“Meet your clients the place they’re.” Should you’ve ever been in any sort of customer-facing position throughout your profession, I’m optimistic you’ve heard this phrase numerous instances.
So, the place are your clients? Are your clients residing inside their e-mail inboxes?
Effectively, we hope they’re, as a result of we actually need them to open and browse and click on all of the emails we ship them! (Elevate your hand for those who simply had this thought. No judgment, I promise.)
Do you dwell inside your e-mail inbox?
No? So why would your clients? And, if your clients will not be, the truth is, residing inside their e-mail inboxes, why would you rely so closely on e-mail as a digital engagement channel to work together with them?
Don’t get me improper, I really like a powerful e-mail marketing campaign when it’s achieved with intentionality and personalization. And I utterly perceive that whenever you’re simply beginning to construct a digital buyer success technique and program, e-mail is usually the best, quickest low-hanging fruit. However digital buyer success is extra than simply sending automated emails. With so many different channels at our disposal, it’s nicely previous time for buyer success leaders to assume extra creatively about reaching their clients the place they’re.
How? Through the use of channels exterior of e-mail, after all! Listed below are my high 4 favourite different digital engagement channels for buyer success groups.
1: In-app notifications and guides
You need your clients to be in your product utilizing it as a lot as potential, so talk with them there! It’s no accident that I positioned this primary on my listing, in-app is likely one of the absolute only digital engagement channels for CS groups on the market. My favourite technique to describe the idea of in-app communication is to say “it’s like Microsoft’s Clippy from the 90’s, solely really useful.”
ChurnZero’s in-app instruments provide help to attain clients once they’re at their most engaged, inside your individual product.
The purpose of in-app messaging ought to usually focus round educating your clients and guiding them by your product. It tends to be particularly impactful throughout onboarding, as the proper messages and guides, proven to new clients based mostly on their habits in your platform, may help them shortly and simply rise up to hurry and begin making your expertise part of their routine. Whereas not the first objective, this channel also can are available very useful throughout pressing, time-sensitive conditions, similar to notifying clients of an outage.
Whether or not you make the most of in-app performance in your favourite buyer success platform, or your product staff has already constructed this functionality into your product natively, it’s an absolute no-brainer!
2: Informal dialog instruments
I’m at all times tempted to title this class as “chat,” however I don’t need any confusion between interpersonal chat instruments like Slack, WhatsApp, and SMS textual content message, versus chatbots. Whereas chatbots are an more and more widespread and efficient automation choice, I have a tendency to think about them extra as a reactive buyer assist instrument than one for proactive buyer success. So, I need to concentrate on the opposite messaging channels I discussed as a substitute.
When used thoughtfully, informal chat channels like Slack, WhatsApp, and textual content message might be extremely impactful in successfully speaking together with your clients. This may be controversial, I do know, particularly since I’ve included channels which might be usually thought-about “private” relatively than “skilled.” However keep in mind, your clients already dwell in these areas on a regular basis, so that is actually the last word in “assembly your clients the place they’re.”
3: Buyer group
I really like buyer communities as a result of they provide a one-to-many construction however are completely crammed to the brim with private connection. Since an absence of human-to-human contact is such a standard knock on digital methods, it is a nice channel for individuals who are involved about their buyer interactions feeling too impersonal.
Communities aren’t new, to make sure, however have shifted over time from nearly completely being owned and managed by advertising groups, to now steadily being applied and run by buyer success. This shift has been distinguished over the past a number of years, with the annual Buyer Success Management Examine reporting that whereas simply 24% of CS organizations utilized group in 2020, this had jumped to 32% by 2023.
ChurnZero redesigned its buyer group to place natural engagement and helpful content material entrance and heart.
In case you have an present buyer group that’s run by advertising, assist, product (or another person fully), this could be a nice instance of assembly your clients the place they’re. Alternatively, for those who’re ranging from scratch, chances are you’ll find yourself with extra of a “for those who construct it, they may come” mentality.
4: Video content material
Alright, so video isn’t technically a supply channel, however relatively a medium that must be included in your digital technique. Nevertheless it’s price mentioning on this listing as a result of it actually might be that priceless. Movies might be delivered by any and the entire channels I’ve already talked about (and sure, by way of e-mail too.)
Coaching modules, product ideas, dwell and recorded webinars, video case research, even automated govt enterprise evaluations (EBRs) within the type of animated movies – these are all modern methods to make use of video to take your digital buyer success to the subsequent stage.
So, are you prepared to interrupt out of your e-mail (in)field? I do know your clients are! They need to work together with you on their phrases, within the locations they already are (or the locations they need to be). Comfortable automating!
Marley Wagner is a contract Digital Buyer Success Advisor and Fractional Chief Advertising and marketing Officer. Her work facilities on serving to B2B tech firms enhance income and speed up progress with each potential and present shoppers by natural channels that emphasize model popularity and belief.
