What are the most important customer success skills or perspectives that others inside an organization could benefit from that would improve their day to day work?
Core skills are a combination of both soft and hard skills.
Communication skills, analytical skills, problem-solving skills, product knowledge, and inter-departmental and intra-departmental relationship building. Emotional intelligence is something you must have and believe at your core. This is the only thing that will bail you out when all else fails - your gut! Trust it! Adaptability, as I said, change is the only constant. Be fluid and nimble to customers changing landscape. Empathy puts you in the customer’s shoes. Active listening skills do give you an edge tom building trust. If you are new to your job, even more so. Remember, two ears and one mouth for a reason.
Live in the zone, a customer-centric culture. You may need to play an instrumental part in influencing this change within the company.
What I enjoy most about the customer success role is the lens of seeing customers grow from their initial commitment to successful renewals and expansions where the customer achieves their goals. Throughout this journey, many teams often engage and work with the customer to support this motion. Having a view of the end-to-end customer journey and a strong understanding of the motions that drive customer value is a perspective that can benefit most areas of the business.
Here are a few key ones:
Customer-Centric Mindset: The ability to put yourself in the customer's shoes and truly understand their needs, expectations, and experiences is crucial. This perspective can improve decision-making across all roles by always prioritizing what's best for the customer.
Effective Communication: This is a critical skill in customer success and can also benefit anyone in an organization. Being able to clearly and effectively convey information, whether it's responding to a query, explaining a complex process, or presenting an idea, is vital for collaboration and productivity.
Active Listening: Customer success professionals are trained to really listen to the customer, beyond just what's being verbally communicated. This skill can help individuals in any role understand their colleagues, superiors, or subordinates better, leading to more effective collaborations.
Problem-Solving: In customer success, quick and effective problem-solving is key. This skill is also very beneficial in other roles, as it allows individuals to handle challenges more effectively and contribute to the organization's success.
Empathy: In customer success, empathy helps in understanding customers' frustrations and needs. This can also be a great skill for internal interactions within an organization, leading to better interpersonal relationships and a more positive work environment.
Relationship Building: The ability to build and maintain strong relationships, a core skill in customer success, can also help build internal relationships. This can lead to better teamwork and collaboration.
Product Knowledge: While specific product knowledge might not be transferable, the mindset of deeply understanding the tools, services, or products your organization offers can be helpful in any role.
Adaptability: Customer success professionals often have to adapt to changing customer needs or organizational changes. This skill is valuable for any employee, as it allows them to better handle change and uncertainty.
Data-Driven Decision Making: In customer success, data is often used to understand customer behavior, identify issues, and track success. The ability to use data to inform decisions can be valuable in many different roles.
There's only one that springs to mind and it's "Put the customer at the centre of everything you do".
If every department thinks customer first, then the whole company wins, as well as the customers!
Top Customer Success Mentors
