TLDR: If you’re looking to measure customer health, start with understanding how important you are to each other. Where there’s asymmetry in the relationship, you’re likely facing future risk.
Other stuff
Do you have a User 360?
TLDR: Many companies have assembled a “Customer 360” profile from various data sources, and deployed tools to utilize that information. Customer Success apps are a good example of leveraging that data. However, many companies don’t yet have a “User 360” that drives different – and highly valuable – customer insights and engagement.
“Train the Trainer” is a terrifying term
TLDR: If you provide software, data services or other online services to businesses, you might be familiar with the term “train the trainer”. It’s a time-honored approach to deploying software to new users. It should also strike terror in the hearts of vendors.
If you believe, as we do, that adoption of your product is critical to customer retention and growth, then training might be the most pivotal adoption milestone of all. If it’s so important, can you entrust it to your customer?
The future of business software
Tom Tunguz wrote an insightful blog recently comparing legacy software applications with the new, disruptive ones.
He writes:
“A senior SaaS executive once told me, “Reports sell software.” In a top down sale, that’s absolutely true. The CEO wants better predictability of bookings so she’ll buy a CRM tool to gather the data. Classically, software has been built for that mantra.
In bottoms up sales, workflow sells software. And new SaaS companies who aim to displace incumbent systems of record will architect their products in a radically different way. They will be event-driven SaaS companies (emphasis is mine).”
I couldn’t agree more.
My start-up’s product is (was) event-driven
In the case of Bluenose, we were trying to help you unlock the value of user feedback (in the form of NPS surveys) and user behavior (in the form of product usage data).
This data should flow into your company continuously, and produces many valuable signals:
- As a signal about the health of your relationships with your users at a macro level
- As a signal about the health of your relationship with each user
- As a signal about where each user stands in their adoption journey
How can you use these signals?
The first signal unlocks the drivers of NPS, retention and churn in your business.
The second signal mobilizes your Customer Success team or guides your contact center agents.
The third signal enables you to target each user with relevant messaging on how to take their next adoption steps.
How does Tom’s thinking apply to your business?
If your job is to improve customer retention, “event-driven” is a provocative way to think about your customers and the events that should drive your engagement with them. The design of your customer-facing processes should be event-driven for sure.
If you’re in the role of designing products, it’s a clue about how to disrupt incumbent competitors (or fight off the upstarts if you’re being disrupted), by thinking about the events that should drive your app’s features.
If you’re in sales, it’s a way to frame your product as being different – and more valuable – than an incumbent product that doesn’t utilize events to drive a business process.
A final thought
One of the ways I like to think about customer events is how they drive scores.
You’re forecasting a customer renewal. Should the forecast probability (a score) be based on customer events?
- Sustained use of your app
- Survey responses
You’re scoring each customer’s health as part of a weekly Customer Success team meeting. Should the customer’s health score be based on events?
- Recent use of your app
- Recent responses to a survey
- Recent support tickets
- Changes in the customer’s team
Not only do events make for more accurate scores. They also pinpoint what’s changed in a score and make the next customer touch much more obvious.
The secret to getting value from your customer data
TLDR: If you want to retain and grow your customers, you’ll need to understand them first. And “understanding” them will quickly lead you to your customer data.
What’s the one thing you must do to unlock the power of that data?
Are we analyzing NPS® all wrong?
TLDR: If you believe in Net Promoter Score® (NPS) as a key measure of customer loyalty and future purchase intent (as I do), then you’re naturally drawn to analyzing your survey results. But are we doing it all wrong?
Four traits to look for when identifying a customer advocate
For any company, identifying the right people to champion your product is critical to your success. These people are your advocates.
3 steps to turn passives into promoters
TLDR: I’ve written previously about how to turn Detractors into fans and Promoters into advocates using your Net Promoter℠ program. However, Passives are another type of customer altogether. Read on for three ways you can turn more Passives into Promoters.
Use NPS® to boost your advocacy program in 3 Steps
TLDR: Advocates. References. Promoters. These customers are “gold” to your business’ ability to grow, and do so efficiently. However, the complaint I often hear is that there aren’t enough of them in hand. If you take a purposeful approach to your Net Promoter℠ program, you can meaningfully grow your advocate list.
Father’s Day 2016: in memoriam of Dave Y.
I’ve written a couple blogs before on Father’s Day in memory of my own dad, here and here. But today I’m writing about another father, whose recent death hit me hard.
Dave Yeung (DY) passed away a couple weeks ago. I didn’t know him well, but every time I met him I felt his warmth and generosity. I added him to my mental list of “guys I should invest time in getting to know better”. But that lost opportunity alone might not explain my sadness.
His death was a reminder of the many things that it means to be a dad.
Dave left behind two children under 10, and a wife. Dave had a 20-year career at HP and was a major breadwinner in his household. Dave died in his mid-40’s of cancer, after being a life-long athlete including competitive bike racing. His loss leaves a huge void in his family.
Dave’s loss makes me sad for the struggles his family will face as a result.
Dave’s loss makes me worry about my role as a dad, husband and provider. Can I be the same role model as him? What would happen to my family if I passed?
Yesterday was Dave’s memorial service. Hundreds of people showed up. Over a dozen stood up and said kind words about Dave. One speaker said Dave was his best friend. After two others had just said the same. He then joked that there were probably 20 people present who felt the same way.
After yesterday’s service, I took Clive on a beautiful hike in the Santa Cruz mountains. It was life affirming.
I reminded myself that these were the things I should be doing with my son. Teaching him the beauty of nature. The habit of exercise. The opportunity to have meaningful conversations.
What started as a sad day ended on a happier note. Dave reminded me to strive to live life to the fullest. To be the dad we all need to be.
Don MacLennan | High Tech Yankee 