Customer Success

4 Customer Success Questions You Need to Ask Yourself

Selling is not enough. You need to be in constant touch with your customers to ensure that they are having a seamless experience with your product or service continuously. That is how business in the SaaS world works. You cannot forget about your customers once they have started using your product. That is the point where you start building a relationship with your customers. And that is where customer success comes into the picture.

There are multiple reasons to do so. First and foremost being that happy and satisfied customers are the best brand ambassadors for your company. No marketing strategy works better than when your existing customers tell people about how awesome your product is

Staying in touch with your customers ensures that you are up-to-date with what is working best in your product and where you are lagging behind. When customers request customizations, you know that that is something you can build on more and bring new features to your product. Remember, perfection is a myth. There is always scope for improvement; always the chance to get better.

It seems easy to carry out the customer success process. One thinks that they simply need to shoot an email with an online form to the customer asking them where you can improve and how are they finding the product currently. But is it that simple? Will your customer even open that email? Will they have enough time to give you a detailed explanation? I don’t think so.

This is why, before you shoot a long-form questionnaire asking for inputs, it is wise to do a bit of homework first. Before asking questions to your customers, ask yourself some key customer success questions. I have listed down 4 key customer success questions that you need to ask yourself today.

How successful has your product been in tackling the customer’s pain points?

Your customer bought your product because they wished to take care of some issues at their end. There must have been at least four or five pain points which they were looking to take care of. That is the only reason one can have to purchase a SaaS product subscription. You must have asked your then prospect now customer questions about what exactly they need the product for. 

Bring out those notes. Revise them. Jump on a call with your customer if they wish to. If they don’t, simply have a chat with them and reflect upon those pain points. Try and understand how successful has your product been in tackling the customer’s pain points? Try and get numbers out of them. By what percentage did their sales shoot up after starting to use your product? Was your product able to take off the load from employees in regard to manual work? How much did your customers save on costs? What sort of impact have they noticed in their business after starting to use your product?

When you have such numbers at hand, you know exactly how well or how bad your product has been for your customers. You can work upon these numbers and help your customers enhance their user experience. Moreover, if you have your customer’s permission, you can compile all this information in a case study and use it to advertise your product on the web.

How happy is the customer when interacting with your product and you?

Just because your product does the job does not mean all is well. It could be that your customer had to hire someone specifically to work your product. They could be finding it extremely hard to work it. There is also the chance that they could be finding it very hard to navigate through. They could hate the user interface or they could hate the way information logs into the system. Ask them these questions. Is it working out for them only on a fundamental level or on interface levels too? Do they actually love using your product?

Moreover, the question is not just about how they like interacting with your product. The question is also about how they like interacting with you. Do they find your support agent’s language and pace easy to understand and keep up with? Do they not like how your billing cycle works? Is scheduling a support call with your team extremely difficult for them? Ultimately, these secondary questions all boil down to the one big important question – Would they recommend your product to someone else?

Do you still have your oldest customers with you?

Old is gold. Yes. If a customer stays with you for over two or three years, it obviously means that you have been doing something good. You have been doing something very good. These older customers can be even more valuable than your happy customers. Time is of the essence. 

Get in touch with your older customers and have a detailed discussion about how they have been finding the product recently? Do they see significant changes in the way the product’s functionality has improved over the years? Did their pain points change over the years? Was the product able to successfully tackle even the new pain points that have creeped up? 

Your oldest customers are the best advertisements for your company. Ask them for a short testimonial. Put it on your website. Request them to work with you on a case study. You could use this case study to show your future prospects how well you have been supporting your customer’s business. Moreover, your customers will be happy to spread the case study via their channels too. Throw in a loyalty discount or something and further strengthen your relationship with your best paying older customers. A higher customer lifetime value (CLV) only shows that your business has been helping other businesses grow. 

How seamless is your onboarding process?

This seems like an odd question to ask. Why would the onboarding process matter in customer success? Well, ever heard of first impressions? After the sales process is over, onboarding is the first thing your customer receives from your side. The first glimpse into how processes work at your company. It is their chance to see for themselves if you stand true to the great promises you made during the sale.

Make sure that your onboarding process is seamless. Allot one particular person from the team to take care of one particular client. Familiarity makes customers comfortable. When your customers witness the great efforts you put in to make them comfortable with your product and your business from the get-go they love you just a little bit more. 

Likewise, when your customers do not receive a great onboarding experience, they feel cheated. They feel tricked by all the great promises you made during your sales but did not follow through once they gave you their money. Business is not about being ruthless. Business is about caring. Care about how your customer is introduced to your product. Care about how the customer feels when interacting with you. Do they feel safe? Do they feel valued? 

Final Thoughts

Remember, the customer is king. Your business would be nothing without paying customers. Also, remember that your customer could leave you anytime. A small fault of yours and they will switch to the next best offering they receive. The market is full of competitors. Keeping your customers close is essential in a competitive market. 

Continuously ask how you have been doing. Make regular checks on what improvements could be made. Do not limit these improvements to your product. Expand your customer’s suggestions to your processes and pipelines. Understand your strengths and shortcomings. Work with them to grow your business just like your product is helping them grow theirs. 

Further reading:

3 Proactive Customer Success practices to reduce churn

How sales and customer success work together

Why customer success matters

Anushree is a seasoned business leader with nearly two decades of experience in the SaaS industry, specializing in customer-facing roles across the globe. As the driving force behind our Customer Success division, she is committed to fostering a culture of customer-centricity within her team. Dedicated to maintaining a high-impact Customer Success function, Anushree serves as a vital conduit for open communication channels for customers, capturing invaluable customer feedback and aligning it with our product vision. Her focus on seamless customer experience ensures that customers enjoy a rewarding journey from start to finish.

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