Customer Success

Chapter 7

Law 3: Customers Expect You to Make Them Wildly Successful

Author: Nello Franco, Senior Vice President of Customer Success, Talend

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Executive Summary

Customers don't buy your solution to use its features and functions. They buy your solution (and buy into the relationship with you) because they want to achieve a business objective. Just as sales organizations are using a challenger sales approach, customer success organizations and practices need to provide new insights and challenges. As Ben Horowitz said in his 2015 commencement address at Columbia University: “There's no value in telling someone what they already know.”

The value your customer places on your relationship isn't defined only by your product's features and functions; it's also defined by everything else your company does to help make your customers better at what they do. That includes enablement, content marketing, online resources, and, in the case of relationships with larger enterprises, direct engagement by subject matter experts. In some cases, delivering a message that goes against conventional (and popular) wisdom can be difficult, but in the end, delivering a challenging message that is in your customer's best interest will strengthen your relationship. In a world where retention is critical this is not just an opportunity, it's an obligation. Allowing your customers to go down the ...