How to Differentiate Your Company with Your Customer Success Strategy
Product and price get attention, but customer success strategy wins the deal. Learn four ways CS sets your company apart and convinces buyers to stick around.
TL;DR
- Product features and price catch attention, but long-term value drives the buying decision — and nothing provides long-term value like a strong customer success strategy.
- Customers don't actually want to churn; switching software is as hard as finding new customers, so a vendor's CS strategy is often what keeps them around.
- Customer testimonials are a key differentiator — B2B buyers need reassurance from peers, so make testimonials a rolling part of your CS strategy.
- Introduce customer success early in sales and renewal conversations and reinforce that your team is in it for the long haul, not just there to sell.
In the modern SaaS-driven world, standing out from the competition is getting harder and harder. With so many integrations, add-ons, and premium features coming up in what seems like every sales conversation, standing out from the crowd can take a miracle – or the right angle.
Sure, product enhancements and price points might catch customer’s attention right out of the gate, but it’s the long-term value that prompts a buying decision. And, at the end of the day, nothing provides long-term value like a winning customer success strategy. This post will outline a few ways the right customer success strategy can differentiate your company from competitors.
Customers want to stick around
In reality, while it may seem like customers are just looking around for a reason to leave for another vendor, in actuality your customers really do want to stay in one place for a while. It’s just as hard to implement new software as it is to find new customers. Basically, customers don’t want to churn. And most savvy executives realize that even as early as when they’re sitting in sales conversations, that a vendor’s customer success strategy is what’s going to keep them around. Executives and those with decision-making powers are actively looking to partner with vendors who are confident and dedicated to delivering amazing customer experiences.
Customer testimonials can make a difference
One part of setting a company apart from the competition – and a part that is often forgotten about until last minute – is the customer testimonials. Just as a modern B2C consumer won’t make a purchase without reading online testimonials and reviews, B2B consumers need reassurance and examples from those who have already made a similar investment. By makingcustomer testimonials a rolling part of your overarching customer success strategy, your team can proactively provide this much-needed content come sales conversations.
Introduce customer success from the beginning
Often, customer success as a whole can be shuffled to the side or end of sales or renewal conversations because it’s deemed ‘not as important’ as other aspects during these discussions. Introducing customer success representatives from the very beginning – orhaving an executive present during any critical conversations – can help bridge any gaps and make customers feel comfortable with discussing customer success and long-term strategy.
Reinforce that your team is in it for the long haul
When entering into a new vendor relationship, customers want to know that they’re going to be looked after, not just sold to. When your team is in introductory conversations with potential customers or even in renewal conversations with current clients, bring up the customer lifecycle, the strategic plans you’ve implemented, and thenumbers and metrics to reinforce the focus of your team. Trust us – your prospects and customers will see the difference in your attention to detail.
Frequently Asked Questions
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