What?! We have all embraced the traditional sales funnel for so long. Why would we ever move away from that?

At the top of the funnel, there is so much emphasis put on filling the funnel with little emphasis put on the customer. We spend so much time and effort getting that customer, only to let them fend for themselves once they purchase. Some businesses breathe a sigh of relief and high-five each other once that sale comes through, then follow up with the next prospect on the list.

What are we doing to make sure that customer is a mind-blowing success?! Think about it. IF we take care of them as we should, and continue to serve them as we should, they will be advocates and return customers for a long time. The goal? To lower the CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost) and to raise the LTV (Lifetime Value).

Customers have changed

The way they search the internet has changed.

The way the research and buy products has changed.

And, the way they expect to be treated has changed.

Trust in the business establishment has eroded! People trust their peers, online reviews, social networks, etc.

How can we use data to be proactive instead of reactive? Let’s not offer just support, but also enable success.

5 ways to offer customer success

There are different things you can do to help your customers feel the love.

• Message Bots - This works great for people that are needing a quick answer to a specific problem where the AI can save you time at your company and the user doesn’t have to wait. When a specific problem does need to be addressed, it still provides a way for a real human to have a real discussion on the other end with someone. Some of the “message apps” are soooo slow! Which drives me insane. In my opinion, it hurts the overall brand and customer experience. Don’t do it unless you’re going to do it right. Drift is a pretty solid tool for this. There are a lot of other ones. Do your research.

• Support Tickets - Again, only do this if you’re going to do it right. Respond and let the user know you received their problem and let me know how long it’ll take for someone to get back to them. Offer them other solutions in that communication to help if you can.

• Feedback - Always asking for feedback and help your customers feel listened to. There are a lot of different tools out there. I personally love Delighted. A lot of companies are also focusing on NPS (Net Promoter Score) to gauge their customer satisfaction over time and gain some valuable insights.

• Automation and routing - If you have a bigger organization, then using this technique on the back end will help you with your process and in turn help the customer more quickly. No one wants to talk to someone that’s going to then turn them over to someone else. How many of you like explaining your problem 3 times to 3 different people until you find the right person? That’s what I thought.
• Knowledge Base - It turns out that a lot of questions already have answers. Use things like an FAQ, or a video library to help answer questions. This can help people even quicker! Why waste your time and theirs when you don’t have to?

Sharp Edges

Think about the “sharp edges” in your customer’s buying journey. These are the things that make the purchasing or cancellation process a bit painful. That could be talking to 3 different people for the sale, having to negotiate on price for 2 months, a horrible cancellation policy, etc. Get rid of these sharp edges.

In getting rid of those edges, you may experience some short-term pain. That’s ok. Change hurts a little. Just remember the long-term gain that comes after that.

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