do's and don'ts of customer success pros

DO’S AND DON’TS OF CUSTOMER SUCCESS PROS

We share the tips and best practices at Azendoo, Wistia and Basecamp

WHAT IS CUSTOMER SUCCESS?

Customer success = “ensuring your customers achieve their Desired Outcome through their interactions with your company.”

– Lincoln Murphy, Customer Success evangelist at Gainsight

IN OTHER WORDSUnderstanding your customers’ wishes and needs

Making sure your product tackle their needs Teaching them how to use your product

Answering all their questions in the best way possible

Even better, anticipating their needs and questions

HOW?We asked 3 Customer Success pros to share their tips

and best pieces of advice

Greg Lefort @greglefort

Co-founder and CEO at

LEADING BY EXAMPLE

Jeff Vincent @jeffvincent

Head of Customer Support at

Chase Clemons @chaseclemons

Customer Success Ops at

CUSTOMER SUCCESS AT AZENDOOis part of the sales process:

We proactively reach out to users to help them get the full value of our product.

DO: CREATE 1-ON-1 DISCUSSIONS WITH YOUR USERS

Either you have 10s, 1000s or 100,000s of users, strive to engage with them and personalize your answers

DON’T: FALL BEHIND THE NUMBER OF TICKETS

Answer every question or complaint in a timely manner – we strive to do so within a few hours.

DO: MAKE EVERYONE IN THE TEAM RESPONSIBLE FOR CUSTOMER SUCCESS

Make everyone responsible for handling support, and get the most qualified person on your team to answer

DON’T: OVER-PROMISE AND DISAPPOINT

You can’t accept all features request. Make sure you communicate on which ones you implement.

BONUS: TURN YOUR BEST USERS INTO AMBASSADORS

Your best users can be your brands ambassadors. Leverage them by organizing meetups, setting up loyalty programs,

sharing a use case, …

CUSTOMER SUCCESS AT WISTIAis deeply rooted in the company culture

Since the beginning, support is one of the most important functions at Wistia.

DO: PUT YOURSELF IN YOUR CUSTOMERS’ SHOES

To make sure you really understand our customers and their pain points, use your own product

DON’T: THROW TECH JARGON AT YOUR CUSTOMERS

Adapt your explanations to your customers and their level of understanding

DO: SHOW THAT YOU CARE

A good Customer Service rep really cares for his of her customers. Even your "free trailers".

DON’T: ANSWER TO EVERYONE, ANYTIME AND ANYWHERE

Don’t burn yourself with 24x7 support if you don’t need it. Keep your emergency line for actual emergencies.

DO: PRE-EMPTIVE SUPPORT

At Wistia, our goal is to help our customers get 10 times the value they’re paying, even before they seek support.

DON’T: LOSE YOURSELF IN THE NOISE OF FEEDBACKS

Listen to customer feedbacks, but don’t follow all pieces of advice if they don’t fall in the overall picture.

BONUS: SPREAD THE VOICE OF THE CUSTOMERS THROUGHOUT THE COMPANY

The customer success teams holds all customer knowledge. Don’t forget to share it with the whole company.

E.g. at Wistia, we do an internal series called “Customer story time”

CUSTOMER SUCCESS AT BASECAMP

Treating people right is fundamental to how we do business

is part of the company’s DNA

DO: ANSWER EVERY COMPLAINT

Whatever the topic and the tone used, answer each and every message you get from your customers

DON’T: MAKE PROMISES YOU CAN’T KEEP

Set the right expectations for you customers. Don’t over promise, of you’ll disappoint them.

However, they do set high standards:

DO: HELP EVEN IF IT’S NOT YOUR PRODUCT

If you know you can help a customer, just do it! Customers do remember the people who help them.

DON’T: FORGET TO DRAW THE LINE & KNOW WHEN TO STOP

Don’t get burnt out answering emails all day long. Sometimes you just need a break.

BONUS: THROW IN A LAGNIAPPE IF YOU CAN

Going the extra mile and giving back some love to your customers is make makes your customer service unforgettable

TO SUM UP

Turn your best users into your brand ambassadors Find a fun way to share your customers’ voice with the whole company Throw in a lagniappe if you can, you will make your company unforgettable

Create one-on-one discussions with 1,000s or 100,000s of users Make every one in the team responsible for customer success Put yourself in your customers’ shoes Show that you care Do pre-emptive support Answer every complaint or message, whatever the topic or tone Help even if it’s not your product

Don’t fall behind the number of tickets, always answer on time Don’t over promise and disappoint your users Don’t answer to everyone, anytime and anywhere Don’t throw tech jargon at your customers Don’t make promises you can’t keep Don’t forget to draw the line & know when to stop

READY TO ROCK YOUR CUSTOMER SUCCESS STRATEGY?

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