When you think of a hockey game, several things may come to mind: fighting, goals, and strategy. Same in the business world, there are a lot of sports analogies made. But few are as accurate as the hockey analogy for customer success.
Just like in a hockey game, the goal of customer success is to keep moving forward and scoring goals (or in this case, getting customers to stick around and buy more products and services). Blockers are trying to stop you, teammates helping out, and constant adjustments are being made along the way.
By understanding the players (customers) and the rules of the game (functions and features of your product), you can create a winning strategy for keeping customers happy and coming back for more.
Firsly, the customer is the star of the show. Just like in a hockey game, the customer is the most important player on the customer success team. Without customers, there would be no customer success team. The customer is always front and center and the team’s success depends on making sure they are happy.
The customer success team is made up of different positions. There are customer success managers (CSMs), customer support representatives, product specialists, and salespeople. Each member of the team has a different role to play, but they all work together to achieve the same goal: customer success.
The customer success team works to create opportunities for the customer. Just like an offense in hockey, the customer success team creates opportunities for the customer. They work to identify customer needs and pain points and then create solutions that will help the customer succeed.
The customer support team is like the defense of the customer success team. They work to protect the customer from any potential problems and keep them happy. The customer support team is always on the lookout for customer pain points and works to resolve them quickly.
The customer success team also has a goalie. The goalie is the person who ensures that everyone on the team is working together and that the team is making progress towards its goals. The customer success manager is typically the goalie, but anyone on the team can step up and take on this role.
Just like in a hockey game, there are many players on the field – or in this case, the customer success team. Each member of the team has their own role to play and is responsible for different aspects of the customer’s experience. And just like in hockey, if one player messes up, it can have a ripple effect throughout the entire game. The good news is that with the right management tools, you can help your team avoid any costly mistakes and ensure that your customers have a great experience.
Just as there are goalie coaches, penalty box managers, and trainers, customer success teams need their own set of management tools to be successful. These tools help keep everyone on track and make sure that customers reach their goals.
Are you using all of the tools at your disposal to manage your customer success? If not, now is the time to start and score some goals.