Brand loyalty might be a thing of the past.
According to a recent study, one in three customers will abandon a brand after one bad experience, and 92 percent said they would leave after two to three negative interactions.
So, how can customer success teams ensure they’re meeting and exceeding expectations before a client parts ways?
At Criteria Corp, the key is being proactive.
Quentin Wheeler, a senior customer success manager at the employee aptitude, personality, and skills testing platform, said his team reviews client activity on their software and on the client’s website to get ahead of potential issues.
“If we see that they are doing a big hiring push, I like to reach out and see what else we can do to help,” Wheeler said. “We want to proactively be there for our customers when they could use us most, even if they don’t think to ask for help in their busy day-to-day lives.”
Wheeler shared how else he and his team foster solid client relationships to avoid contributing to another customer churn study.
How has your team developed specific benchmarks for customer success or satisfaction?
Wheeler: One of the most important benchmarks that we use for customer satisfaction is a monthly Net Promoter Score survey. We take our NPS very seriously, and if we see any less-than-stellar responses coming in, we always follow up with the customer to see how we can improve. Whether it be something little or bigger relating to our software, we take the time to see if there’s anything we can do to help. The NPS is great because the overall score helps us track overall customer satisfaction, while the individual scores give us the opportunity to check in with our customers one-on-one.
Wheeler's Tips
- Be proactive
- Seek out consistent feedback
- Act on feedback
- Be human
- Listen to the full problem
How do you go above and beyond for your clients, and what is the impact?
One thing myself and many of my team members like to do is to check up on our customers proactively by checking their account activity in our software as well as our customers’ websites for activity. For example, if we see that they are doing a big hiring push, I like to reach out and see what else we can do to help. Do we need to adjust their current Criteria Corp plan? Are they using the right tools? We want to proactively be there for our customers when they could use us most, even if they don’t think to ask for help in their busy day-to-day lives. Little steps like that help our clients know that we really are a resource and are happy to help.
What’s one piece of advice you have for people in customer-facing roles who are looking to really dazzle their clients?
Listen and take good notes. This helps you really get to know your client and build a relationship. For example, if clients mention that they are Dallas Cowboys fans, follow up on the game and make a note to bring it up. Little details the client may have shared show that you are a real person who is trying to establish a healthy relationship. Also, do not pre-diagnose a client’s problem. Nothing is more annoying than going to the doctor and getting prescribed a pill before they even listen to your story. Every client is different, and you need to be able to hear what their situation is before providing a solution.
