Proactive communication is a must - especially if you want to retain customers.
Want customers to maximize the value of your product and become brand ambassadors?
Of course you do, you’re reading CS Spotlight.
We all want customers to fall in love with our product when they first create their accounts.
The bad news? This rarely happens. If CSMs want their customers to succeed, they need to make an effort and prove the value of their products.
What is Proactive Communication?
In short, it is all about initiating conversations with customers with one goal in mind:
Value delivery.
By changing our approach from reactive (i.e. customers contact us) to proactive, we get to:
Build stronger relationships by showcasing our commitment.
Preventing misunderstandings and proactively solving problems.
Ensuring customers make the most out of our product.
That is, as long as we customize our communication for each customer and their Customer Journey stage.
Meet Sarah Lewis & GetFit
Today, I’ll show you what proactive communication looks like in real life with two fictional guests*:
Sarah Lewis - our customer
GetFit - Fitness and Wellness Company
Sarah Lewis - Customer Overview
GetFit - Company Overview
Now that we know Sarah's goals and GetFit's product, we can dive into the Customer Journey and each touchpoint.
Stage #1: Activation
Sarah’s Side
Sarah heard about GetFit from another colleague and decided to try it out.
So, she creates her GetFit account and upgrades to their “Sports” Pro Plan.
10 minutes later, she receives an email from Amber, her new GetFit Customer Success Manager.
This email includes a personalized welcome video and an invitation to a Kickoff Meeting.
GetFit’s Side
When Sarah signed up, she entered a customized Customer Journey to match her Persona.
These two steps allow GetFit to:
Anticipate needs, pain points, and goals.
Ensure Sarah receives relevant resources and campaigns.
Stage #2: Onboarding
Sarah’s Side
Sarah successfully activates her new Pro Plan and moves on to the Onboarding stage -
3 weeks dedicated to getting to know GetFit, setting goals, and receiving a “Starter” meal plan.
During this time, Amber takes multiple actions to help her get started:
Attending a Kickoff Meeting to get to know Sarah, define the goals, and set expectations.
Starting a customized Onboarding campaign and proactively answering common questions.
Sending emails to celebrate major milestones.
GetFit’s Side
Amber keeps an eye out for any internal errors or external bugs that would require reaching out to Sarah.
Stage #3: Engagement/Adoption
Sarah’s Side
3 weeks have passed and Sarah has become a GetFit expert.
She’s now able to enjoy all the Pro features and work towards achieving her fitness and nutrition goals.
From this point on, Amber reaches out only when she had value to offer, for example:
Sending progress updates and recommendations to help Sarah achieve her goals.
Celebrating major milestones and goal achievements.
Offering bi-annually check-in meetings.
Sharing relevant best practices and educational content.
GetFit’s Side
GetFit uses the "Customer Status" system, which divides customers into 3 groups:
Churn: customers at a high risk of churn due to inactivity or lack of major progress.
Retain: active customers who use GetFit enough to renew but not to expand.
Expand: active customers with high expansion potential.
Every 2 months, Amber re-assesses Sarah's "Customer Status" based on her usage data and CS KPIs.
She then takes the relevant actions to customize touchpoints and maximize GetFit's ROI:
Churn:
Identify under-utilized features that will increase Sarah's ROI.
"Emergency" check-in meeting to identify pain points and roadblocks.
Win-back email campaign aimed to remind Sarah of GetFit's value.
Retain:
Identify under-utilized features that will increase Sarah's ROI.
Provide GetFit's educational resources on fitness and wellness.
Expand:
Celebrate goal achievement and set new goals.
Offer Sarah to become a "Community Partner" to help others achieve their goals.
Schedule an Expansion Call aimed to bring GetFit to Sarah's company.
Stage #4: Renewal
Sarah’s Side
“Wow! Has it already been a year? Time flies when you’re having fun!”, Sarah thinks while looking at the renewal email.
A month before the renewal date, Sarah and Amber jump on a Pre-Renewal Kickoff Meeting with the goals of:
Addressing any contract/price changes.
Reviewing Sarah’s progress towards her initial goals.
Setting new goals for the new year with GetFit.
Identifying any expansion opportunities.
GetFit’s Side
Using the "Customer Status", Amber assesses the likelihood of renewal and expansion.
This way, she can provide Sarah with the right offer - whether it's a higher-tier Pro Plan or company-wide quote.
Final Thoughts...
There are lots of techniques for proactive communication, and the ones we talked about are just a few examples.
No matter which technique you choose, make sure it's valuable to the customer and their unique goals.
** The information provided in this blog post is for entertainment purposes only. All names, characters, organizations, events, and incidents portrayed in this post are fictitious and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.