Welcome to the Back to the Basics blog series, where we take a fresh look at Customer Success from the perspective of a newcomer. Whether you’re just starting out or looking to revisit the fundamentals, this series will guide you through the key concepts and serve as a reminder of why Customer Success is vital for long-term growth and satisfaction.
What is Customer Success?
So, let’s start by defining exactly what Customer Success really is. We define it as, “A business methodology ensuring customers achieve success, as defined by their desired outcomes while using your product or service.” (ESG Customer Success Guide) Customer Success activities usually happen after a product or solution is sold. The goal is to help customers succeed with the product, keep them using it, and grow the relationship. Key tasks include getting customers started (onboarding), helping them reach their goals, renewing their contracts, finding opportunities to expand their use of the product, and ultimately facilitating value realization.
Customer Success vs. Customer Support?
A frequently asked question in the industry is “what’s the difference between Customer Success and Customer Support?”.
The answer is simple and will help you also understand the importance of customer success, ‘customer success’ is proactive and ‘customer support’ is reactive. Customer success is about preventing problems from happening in the first place and creating a seamless and valuable experience for all customers.
Customer Success Drives Value
Customer Success drives value for customers, but it also drives significant value for companies. Acquiring a new customer can cost up to five times more than retaining an existing one, so keeping customers happy doesn’t just benefit them, but has a profound impact on your company. In fact, increasing customer retention by just 5% can enhance a company’s profitability by 25%, just one striking data point showing how valuable it is to focus on maintaining strong customer relationships.
Customer Success is pivotal in fostering advocacy, which translates into significant advantages for businesses. Loyal customers are five times more likely to make repeat purchases and four times more likely to refer friends to the company.
Investing in Customer Success not only enhances customer satisfaction but drives revenue growth through increased sales and valuable word-of-mouth referrals.
Ready to quickly improve revenue performance, operating efficiency, and EBITDA?
Contact ESG Customer Success as a Service® (CSaaS) today to learn more about how we can help you design and implement a robust Customer Success program customized to your specific needs. Let’s work together to help you scale Customer Success – faster.