When it comes to finding success in the tech industry, the relationships a company builds with its customers are just as important as the products it develops.
And, ultimately, it’s a team effort.
At Interactions, a Franklin-based company that leverages AI in its products to help steer better customer conversations, each of its clients receives a dedicated team consisting of an account manager, project manager, designer and a client service manager.
“The client success team structure has given our clients a team of professionals to consult with, ultimately building their trust in our team,” Julie Dickman, an account director at the company, said.
In addition to the sales and CSM teams at SmartBear, a Somerville-based software company that develops test automation, API lifecycle management and collaboration tools, the events team plays a crucial role in establishing and building relationships with customers that exceed expectations.
For example, Barbara Stickney, a events manager, often takes on the role of a salesperson at vendor conferences, chatting with attendees about their problems and matching them with tools that can solve them.
“Part of optimizing the customer experience is working together with both the technical and business teams to understand your customers’ desired outcomes,” Stickney said. “Don’t assume that you alone understand the needs of your clients better than anyone.”
In interviews with Built In Boston, Dickman and Stickney explain how they best set up their clients for success and offer advice for those who are looking to “dazzle” their customers.
You can’t exceed your customers’ expectations unless you know what they are. How has your team developed specific benchmarks for customer success or satisfaction, and what are they?
Our benchmark when it comes to events is, “How can I stand out in this conference of 100 or 1,000 other vendors who are all working to retain and attract customers?”
First, it’s a friendly face, someone who is fully present and ready to engage and listen. We ask people what they are looking for, show a demo of the product that can help and reward them with a memorable swag item. I’ve been told many times that SmartBear has the best swag. The best example was a fedora, a wearable one in menswear patterns and solids that looked great on all types of people. There was a sea of hats at each night’s reception!
It’s all about the relationship with your customers. You want to be their bread and butter, a vendor they can trust and will continue to support and grow with. SmartBear has a wide selection of software tools, and if a customer has one or two that are working well for them, then they are more likely to expand or try some additional ones.
It’s all about the relationship with your customers. You want to be their bread and butter, a vendor they can trust and will continue to support and grow with.”
What’s one thing you do regularly to go above and beyond for your clients? What impact has that had on your client relationships?
Since I’m the queen of swag, I love to send out appreciation gifts to accounts whenever a sales rep asks — making sure to include a personal note with each one. We also reward our speakers with personalized gifts that are small, useful and trendy to stay top of mind with them. One memorable gift from last year’s SmartBear Connect virtual event was a “Speaker for a Speaker,” a custom Bluetooth speaker. We received some nice social responses on Twitter for that. Cater to your customers: They want to feel they are your top priority.
What’s one piece of advice you have for people in customer-facing roles who are looking to really dazzle their clients?
Part of optimizing the customer experience is working together with both the technical and business teams to understand your customers’ desired outcomes. SmartBear has a popular behavior-driven development product, Cucumber, that simplifies BDD and continuous collaboration, helping teams ensure that their feature or app is designed and experienced the way it’s expected to.
Don’t assume that you alone understand the needs of your clients better than anyone. Collaborate regularly with other areas of the business who might have different perspectives, and you’ll likely be able to provide your unique perspectives to them. Don’t forget that you’re all in this together. Your customers will notice.
You can’t exceed your customers’ expectations unless you know what they are. How has your team developed specific benchmarks for customer success or satisfaction, and what are they?
Interactions is proud to have created a retention-focused customer relationship strategy. An easy way to measure success in this area is to look at the customer retention rate. We strive to achieve 100 percent retention by cultivating long-term relationships with our customers.
In order to truly know what your customers expect and how you are achieving their goals, you have to ask for feedback. We do this in many ways such as integrating surveys into product focused sessions, regularly asking for feedback on how we are doing and what we can do better.
In 2020, we rolled out a Net Promoter Score (NPS) program to continuously measure and monitor customer satisfaction. We know that customers who are willing to recommend Interactions are also likely to stick with us for the long haul. By identifying the promoters and the detractors, we can focus on improving our business with our customers. The NPS survey is easy for customers to answer and provides a common language to classify customers. Since this was the first rollout, we are using the results as baseline data to quantify overall satisfaction and establish future benchmarks.
In order to truly know what your customers expect and how you are achieving their goals, you have to ask for feedback.”
What’s one thing you do regularly to go above and beyond for your clients? What impact has that had on your client relationships?
We approach their business with the same care as if it were our own. We start by providing a world-class customer service model. Each client has a team that is focused on their success, which includes an account manager, project manager, designer, and a client service manager. Those teams are also part of an internal strategic autonomous team by client vertical, who work collectively to align, empower and measure success. The autonomous team structure offers our clients a team of individuals who are experts in their respective field, working collaboratively to achieve the customer’s goals.
The client success team structure has given our clients a team of professionals to consult with, ultimately building their trust in our team. We also conduct regular business review meetings with clients which include representation from our executive leadership team.
What’s one piece of advice you have for people in customer-facing roles who are looking to really dazzle their clients?
Be there. It’s really a simple point that is often overlooked. Your customers want to be heard and deserve prompt attention. Make sure you are staffed to be able to support their every need, even on the off-hours. Ask questions and regularly request feedback. For example, in the turn of the pandemic we asked all of our customers:
- What are your biggest concerns?
- What can I do to help you in the next 90 days?
- How should I engage with you and your team?
We were quickly able to gather feedback and implement quick turnaround on key projects to enable their success during some turbulent times. Work to serve what matters most to your clients and in the effort of doing so, you will dazzle them.
