Most people assume customer success to be the same as customer service. They believe it’s the same job called by two different names.
That’s not the case because both roles have different responsibilities. However, they share similar skills and goals because they work to improve customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Customer service teams help to resolve any product or service issues so the customer can have a better experience. They ensure that all problems are fixed in a timely manner. On the other hand, customer success is concerned with customer relationships and helping them achieve their goals with the product/service.
Customer success is fairly new job role that is growing rapidly
A customer success manager is very crucial to customer retention and satisfaction. It’s a new role that became popular as more companies began to notice the value of customer success and how extremely beneficial it could be.
Customer success is an all-round approach to assisting the customer and ensuring they make the most of the company’s product or service. The focus is on cultivating relationships and making sure customer’s needs are being met.
What does a customer success manager do, and how does the role differ from a customer service manager?
A customer success manager provides what the customer needs to reach their goals. They often onboard new customers, give customer training and help them receive the most value. Customer success is a proactive approach to keeping the customer happy and satisfied while customer service is a much more reactive approach.
A customer service manager would respond to customer queries and proffer solutions to what customers might be having issues with. They
focus on specific complaints and help to solve technical problems with the product. They can also explain processes or application features that the customer might be confused about.
What are the key roles and responsibilities of a customer success manager?
A customer success manager is aware of what the customer is hoping to achieve. They build and maintain effective relationships with them as well as show how to work with the product. Here are some responsibilities:
- Develop good customer relationships
It’s important to inform your customers that you care about them and want to help them grow. A customer relationship involves the interaction from sales to initial purchase to support. The customer should be able to believe that the company has their best interest at heart.
- Analyze customer needs
Every customer wants to accomplish certain goals with a product or service. They may want to outsource, automate or streamline their personal or business tasks. A customer success manager should determine whether the company is meeting these needs or not.
- Keep customers engaged and active
A customer success manager helps customers to consistently use your company’s product correctly and to its full capacity. According to Zendesk, 50% of paying customers log into the SaaS service once a month or not at all. This is why software companies were one of the first to recognize the value of customer success.
- Onboarding new clients
The customer onboarding process begins the relationship with the customer. This is where they learn more about your product and how it can help them complete specific tasks. They need to achieve something with key features and form a good impression of your product.
- Being a customer advocate
Customer feedback is important when looking for how to improve products or services. A customer success manager will listen to their suggestions then discuss with the company. They make sure many customer requests are considered to enhance customer retention.
- Maintain customer loyalty
It’s necessary to care about customer loyalty in an industry where you have competitors. A customer success manager keeps track of expiration dates so they can remind customers to renew. They also ask to know whether the customer is still satisfied with their service.
- Resolving customer problems
During an interaction with a customer, a customer success manager may inquire about customer concerns and issues. After getting such feedback, they would speak to the sales, support, or product team and make sure the customer’s problems are resolved quickly.
What are the skills needed to be a customer success manager?
A customer success manager is responsible for
cultivating relationships with customers, understanding their individual goals, and helping them achieve them with the company’s product or service. They help to ensure that every customer can have a success story.
Here are the technical skills a customer success manager needs:
Onboarding
Customer service
Record keeping
Goal setting
Strategy development
Data analysis
Product support
Project management
Here are the people or relational skills required:
Communication
Problem-solving
Empathy
Relationship management
Persistence
Emotional intelligence
Leadership
Conclusion
The role of a customer success manager is different from customer support or service. It involves working with the customer to achieve their goals while using a product or service. It helps to foster a mutually beneficial relationship between the company and the customer.
