We work with many of the largest technology companies, helping them bolster the experiences they deliver to customers, often focusing on their (business-to-business) B2B relationships.
With the shift from on-premise to cloud-based software, technology providers have had to focus even more on customer experience. Why? Because customers buy more incrementally and make renewal decisions more frequently, forcing tech vendors to ensure that customers are continuously getting value.
This shift is not unique to the technology industry. Many B2B companies are realizing that customers aren’t buying products. Instead, customers are making purchases in the expectation that they will achieve some value from the provider’s products and services. We call this a shift to “Value-As-A-Service (VaaS).”
In the world of VaaS, B2B companies must change how they interact with customers. Instead of relying on sales-oriented account management teams, they are creating customer success organizations. These groups are focused on making sure that customers achieve the value and outcomes they expect.
Unfortunately, many customer success organizations still look a lot like old fashioned account management groups. While there are many changes that need to be made, one of the things that can help is to commit to delivering on a set of customer promises. To help organizations start this process, we’ve identified a set of five promises that customer success organizations should make and keep:
- Understand My Business: Know how your products/services will help your clients business succeed.
- Find & Share Relevant Best Practices: Expose clients to meaningful opportunities for them to create new value with your products and/or services
- Prevent Known Issues & Obstacles: Make recommendations that will avoid problems in the future.
- Orchestrate Value Across Your Silos: Provide seamless access to appropriate resources across your organization.
- Don’t Surprise Me: Anticipate client’s upcoming needs and let them know what to expect during their entire lifecycle.
The bottom line: B2B loyalty depends on customer success.
This blog post was originally published by Temkin Group prior to its acquisition by Qualtrics in October 2018.
