Customer success is helping point a customer in the right direction regarding a product or service. A customer service agent asks customers what they are looking for in a product or service without trying to sell to them. Customer service agents are not salesmen. They assess the customer in order to see if a product is a good fit for the customer or not. From that point on, the agent will then refer the customer to a salesman if they think it would be a good fit for the customer. So, customer success is truly finding out what is best for the customer and helping them take the appropriate steps.
But why is this so important? Well, in the backwards sales funnel, we see that negotiations is the most important step to win the sale. So many deals fall through in the negotiations phase, so having a customer success expert in the negotiations phase can bridge the gap. They find out why the customer might be hesitant to close a deal and then lead them to the right choice, that being either buying or walking away.
When a company puts customer success over money and sales, the company succeeds in the end. Being genuine and caring about customer needs are the most important characteristics in a company or salesman. If the customer is lead away from a product by a customer success agent, the customer then feels as though they can trust that company which can lead to referrals or future product purchases. Overall, companies thrive when customer success is their first priority.
BoweryJE22
I think ensuring the customer takes full advantage of the product you offer is very important. This step is neglected so many times because companies don’t recognize it as affecting their bottomline. However, returning customers are so much more profitable and company reputation is really at stake when considering if they are able to take full advantage of your product or not.