What is Client/Customer Success?

Despite being understood as something critical to a company of any size, #customersuccess (aka #clientsuccess) is something hard to define not because it’s ambiguous, but because it’s so big. It’s like a flea trying to describe a dog: "it’s, well, everything!"

Customer Success is crucial to #marketing, in that it provides customer data and feedback which can’t be attained in any other way. It answers “who are our customers?” and “what is our market?” as well as “How can we grow?”

Customer Success is the bigger part of #sales, as it provides outside sales with referrals, leads and ongoing opportunities, and is generally the nexus of inside sales. If your company wants repeat business and long-term clients (and who doesn’t, beside scam artists?), they need to put resources into making sure the client is not just happy but fulfilled.

Customer Success is #clientretention. CS is the key player and the “face of the company” in most instances beyond initial sales. It’s far better/easier/cheaper to keep a client than to find a new one.

Customer Success is damage control. When things go south, and they sometimes will, CS can rely on #relationships, #softskills and #communications to set them straight. In poorly run companies, CS can become “#customerservice” and company apologists who downplay misinformation and mistakes, mitigate loss and try to save face, sure, but in well run companies they are about letting the customer/client save face. When a client under-orders or reduces services haphazardly, CS is there with a smile and a helping hand. Nothing, NOTHING builds trust like swiftly and quietly helping the C-suite get back on track after they’ve created a disaster you’ve fixed.

Customer Success is #operations in that ops doesn’t usually have another window on what the clients’ needs and feedback are. CS has a finger on the pulse of demand and client pain, and must help steer operations based on that knowledge. Nobody wants to sit on a hundred thousand obsolete widgets, or be creating solutions for which there is no problem, or be sideswiped by clients’ adoption of new tech.

Client Success is internal #leadership. CS is tasked with continually teaching and leading everyone - from the loading dock to the C-suite and board - in how to understand and work with clients. How to present the company, how to appreciate that the work comes from the customer, and how to handle problems effectively. CS generally represents the communications hub, keeping everyone on message and on target. CS represents where everyone turns with a question, because they are the voice of the client.

Client Success is external #leadership, because clients need to know the hard facts, and CS needs to deliver them along with solutions. As the most trusted advisor to client leadership, CS tells clients how to budget, how to prioritize, and how to make the most out of what they have. If a client doesn’t trust CS, they won’t trust the company, and leadership is all about trust.

So, the answer is that Client Success is a critical bit of Everything. It is the nervous system of a company - its eyes and ears, and most importantly touch.