What is Customer Success?
Wikipedia defines customer success in this article as: “[…] the business method ensuring customers achieve success, their desired outcomes while using your product or service. Customer Success is relationship-focused client management, that aligns client and vendor goals for mutually beneficial outcomes. Effective Customer Success strategy typically results in decreased customer churn and increased up-sell opportunities. The goal of Customer Success is to make the customer as successful as possible, which in turn, improves customer lifetime value (CLTV) for the company.”
FlexPay Client Success:
At FlexPay, we have a different outlook on customer success (client success, in our case). Our clients’ success is our number one priority, and we are focusing on doing whatever it takes to get there. Before we dig into this further, let’s look at the above definition.
Why is it that this statement makes it feel like a used car salesman is talking someone into buying a car they don’t want, with an extended warranty that costs more than the value of the vehicle? The above statement is missing some critical points. Yes, any business relationship should have ‘mutually beneficial outcomes,’ and of course, having a relationship-focused client strategy will improve the customer’s lifetime value for the company. However, we need to stop looking at this like it’s a computer program and get back to the human element about connecting with people like we did in the ‘old days.’ Remember when a ‘gentleman’s handshake’ was worth more than any 37-page contract?
Sure, technology has made our lives a lot easier, but with this, it has drastically made our lives a lot faster, and in today’s business climate, most people are wearing 2 or 3 hats in their current role. You may argue that there is no time to connect with people on a human level anymore because we are just too busy. It’s common to hear statements such as “I have too many emails to clear, and no time for an hour telephone conversation!” or “I’m too busy to talk right now,” but we need to find balance in everything!
One word not mentioned above is trust, and trust should be the forefront of any customer success strategy. There are so many scams out there and people trying to make a quick buck that it has become increasingly difficult to find relationships built on trust. And if you are unable to trust who you are working with, will you ever feel confident that they have your best interest? Likely not.
100% Transparency with our Clients:
At FlexPay, we strive to be 100% transparent with all our clients! We are honest and open with our clients about what’s working and, equally important, what needs to be improved.
One of our core values is ‘Be Genuine in Every Interaction.’ This value ties into three focus statements. The first one is, behave with integrity to build trusting relationships. Secondly, be committed to data and making decisions based on what we know and not who we are. And lastly, treat everyone with respect and dignity. Simple, right? Yes, for the team at FlexPay, it is in our DNA.
We truly stand by our core values and strive to connect with our clients on a human level. Understanding not just our client’s business, but who they are on an individual basis. We work alongside our clients to understand exactly what they need from our relationship. That could be a weekly call, an email once a month, or it could even be a conversation regarding the latest episode of Ozark! For us, putting the client at the forefront of everything we do, or using the idea of ‘what would we not do for our clients’ guarantees long-term, successful relationships, which in turn results in their business success.
Learn more about FlexPay here.
