The customer success strategies are comparatively new to the business scenario. However, the concept has gained significance in the B2B SaaS based industry very quickly due to the large impact on each company. It is also true that the customer success can be interpreted in different ways for different kinds of companies. Are you still struggling to find the best suited one for you? Then this article will be the perfect guide to help you navigate through the different models used in the business.
Companies differ in terms of their strength, resource capacity and most importantly, organization goals. The customer success cannot be a ‘one size fits all’ concept. It should be designed in collaboration with the various stakeholders in the company as well as the target client base. These carefully made processes will help the company to excel and expand on their own, while ensuring that the customers get their desired outcome from the product.
Here are 5 different tried and tested models of customer success. Read on to know which will suit you best.
1.Firefighter Customer Success Model:
True to its name, the customer success model in this case does the over-all work of the expansion of a company, just as a firefighter takes care of the emergency situation. These are mostly used in the companies that are just starting off with their business. The products might be new to the market. In this case, the customer success team takes care of the comprehensive client experience. They are mostly under the services department. On one hand, they take care of the customer support while also being on the hunt for acquiring new clients. Here are some of the crucial points of this model:
- The customer success team coordinates with all the departments in the company to ensure the best client experience.
- This helps them to take care of the existing customers while acquiring new ones for the expansion of the business.
- The customer success metrics can be difficult to scale since there are a lot of issues to keep in mind.
- The customer success manager must be competent enough to handle inter-disciplinary activities.
2.Sales-oriented Customer Success Model:
This model of customer success is targeted more towards improving the sales figure of the company. This is followed for products which are low in complexity but the competition is high. Customer success impact itself will help the company to differentiate itself from the other companies offering the similar products in the market. Here are some of the basic points that can be inferred from the model:
- The metric focused in this model is sales. Hence the up-selling rates should increase when focusing on this model.
- Apart from customer satisfaction, efforts should be made to improve the revenue generation of the company.
- The competition can be an issue in this case. The team has to put in greater efforts and offer something different so that they get the customer base to expand.
- The steps should be taken properly so that the customers feel valued and not just used for revenue.
3.Service-oriented Customer Success Model:
This is an upgraded version of the basic customer success models learnt till now. This model needs a number of steps and heavy workflow managements in place to make it work. Hence it is mostly used by companies with a greater maturity, those having a larger working force to take care of the steps. The value of customer success can be better realized in this kind of model since it takes care of the client’s success in a more methodical manner. The effects of it directly show on the revenue and the retention rate of the company. Here are some of the points that you can keep in mind:
- Here the services team has multi-step procedures in place for customer success management. These include: professional services, staff training, on-boarding and customer support.
- Each of these fields is supported by a specialized team since the company is mature enough.
- Special focus is given to areas of client experience improvement with the help of crucial customer success metrics.
- Though the sales quantification is not the direct focal point of the model, the client satisfaction automatically improves the revenue generation.
4.Integrated CSM:
This model involves rigorous steps to achieve its high end goals. This is mostly followed by companies when they are in an expansion mode. The sales team needs to hunt down every possible lead to ensure that they contribute to the growing customer loyalty. It can be done successfully when the product complexity is in a moderate range and the team is capable of handling the multifarious duties well. Here are some of the most important points that you need to keep in mind regarding this model:
- A versatile Chief Customer Officer should head the team in the right direction to make sure that the goals are met.
- The business sales should be on a high so that the revenue generation is strong.
- Apart from retaining customers through renewals, the professional services and staff training must be top notch to keep up with the high end goals.
- The maturity of the organization plays a crucial role in determining the methods that are followed. The team should have a coordinated effort to achieve the goals.
5.Partnership CSM:
This is the highest form of customer success that can be followed in a company with a high product complexity as well as a large and competent team. They have their branches in all possible fields. On one hand, they ensure that the existing customers get along with the company with a long lasting relation. On the other hand, there is an aggressive hunt for new sales for greater client base. Here are some of the points that are crucial to this model:
- The customers are the deciders of the plans. This model is extremely customer centric to ensure that their faith in the company stays on.
- There is a significant overlap of duties between the sales and the services team when it comes to this model.
- Particularly the customer success management and the client account management departments have an overlap between the sales and services team. This overlap should be handled carefully so that the workflow management is smooth.
- The complex nature of this customer success model can make the return on investments difficult to track. However, with the right data tools, the team can take care of it by looking at the customer success parameters.
Hope this blog gave you a clear idea about the different customer success models and how you can implement them according to the needs of your company. For any queries or suggestions, do not forget to leave a comment below. For more updates on healthcare management and technology, subscribe to our blog. Latest updates will be available through all our social media handles. Do not forget to follow!