Digging Deeper into the Dynamic Duo of Customer Experience: Marketing & Success

In a recent LinkedIn post, I noted that the best CX comes from the collaboration between customer marketing (to generate leads to create the sale) and customer success (everything that follows the sale) – the Dynamic Duo of marketing today. Taking a holistic approach to success is more important to building long-term relationships than simply doling out a series of customer service “experiences” or touchpoints along the customer journey.

 Customers can have any number of interactions that are pleasant, fast, efficient, informative, productive, personalized – whatever their criteria may be. But the best experience is defined by what matters most: does the composite of all their interactions with your company improve their life or help grow their business? 

As I noted in my previous article, your marketing efforts are only as successful as your customers decide they are. Every prospect and customer defines success in their own way, the reason personalization continues to be a top customer service trend for 2020.

I Received Great Feedback

I was delighted that some of my readers left comments on the post, adding their own insights into the nature of customer success. So let’s keep the conversation going. 

Robert Collins noted that “successful companies of today focused on transforming Customer Experiences” rather than transformation based solely on disruptive technology. They did that, he suggests, by “removing friction from processes, honing in on customizing the personal experience and creating a trusted and unique connection for and with the end customer.” 

Technology may be essential, but its value lies in creating and supporting personalized experience. 

CX and Brand Are Inseparable

My buddy, Louis Gudema, said that “for most customers, the CX is the brand.” Well, good point -- of course it is. The two are synonymous in the minds of customers. 

Maybe we cannot definitely separate customer success and customer marketing, because marketing done right drives prospect success even before they become a customer. Prospect success is why they convert to become a lead and eventually a customer. Then, when they continue to feel successful as a customer, they stick around to become a loyal advocate down the road. 

So from the first impression forward it all comes together to form a single, holistic "experience" that defines your company's brand for each customer. CX and brand are inseparable.

Marketers have long focused on prospects as "consumers" of content, like armies of mice sniffing out and gobbling up the various flavors of cheese you've laid out. Once the trap snaps shut on them, they're yours, converted into customers. Perhaps the point of customer success as a concept should be that it starts at the very beginning, not after money changes hands. Or even after that initial conversion to official lead status. End to end, but in an endless circle. Or, better yet, an upward spiral.

Here’s Something Else to Think About

We tend to define success in tangible terms that we can measure or even monetize. Prospects or customers get what they want/need from your content or your help desk -- information, a product or service, post-sale support, an upgrade, special offers that save money, whatever. They use these assets to build their own business so it becomes more successful.

But experience is also about emotion, how they feel about their interactions with a brand. So a customer could get exactly what they want or need, but what if the process lets them down? They don't get that lovin' feeling from the CSR on the phone. Or the delivery was slow. Then their contact was technically successful but a poor experience in the end. The brand is tarnished.

This Is Why CX Is Everyone's Job

And why companies should be taking greater post-sales steps to improve experiences that focus on intangibles. Think exclusive offers that make customers feel special, proactively providing business management tips or other "we have your back" actions, and so on.  

In his comment, Robert Collins also pointed out that these days “every company is a personal experience organization.” He’s right. Your company is delivering some sort of customer experience no matter what. The key to success (yours and your customers’) is recognizing that fact and then taking the next smart step by deliberately creating the overall CX each customer desires and expects from you.