Client Delight........Rethinking Customer Success

In the rapidly evolving landscape of customer success, the terminology used by both technology companies and many consultants and industry pundits often reflects a tech-centric approach, with phrases like "land and expand", "adoption" and "service delivery" and even “value realisation”. While these terms might make sense in the context of technology implementation and usage, they fall short when it comes to embodying the essence of genuine client-centricity.

The industry's focus on 'land and expand' strategies implies a transactional relationship rather than a partnership centered around mutual growth.? In many ways it implies “invasion”. Similarly, the emphasis on “adoption”, “usage”, “value realisation” and 'service delivery' places undue importance on the technology itself, rather than the transformative business outcomes it can enable for clients.

A truly client-centric approach to customer delight transcends the mere utilisation of technology. It delves into understanding the core aspirations of the client, especially concerning their business model change strategy. Here's why a more profound, client-focused strategy is imperative:

1. Empathy Over Technology:

Client-centricity demands understanding the client’s desired business outcomes, opportunities and aspirations. It’s about empathising with their vision for change, not just delivering a technical product that gets used. Focusing on 'land and expand' might lead to short-term gains, but it disregards the long-term value of genuine relationships built on trust, understanding, and empathy.? A good example here is to look at the many many applications that you and your company use.? Many many people may “use” the application, but how many people genuinely use it to it’s fullest and maximum impact.

2. Partnership, Not Just Service Delivery:

Rather than viewing the relationship as a mere service provider, client delight should be synonymous with becoming a strategic partner. This means actively participating in the client’s journey, offering insights, and co-creating ideas that align with their purpose and growth aspirations. This collaborative approach fosters a sense of trust and mutual respect, leading to a more meaningful and enduring partnership.

3. Business Transformation, Not Just Adoption:

A client-delight approach shifts the focus from technology adoption to business model transformation. Instead of merely ensuring clients use the technology, the emphasis should be on how the technology can catalyse significant changes within the client’s models (business, customer experience, risk, operating etc). This shift acknowledges that the real value lies in the positive impact on the client’s ability to successfully transform their business processes, customer experience, and overall profitability.? Your company is an active change participant, not merely a technology supplier.

4. Outcome-Oriented models:

Client-delight revolves around business outcomes, not outputs. Rather than measuring success by the number of features adopted or services delivered, or active users, it should be assessed by the tangible improvements achieved by the client. This might mean redefining key performance indicators to align with the client's business objectives, ensuring that both parties are working towards shared goals. It will definitely require baselining existing performance and a recognition that no one company can successfully transform on its own.

5. Enabling Business Model Change:

The most profound way to facilitate client delight is by empowering clients to successfully implement their business model change programs. This involves not just providing solutions but actively participating in the ideation, planning, and execution phases. It requires a deep understanding of the client's industry, challenges, and market dynamics. By offering strategic guidance and thought leadership, client delight becomes synonymous with the client’s overall business success. Often, technology companies do not feel they have the credibility to have a seat at the business transformation strategy.? Yet more innovation is technology enabled than any other in today’s rapidly changing world.

The importance of Ecosystems:

With the new goal of business model transformation, companies cannot, nor should not, attempt to transform on their own.? It takes an ecosystem.? Analysis shows that all companies have a small set of key strategic ecosystem partners that whom without they simply could not function as a company.? These might be manufacturing partners, accounting partners, marketing partners, distribution partners, and of course technology partners.? But often many of these partners do not work together.? The client acts as the glue between the capabilities of these partners.? In the future, those companies that are outrageously successful will be fuelled by companies that can foster an ecosystem that operates collectively towards a common goal.

The Evolution of Implementation:

With the advent of cloud technologies, the landscape of technology implementation and integration has drastically transformed. Unlike the past, where implementing technology was the most significant and time-consuming element of change, cloud technologies have streamlined implementation and integration to a great extent. What once took months or years can now be achieved in days or weeks. The focus has shifted from wrestling with technical complexities to leveraging intuitive interfaces and scalable capabilities “as a service”. Now, implementation 'just happens'; it is easy and quick, allowing businesses to swiftly adapt to new technologies without significant disruption. Yet most technology companies still place the greatest level of their own revenue focus on either product sales, implementation, integration or “day 2” support.? Yet these activities are rapidly declining in effort and impact on client delight (and outcome impact).

The Real Challenge: Model, Process, People and Behaviour Change

In this era of seamless technology implementation, the true challenges lie elsewhere. The major hurdles have shifted from technical complexities to the intricacies of business process change, people change, and behaviour change. Embracing new technologies is no longer the core challenge; it is integrating these technologies seamlessly into existing business processes, ensuring that employees are equipped to handle the changes, and fostering a culture that embraces innovation.

Business process, behaviour and “model” change involves re-evaluating and often redesigning existing workflows to align with the capabilities of new technologies bringing new ways of working. This requires a deep understanding of both the current way of working and business processes and the ideas and technology capabilities that can be leveraged to re-imagine new growth opportunities.

People change pertains to preparing the workforce to operate in a transformed environment. It involves comprehensive culture and behaviour change leadership activities and fostering a mindset of adaptability among employees. Without the active participation and acceptance of the workforce, even the most advanced technology implementation can fall short of its potential. Behaviour change is perhaps the most profound challenge. It requires altering ingrained habits, attitudes, and approaches within the organisation. This transformation necessitates effective leadership, clear communication, and a supportive organisational culture that encourages innovation and continuous learning.

In conclusion, the era of “as a service” offerings have ushered in a new paradigm where technology implementation and integration is no longer the central challenge. Instead, the focus has shifted to the intricacies of business model and process change, people change, and behaviour change. A truly client-centric approach involves not only understanding these challenges but actively participating in overcoming them. By empathising with the client’s journey, fostering partnerships, facilitating business transformation, focusing on outcomes, enabling business model change, and navigating the complexities of change, organisations can authentically embody client delight in this era of rapid technological evolution and organisational transformation.

Words Matter

If you are using language like "customer success" including adoption, usage, land and expand, or value realisation, then ask yourself, Do we really care about our client…or do we really care about our revenue (recurring and retaining)?? Have you ever heard a business executive ask for greater adoption, or a vendor to "land and expand" or to increase usage? Probably not. What they do ask is how can we grow, how can we change and how do we out performance the competition.

Instead ask, what would it take to have our client so delighted they wouldn’t do business with anyone else except us and our ecosystem?