Star Trek: The Customer Journey – A Motion Picture in Customer Success

Hello, Customer Success Universe—I'm De’Edra Williams.

Welcome back to "Star Trek: Boldly Going Where Few Customer Success Leaders Have Gone Before—But Where More Should in 2025."

In this series, we've explored how the legendary crew of the Starship Enterprise embodies the #Prime #Directives of Customer Success and the customer journey. If you’ve missed previous editions, be sure to subscribe to this newsletter to stay on course with our intergalactic insights!

USS Enterprise Starfleet Crew and Customer Success Archetypes:

? Captain James T. Kirk – The embodiment of Customer Success Leadership—bold, decisive, and always putting the customer (or the crew) first.

? Spock – The ultimate Data Scientist, using logic and insights to navigate success.

? Nyota Uhura – The model of Marketing Communications, ensuring seamless engagement across the galaxy.

? Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy – The Customer Support & Advocacy backbone, keeping customers (and the crew) in top health.

? Montgomery “Scotty” Scott – The Account Executive of Customer Success, bridging Sales and CS to keep the mission running.

? Pavel Chekov – The perfect model for Onboarding and Professional Services teams.

? Hikaru Sulu – The Product Team’s Helmsman – the ultimate voice of the customer.

? The USS Enterprise – Strategic Go-to-Market - Boldly charting a course for value realization and warp-drive revenue growth.

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The Customer Journey: A Star Trek Motion Picture

As we venture into new frontiers, let’s explore how Star Trek: The Motion Picture aligns with the customer journey, demonstrating how Customer Success (CS) teams can navigate each phase for stellar outcomes.

1. The Unknown Challenge (Customer Onboarding)

? Plot Parallel: The Enterprise is dispatched to investigate a mysterious energy cloud, V’Ger, that is advancing toward Earth, eliminating everything in its path. This scenario mirrors customers stepping into uncharted territory during onboarding, encountering unfamiliar technology, processes, and expectations.

? CS Tie-In: Pavel Chekov, representing Onboarding and Professional Services, ensures customers have a steady hand guiding them through initial uncertainties, helping them understand the new platform, and setting the course for success.

? Success Tip: Customers who experience a well-structured onboarding process are 21% more likely to renew (Gainsight, 2024). Providing a dedicated CS onboarding plan ensures customers get to value quickly.

2. The Disruptive Encounter (Adoption & Value Realization)

? Plot Parallel: As the Enterprise approaches V'Ger, they realize it is a sentient being searching for its creator. However, its inability to comprehend human life causes disruption—just as customers, without guidance, struggle to realize the full value of a product.

? CS Tie-In: Spock, embodying the Data Scientist, leverages insights to understand V’Ger’s nature. Similarly, Customer Success must analyze usage data and customer feedback to deliver strategic interventions that drive adoption.

? Success Tip: Companies that actively track product adoption see a 35% increase in customer satisfaction (Forrester, 2023). Use data to anticipate needs and provide proactive guidance.

3. The Moment of Truth (Renewal & Expansion)

? Plot Parallel: The crew discovers that V'Ger is actually Voyager 6, a NASA probe seeking to evolve beyond its original programming. This revelation mirrors customers reaching an inflection point—either recognizing a product’s transformative value or failing to see the return on investment.

? CS Tie-In: Captain James T. Kirk, exemplifying CS Leadership, guides the crew through this pivotal moment, leading V’Ger to its ultimate evolution. As CS leaders must ensure thaht our Customer Teams steer our customers toward realizing expanded value, leading to renewals and upsells.

? Success Tip: Companies with a strong customer engagement strategy report a 5.6% lower churn rate (ChurnZero, 2024). Continuously demonstrate new ways customers can extract value from the product.

4. The Ultimate Alignment (Customer Advocacy)

? Plot Parallel: V’Ger’s journey culminates in merging with a human, achieving a higher state of being. This represents the ultimate phase of the customer journey—where customers become advocates, fully aligned with the product’s value.

? CS Tie-In: Nyota Uhura, as the model of Marketing Communications, ensures seamless engagement, transforming satisfied customers into brand advocates who share their success stories.

? Success Tip: 83% of buyers trust recommendations from their peers over brand messaging (TrustRadius, 2023). Build advocacy programs that spotlight customer achievements.

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The Customer Success Prime Directive

Just as Star Trek: The Motion Picture explores themes of discovery, transformation, and alignment, so does the customer journey. By guiding customers through initial uncertainties, ensuring they realize value, facilitating growth, and fostering advocacy, CS teams can boldly go where no team has gone before—to stellar retention, expansion, and revenue growth.

Live long and prosper for Customer Success.

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