Customer success (abbreviated as CS) is a strategy through which a company, along with its customers, achieves high results. According to statistics, the more attention a business pays to customer success, the better its revenues grow.
In this material, we will explain what customer success is, for which niches it is suitable and what CS techniques can be used in affiliate marketing.
What is Customer Success
Imagine that your company sells subscriptions to specific services. You not only need to attract new customers but also retain existing ones.
To work on retention, you need to understand what drives them away from your service and what needs improvement – how to gather such data? With the help of a Customer Success manager or customer care department! Don’t rush to laugh at the “grandiose name for tech support”, we will now delve into the nuances of this role.
Customer success is user satisfaction with your product (sometimes CS refers to employees, not a business strategy). The main tasks of the Customer Success department are real benefits from using the product. In other words, CS managers do not increase sales but inform customers about the service’s features, solve problems, and anticipate issues that may arise.
In a way, a Customer Success manager is a representative of customers within the company. They have a better understanding of customer needs through constant communication and can anticipate what could enhance or diminish the product.
Why do you need a Customer Success department
Customer success managers strengthen relationships with existing customers, convey the value of the product to the audience, and inform consumers about all its capabilities.
In other words, the department is needed to:
- Better understand customer needs – managers gather feedback from customers, and their wishes should be implemented to maximize user satisfaction with your product;
- Retain customers – if one service satisfies a person’s maximum needs, there is no reason for them to switch to competitors;
- Make customers more loyal – when people see that the company listens to their wishes and genuinely cares about their convenience, they begin to trust you more (it will be easier to sell new services);
- Increase company revenue – when a business provides solutions that align with customer demands, people are willing to pay regularly;
- Reduce marketing costs – satisfied and loyal customers become advocates and recommend the service to friends and acquaintances. A person who comes to you “by recommendation” initially trusts you more than a potential customer who learned about the product from advertising.
The Customer success department is always on the side of buyers. They only think about the convenience of using the product, possible inconveniences, and problems that users may encounter. Managers aim for high-quality work in the long term, which leads to increased sales through improved conversion rates and loyalty.
Which niches Customer Success is relevant for
The customer care department is necessary for companies that sell complex products or subscriptions. It is most commonly found in the IT sector and SaaS (cloud services that can be used online without prior installation).
However, you can add a CS department to any niche if your company faces the following questions:
- Why do we only find out what the customer was unhappy with after they leave?
- How to obtain feedback from consumers to improve the product?
- How to retain customers who only use part of the available services?
- Why do consumers use only basic features when their subscription offers more possibilities?
What strategies are used in Customer Success
The main principle of the Customer Success strategy is to view the customer not as potential profit but as a valuable partner. Therefore, managers don’t wait for users to encounter problems, instead, they try to anticipate them and offer solutions in advance.
- Customer Journey Mapping (CJM) is a visualization of the customer’s path. This helps you see how potential customers search for products, what services they are interested in, and the steps they take before making a purchase. This information can help you focus on the specific features of your product to increase conversion rates.
- Customer analysis. Either way, you have to conduct a detailed analysis and create a profile of potential customers – gender, age, demographics, pain points. This information improves customer service and also aids in attracting new ones.
- Establish a Customer Success department. Managers should maintain close contact with consumers, gather feedback, and provide guidance on using your product more effectively.
- Product improvement. After collecting feedback, it’s crucial to make necessary adjustments to your service based on customer requests. This shows that your company genuinely listens and cares about its users.
- Offer additional services. Only after ensuring customer satisfaction with your service can you propose additional services for separate payment or contract extensions.
To build an effective Customer Success department, utilize tools for customer interaction. These can include website online chat, pop-ups or email newsletters. Feedback can be collected not only through phone calls but also through automated surveys and requests for reviews, among other methods.
For example, Netflix personalizes content recommendations for users based on what they like watching. As a result, it increases satisfaction and retention, so people are engaged with the streaming service. Amazon excels at predicting customer needs before they arise. It provides multiple payment options to cater to different customer preferences and ensures that customers have access to comprehensive product information.
Conclusion
Customer Success is a department dedicated to ensuring customer satisfaction with a service or product. Their primary mission is to listen to consumer feedback and ensure that the product aligns with their needs. When customers feel cared for, they become more loyal, leading to increased sales and conversions.
