niche players coming into the market offering very competitive services – e.g. home internet connections – and at consistent prices (for all customers).

Is it just me or is the idea of doing something in terms of a deal only for new customers, on its way out?