Digital Customer Success

1The High‐Speed Evolution of Customer Success

It's a Friday night, and you've just arrived at your favorite corner bistro. Inside, the host warmly greets you by name before escorting you to a choice table. There, a familiar waiter smiles just before you suggest (as always) that there's no need to recite the specials. You'll have your usual entrée paired with a glass of your favorite varietal.

Now, this is what makes life worth living. It's not merely the food, though the food is spectacular. It's not merely the atmosphere and the view from your favorite table. No, what really keeps you coming back week after week, year after year, is the personal service, delivered by people who seem to genuinely care that you are having a wonderful experience.

In an increasingly impersonal world, a world where artificial intelligence (AI) informs you that “people who bought the pinot noir also purchased camembert and water crackers” and where “talking” with a customer service agent means interacting with a chatbot decision tree, who can blame you for craving a personalized experience—for wanting to go “where everybody knows your name and they're always glad you came”? Given a choice, wouldn't all of us prefer to be treated like unique individuals instead of data sets?

At Gainsight, our purpose statement is “to be living proof you can win in business while being Human‐First.” It's so easy to forget that the person on the other side of the video meeting isn't just a candidate, employee, alumni, ...