Why Software Customers Aren't Getting What They Were Promised

Often customers do not receive the value they were promised during the sales process. It's a phenomenon that many of us have encountered when purchasing software, and it often stems from inadequate onboarding and a failure to prioritize customer success. In this article, I'll share why this issue persists, how companies commonly get customer success wrong, and the significant financial consequences of not implementing best practices in customer success.

The Broken Promise

During my time in the software industry, I've observed that software companies often make bold claims about their products' transformative abilities. These promises can include increased efficiency, cost savings, improved customer satisfaction, and more. However, when customers start using the software, the reality often falls short of what was advertised, leading to frustration and disappointment.

Why does this happen? From what I've seen, there are several reasons:

1. Inadequate Onboarding: Effective onboarding is critical to ensuring customers understand the software's capabilities and how to use them. Unfortunately, some companies fall short in this area, leaving customers struggling to make the most of their investment.
2. Overly Technical Documentation: Some software providers overwhelm customers with complex, technical documentation that can be daunting, especially for non-technical users. This can lead to misunderstandings and hinder successful adoption. And sometimes the documentation is simply just poor...
3. Lack of Post-Sale Support: From my perspective, some companies focus solely on the sales process, neglecting the need for ongoing customer support. This lack of support can make customers feel abandoned once they've made their purchase.

Why Companies Get Customer Success Wrong

Customer success is about more than just making a sale; it's about ensuring customers achieve their desired outcomes and maximize the software's value. Many companies get customer success wrong for the following reasons:

1. Misaligned Goals: Often, sales and customer success teams have different objectives. Sales teams may be incentivized to close deals at any cost, while customer success teams may be tasked with reducing churn. This misalignment can lead to a lack of focus on the customer's long-term success.
2. Inadequate Training: Customer success teams may not receive the necessary training or resources to effectively support customers. This can result in a lack of understanding about the software's potential and how to help customers realize that potential.
3. Insufficient Feedback Loop: From my perspective, companies may not have effective mechanisms in place for gathering feedback from customers and using it to improve the product and the customer success process.

Lost Revenue from Neglecting Customer Success

The consequences of not prioritizing customer success, can be severe, both in terms of customer retention and lost revenue. Here's how:

1. Churn and Lost Customers: When customers don't receive the value they were promised and feel unsupported, they're more likely to cancel their subscriptions or abandon the software. This leads to churn, which can have a devastating impact on a company's bottom line.
2. Negative Word of Mouth: Dissatisfied customers are more likely to share their negative experiences with others, potentially deterring new customers from considering the software.
3. Missed Upselling Opportunities: Neglecting customer success also means missing opportunities to upsell or cross-sell additional features or products. Satisfied customers are more likely to invest further in your offerings.

it's clear that the sales process is just the beginning of the customer journey. To ensure customers receive the value they were promised, it's essential to focus on effective onboarding and robust customer success strategies. Companies must align their goals, provide adequate training, and create a feedback loop to continually improve the customer experience. The financial consequences of neglecting customer success are too great to ignore. By prioritizing customer success, businesses can not only retain customers but also unlock additional revenue opportunities and build a loyal customer base that fuels long-term growth and success.