Picture this: As a small business owner, you’ve purchased a new POS system to process your customers’ transactions during the bustling holiday season.
However, something in the software is faulty, holding up the checkout line and your financial livelihood.
After waiting on hold for over an hour with customer support, you reach an agent who’s sympathetic — but their technical knowledge is lacking. Instead of receiving solutions, they tell you, “I’m forwarding your feedback to our technical team.”
Dejected, you realize this entire experience was a failure because the organization hadn’t realized an essential business truth: Customer support does not automatically translate to customer success.
In the tech industry, customer success teams have become vital for a product’s continuous growth as consumers navigate increasingly complex updates and innovation. A key part of that process? Equipping customer success managers with a thorough onboarding program, regularly updated training sessions and continuous learning resources that promote a company’s shared goals. In fact, more than 69 percent of customer success managers agreed that a thorough education about a product was essential to reducing churn and increasing satisfaction, according to Customer Success Collective’s 2021 State of Customer Success report.
“The customer success role, at its root, is about relationship building, problem solving and creative storytelling,” said Vanessa Rodriguez, partner success manager at e-commerce company ShopRunner. “As a customer success lead, you represent solutions to grow, scale and improve your client’s business all at once.”
For Rodriguez, ShopRunner’s value doesn’t just stem from its ability to connect consumers to their favorite brands using data-driven content — it’s because employees push to establish themselves as experts who understand their clients’ pain points and deliver solutions in real time.
Built In Chicago sat down with Rodriguez to learn more about the modern evolution of the customer success role, how ShopRunner stays ahead of the curve through adaptable training programs and the quintessential skills any customer success manager should possess for a prosperous career.
ShopRunner’s marketplace connects consumers to the brands they love. The members-only service allows customers to select ShopRunner as their delivery service, and they receive free two-day shipping.
Looking back over the last few years, what has changed about the customer success role and what has stayed the same?
The speed at which new technologies and platform solutions have emerged has required more depth and creativity of the customer success role. There are a plethora of solutions competing for the client’s attention, so you have to find creative ways to show your value, problem solve and remain competitive.
What remains the same is the need to build strong relationships, the ability to anticipate the client’s needs and find innovative ways to provide value.
How has ShopRunner’s team structure and onboarding training adapted to broader changes in your industry or among your customers’ needs?
The disruptions to supply chains in recent years exposed the dependencies across the entire e-commerce purchase funnel. We’ve had to ensure that we are training our customer success teams to understand the entire funnel from acquisition to supply chain and logistics. This sets us up to have more insightful conversations, ask thoughtful questions and anticipate where we can make the greatest impact across multiple touchpoints.
There is also a need for more rigorous onboarding and creative team building because we’ve lost that in-person connection and bonding with teams working from home.
Presence is important to me when I think about building a team — I want a team who knows how to command attention and hold it.”
What’s the most important skill or character trait customer success professionals in your industry need to have?
You need emotional intelligence, curiosity and presence. You have to be able to read the room and listen mindfully.
Presence is important to me when I think about building a team — I want a team who knows how to command attention and hold it. A confident demeanor and strong presence are key to building trust.
