Think of your customer success stack as a layer cake. Each layer is equally important to the overall mission, but each one is also different from the others. And like any good cake, you want to make sure that all of your ingredients are fresh and delicious, not only for your customers but for your operations team as well.
This “customer success stack” is designed to help you accelerate adoption and reduce churn in your customer base. In this post, we’ll break down each layer and explore how it can help you foster a strong customer base that’s both successful and customer-focused.
Your customer success stack is more than just an online help center, a knowledge base, and email support. To build a successful customer success stack, you should consider three layers: your customers, your organization, and your products.
Layer number one: the customer
You can’t have customer success without customers. That doesn’t mean you need tons of them or that you need to get every single person who comes through your doors to sign up for your service; it just means that you need people who are willing to engage with what you’re offering and buy into it. You help them stay engaged and happy with your product or service and try to help them get more value from it.
Layer number two: your organization
Next up is your organization itself—your team members and their relationships with one another, as well as their ability to communicate clearly about the product with customers. When customers have questions or concerns, this team needs to be able to handle them effectively so that everyone stays happy and satisfied with the experience. You manage the customer lifecycle, ensure that the right teams are getting the right information, and identify opportunities to improve the customer experience.
Layer number three: the product
You need to work closely with your development team to keep the product up-to-date and make sure it’s meeting customers’ needs. This is what your customers use to solve their problems and find joy in their lives. Everyone involved in this layer must understand how important it is that they create something that works well with customers’ needs and preferences.
But don’t forget about the foundation: Customer data is the foundation of your stack. It tells you what your customers want and needs. It also helps you understand their behavior and predict their future actions.
By knowing who your customers are and what they want, you can build out a robust product that will help them reach those goals—and you’ll be able to market it effectively. Without a clear understanding of your customer, it’s impossible to create a successful product or marketing strategy.
In the end, it all starts with your customer base. By providing strong support and offering a product that delights users, you can accelerate adoption and reduce churn in your customer base. It’s a very simple equation, but one that many companies tend to forget about or ignore completely. Considering your customers, your organization, and your products will create a balanced ratio of customer success for your company and its customers.
