Why Businesses Fail at Customer Success

“One of the best ways to view business is to compare it to a living, breathing entity.”

 

What is Customer Success?

Customer Success is exactly what it sounds like — a company’s attempt to increase the success of a customer. It has an element of customer service, but it spans far wider. Customer Success zooms out and attempts to understand the entire customer journey from the beginning (not a customer) to the middle (loyal customer), and all the way to the end (no longer a customer). This holistic approach is a fascinating process and it does wonders to view it, not technically, but anthropomorphically. By attributing human qualities to this business discipline, we are able to understand it more thoroughly and apply it with intention.

Truthfully, some businesses approach Customer Success as a means to an end. This viewpoint lacks dimension. It is short-sighted and will ultimately lead to inconsistencies. Customer Success is not a tool. It utilizes tools, but ultimately, it is a standard, a frame of mind. If you want to succeed in business, understanding Customer Success is imperative. 

We must begin to understand business as an overarching subject before we can understand the individual discipline of Customer Success…

 

A Good Business is Like a Person

A good business is like a person. It is a person that has a unique personality, consistent habits, an ethical point of view, an offering, and many moving parts. Businesses are not as flat as we pretend. It is easy to view business as X+Y=Z, and though tempting, it leads to disappointment. Business is not easy. 

One of the best ways to view business as dynamic is to compare it to a living, breathing entity. This will create the right frame-mind: business as changing and moving and growing. 

Now that we have established this metaphor of business as an entity, we may build onto it by delving into a subset of its being, Customer Success.

 

Customer Success is the Relational Aspect of Business

Many businesses approach their relationships with customers incorrectly. They approach their customers as detached, technical, and industrialized bodies. This makes the interactions spiritless.

Instead, businesses should attempt to build relationships the same way humans build relationships. The most coveted relationship journey between two individuals is the journey from stranger to loyal friend. It is a journey characterized by three stages: attentiveness, reactivity, and proactivity. 

 

Attentiveness

When you first meet a person, you are attentive. Your eyes are focused, your posture indicates openness, your ears are attuned, and you attempt to communicate engagement. Businesses cannot communicate engagement through posture or eye contact, so instead, they focus on other means. This stage of attentiveness acts as an invitation to delve deeper into the relationship. It is characterized by quick-response times, an amicable tone, concise information, and openness. 

Attentiveness communicates value. It tells a customer, “I value you,” AND, “I appreciate that you value me.” 

 

Reactivity

Reactivity is the next stage in this budding customer-business relationship. 

Relationships are built on reciprocation. When you begin to foster a relationship, you have to learn how to engage with the other person. Every obstacle must be approached with care, as you listen, process, and react. In this stage, you become a problem-solver.

At the heart of every “problem” in business is a shared desire — a happy customer. As entrepreneur and author, Suneel Gupta advises, “fall in love with the problem, not the solution.” As you adapt and problem-solve, you will learn about your customer. This is invaluable information and must be treasured as such. Every business begins with a worthy problem. Rarely, though, do businesses begin with a perfect solution. When you learn how to listen to your customer, you learn what elements might go into crafting a worthy solution. Be willing to compromise, and know when to stop compromising. 

To succeed in business you must be open to adapting. You must listen, learn, and continue to improve.

 

Proactivity

The third and final stage is proactivity. 

One way to show a customer that you understand them is by anticipating what they might want. You show, through your attention to detail, your gifts, your personalized touches, and the value that you consistently bring that you know them and that they can trust you. In any relationship, as your understanding of a person deepens, your ability to make them feel seen and known also increases. You may begin to anticipate their questions and responses, you may prepare something special based on your knowledge of their tastes, you may be intentional about adding something to your daily exchanges, etc. Just as this “knowing” is the goal of a good relationship, it should be the goal of a good business. 

Though Customer Success is not technical in nature, it utilizes many tools to best achieve its end. Through the use of research, compiled data, past interactions, and all available information, businesses begin to craft strategies to best serve their customers. As in a great friendship, the best way a business can serve its customers is by communicating that they know and appreciate them. 

 

To Succeed in Business, Embrace Your Humanity

To succeed in business you have to have a solid foundation in Customer Success. Customer Success is about building good relationships. It’s not about profit. It’s not about the technicality. It’s about humanity. Therefore, instead of leaning into the technicality of the work, you must do what is seemingly contradictory — you must embrace your humanity.