How well does the visual scaffolding of the customer journey support the CS practitioner’s experiences and help guide our future actions?
The focus today: 1) consider how we keep momentum between milestone destinations, and 2) examine the Education phase.
Last time we covered the question-answer pair of the Awareness phase (represented by the yellow thought bubbles below). Before we examine the next phase, let’s look at the space just after we have reached our Awareness destination, but before we locate the proper question to start us towards our next milestone.
You’ve just pointed out that I have a flat tire; I’m aware! And my thoughts are now swirling: I am going to be late, now what? Grrr ... unmet expectations abound! I need to alert people that my schedule is going to be off. Maybe I’ve had a bad experience with flat tires before, and that is on my mind (here we go again!). I may thrash because what I want and what is reality are at odds. Point is, lots of things are running through my head and I do not immediately jump to asking the right question: is there a solution for this problem?
How can CS help reduce the time and energy customers expend flailing in this interim space?
Be the guide. It’s our natural role. Make it obvious, attractive, and easy for customers to locate the question that points them towards the next milestone destination. After pointing out the flat tire, be the guide and offer prompts to open the right question in people’s minds. A flat tire – that sucks! Looks like you need roadside assistance. Do you have a spare? Do you have AAA? Do you need a recommendation? Can I call a tow truck for you that I’ve used in the past?
Do you know the next question you want customers to ask – the one that sets up the educational path to knowing that a solution exists? Tell them. If not, then figure it out by spending time listening to people that are struggling and then use what you find to reduce the time it takes people to get to the next question.
Once customers ask, “Is there a solution to this problem?” the journey transitions from the Awareness phase to the Education phase.
Here is the Education phase question - answer pair:
CS Practitioner - Let this be our mantra: People learn by doing and they learn by watching others. In the Education phase, we should help people take action to learn and learn by watching others take action.
Trials allow people to learn by doing and to assess whether (and to what extent) a solution addresses their problems.
Customer reviews show that many people have previously found a solution to the problem.
Highlight previous actions and achievements from peers in a customer’s network to make it easy to learn about solutions.
Reference calls with powerful current customers facilitate learning about solutions.
Customer referrals help people – either internal colleagues or external professional contacts within the subject matter domain – learn about solutions. Keep in mind that even if referred, a person will often need additional education to get from here the there.
The Customer Success Qualified Lead (CSQL) are opportunities that CS uncovers and vets. We will revisit the CSQL in the next phase, Selection, too. Here, the CS practitioner, based on its trusted advisor relationships with current customers, has experience with this conversation: who else in the customer’s network could benefit from knowing that there is a solution to their problems?
Who else at our company is helping customers get educated?
Marketing – content marketing; it. is. everywhere. Customer reviews and case studies are everywhere, too – especially at the Zero Moment of Truth (ZMOT) when a customer searches for information and makes decisions about brands.
Sales/SDR – a consultative sales method matches customer needs and problems with available solutions.
How might we team up internally to improve our ability to help the customer get educated? Have we had these conversations with our colleagues in Marketing, Sales/SDR, etc:
I’m interested in helping educate customers that solutions exist for the big problems in their lives. It feels like an area of overlap between us. How is what I’m doing today helping you? What could I do to make it better?
Who at our company is best at educating customers? Have we approached them and shared our appreciation for their work? Have we asked them, what can you teach me to improve my ability to educate customers that solutions exist to their problems?
How have you helped customers get educated?