The role of customer success in product-led growth

In product-led growth (PLG), giving your customers value is the number one driver of growth and success. It all comes down to your business’s perception, and by building a solid relationship with users, you’re creating brand trust.

Customers who trust a business are more likely to stick around and become long-term subscribers. So how do you prioritize customer satisfaction, and how does that relate to product experience?

What is customer success in PLG?

A large part of customer success comes down to your organization's culture. When you empower your employees, you give them a sense of authority and autonomy to make the customer experience the best it can be. Think of it as giving your employees the right tools to handle customer interactions quickly and smoothly. Now you have the building blocks of positive customer service.

But, what are the specific ingredients to create a work culture that embraces positive customer interactions? Read on ahead, you customer guru.

Have clear expectations with goals and metrics

You want to make sure everyone in your company understands the value of good customer service. If people aren’t on the same page, goals can’t be aligned, and direction is immediately lost. You want to ensure you’ve effectively stated the company vision with measurable goals and KPIs focusing on customer satisfaction.

It’s important to lay out what you expect from your employees from the beginning. Changing desired outcomes often can give employees whiplash and make them feel directionless. Consistency creates boundaries people know to stay within, so be clear and stick to them.

Hire the right people

If you want employees who’ll treat your customers right, you need to find ones who align with your values. When interviewing, you want to scout for passionate, empathetic, and emotionally intelligent people. These are the people who will foster and embrace a customer-centric culture.

Ideally, you need the right temperament and communication style to handle customer interactions. These people should be able to take constructive criticism well and adapt to situations quickly, as you never know how customers will react.

But don’t forget to nurture these people. Handling different personalities all day can be exhausting, and if you want your employees to thrive, you need to take care of them. That means providing them with the right environment to succeed, where their emotional needs are being addressed.

Train and empower employees

The best employees are the ones who are given the proper tools to handle any situation. You want to empower your people with the proper training and resources to deal with adversity should it come their way. Think proactivity. By empowering, you’re giving employees the ownership to make decisions based on their training that benefits the customer. Autonomy to act means employees don’t always have to escalate issues to higher management. They have the knowledge to deal with and satisfy customers or have the tools available if needed.

Highly trained employees are also less likely to feel overwhelmed and will feel backed by their company. You’re investing in them and their continued development, which will, in turn, make them feel more supported, motivated, and valued. And that will increase happiness, which will then be passed on to the customer.

When employees are empowered with knowledge, they can pass that along to the customers. It’s a trickle-down effect and gives customers a sense of ease, knowing they’ll get the information they need. This fosters a positive relationship with the company, as the customer feels confident that, when they have a problem, they know who they can turn to for help.

Foster a customer-centric culture

If you want the best customer service experience, you must make sure your business has the fundamental shift to approach it. This goes beyond metrics and policies and taps into the company's ethos as a whole. Everyone needs to understand customers are priority number one. Without them, there is no audience to sell the product to, after all. Customer satisfaction drives business growth.

So, how do you create that culture? A few ways. You can reward those who prioritize customer satisfaction either through bonuses or acknowledgment. It gives people a solid goal to strive towards. You can also celebrate customer success throughout the company, which creates a positive work environment. And you can focus on customer satisfaction metrics over others to drive your company’s compass in that direction. The name of the game is all about reinforcing customer value. So, find what works best for you and go for it!

Continuously improve

Customers need change, and you need to be on top of that. Employees are your first point of contact with the customer, so listen when employees share their feedback on improving things. The best way to do this is by personalization. Your goal is to adapt the customer experience based on customer preferences. Know how and when to engage with them and what they want.

What are some ways to personalize?

Use customer surveys to get their opinion
Use past purchases to see their wants and needs
Make recommendations based on user profiles
Use customer journey mapping to understand issues and opportunities

As your business grows, you might be able to identify new methods of offering customer service, as well as optimize wait times and responses to queries. You want to make your customers feel like they’re getting VIP treatment, which means constantly trying new things when the opportunity presents itself. Just keep a close look at the data to make sure something new is working for you and not against you.

Lead by example

Your employees look up to you, so set the right tone as the leader. Your actions towards customers should inspire as you lead by example. A great way to do this is for leaders to be accessible to customers. They want to know everyone in the business is working for their satisfaction. When leaders take accountability for customer issues, it's vital for employees to watch how they handle it. You’re responsible for making positive customer interactions a priority. Don’t let it slip.

Use data to drive decisions

Metrics are a great way to keep your company focused on the customer journey. Not only does it allow you to understand customer behavior, how to fix their pain points, and what they like, it shows you how to improve your customer experience if something is lacking. We’re all about continued improvement here.

So, what are some great KPIs to measure customer success? Here are a few you should always be checking on.

Customer retention rate (CRR)
CRR is a crucial metric for gauging loyalty and the effectiveness of your business strategy. CRR is the number of customers who continue to do business with you over time.

Retaining existing customers is more cost-effective than acquiring new ones, and a 5% increase in CRR can lead to an ROI increase of 25% or more. And, since happy customers are more likely to refer your services to others, you’re essentially getting free marketing for your business.

Customer satisfaction score (CSAT)
CSAT measures overall customer satisfaction through surveys or feedback, often using a scale of 1-10 or emojis. CSAT provides quantitative data for qualitative feedback and can help identify areas for improvement. Surveys can be delivered through websites, email campaigns, or in-store kiosks, but timing is crucial to avoid oversaturating customers and to ensure their voices are heard.

Net Promoter Score (NPS)
NPS measures customer loyalty and satisfaction through surveys asking how likely a customer is to recommend a product, usually on a scale of 1-10. Specific follow-up questions about demographics and product quality can provide tailored data to improve your NPS. A high NPS can predict company growth through positive word-of-mouth advertising, and calculating NPS only requires survey software, well-crafted questions, and an irresistible product.

Conclusion

Customer interactions should be a positive experience that employees are well equipped to handle. It’s a top-down approach, where leadership offers the goals, mindsets, and training for employees to thrive in customer service. So, once you’ve made sure you’ve hired the right people and you’ve given them the space to flourish, keep nourishing that culture. It’ll only continue to pay off.

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