‘Digital customer success’ (DCS) is one of the most talked about themes of ‘23. Despite the attention, the term DCS remains amorphous as it’s tied to various trends including artificial intelligence, cost reduction, support strategies, and customer onboarding. As we all think about how humans and technology work together in DCS strategies, there are some useful analogs such as driver assistance technology and robotic-assisted surgery.
In the 1980s, a machine called Robodoc was one of the first tools for robotic-assisted surgery. The idea was to combine the best respective attributes of robots and humans to drive better surgical outcomes. Today this vision is a reality. The $10+ billion robotic-assisted surgery industry augments the ability of many surgeons, leading to higher precision and reduced risk of complications.
Like robotic-assisted surgery, DCS strategies can augment human outputs to drive better outcomes. Some examples of how DCS can enhance the power of CS teams are listed below.
- With the help of in-app notifications, it is now possible to create a personalized experience for everyone that uses your product. It’s easy to think, ‘what can be more personalized than a dedicated customer success manager who knows you and your business?’ Nothing, if we are talking about the primary contacts of our customers. However, what about all the new end users joining our platform daily? This issue becomes even more acute when companies are using product lead growth strategies.
- It's essential for people to communicate and learn in the ways they see fit. Multimodality communication is expanding the role of personalization by allowing people to communicate via their preferred channel. Many people favor written communication and structured learning over a phone call or Zoom meeting. There is no right or wrong answer to what modality is best. The only wrong approach is not providing omnichannel solutions to reach everyone in a way they feel comfortable.
- The customer experience is always better when customer data enables your success teams to proactively address issues and opportunities within their book of business. Understanding the frequency and importance of various customer situations is foundational for building effective playbook and automating some outreach.
- As digital customer success plans mature, many redundant tasks should be automated, enabling team members to focus on building long-term relationships with their customers to drive loyalty and growth. Ensuring our end users can focus on strategic work is in our DNA at FloQast. Our software was developed by accountants who grew frustrated with manual tasks that could be automated or augmented by technology.
Digital strategy is a must for every customer success organization. In the end, it will be the companies that focus on software-assisted customer success that win. Imagine if you are getting heart surgery, but the hospital’s use of robotics is focused on cost savings rather than your well-being. You would likely find a different hospital. The best DCS strategies will drive great customer experience and cost savings will be a positive externality. As technology continues to evolve, we can expect to see new strategies and tactics emerge that will make both the human and digital sides of CS more effective.
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Justin Smith is the Global Vice President, Professional Services and Success at FloQast.