In just some brief weeks, I’ll be taking the stage alongside Chief Listening Officer Bob London at ChurnZero’s ZERO-IN 2024 convention to speak about easy methods to automate buyer success with out sacrificing buyer intimacy. Bob is an skilled in buyer discovery and listening expertise. My experience, as you recognize from my articles right here, lies in all issues automation and digital buyer expertise.
On the floor, these ideas could seem to be polar opposites. However Bob and I are able to persuade ZERO-IN attendees that they’re the right pair.
We’ll discover easy methods to create an efficient digital technique that removes repetitive work, frees up time for extra strategic buyer conversations, and makes these buyer conversations higher and more practical. Let’s look into how this is applicable to a few key touchpoints within the buyer journey: onboarding, quarterly enterprise evaluations (QBRs), and renewal.
Onboarding
As Lincoln Murphy says, “the seeds of churn are planted early,” so onboarding new prospects successfully and effectively is totally vital to long-term success. This isn’t information to CS professionals, but onboarding remains to be a standard drawback space for a lot of corporations and a frustration level for a lot of prospects. Too typically, it’s clunky, takes too lengthy, and doesn’t encourage lots of buyer confidence in what’s to return.
First, we automate, to streamline the method and unlock buyer success supervisor (CSM) time. The KPIs you’re trying to affect listed here are sooner time to onboard (TTO) and time to worth (TTV). Listed here are a number of the particular digital CS ways I like to recommend implementing throughout onboarding:
1: Automate the handoff e mail from the gross sales rep to the CSM.
Remember to embody each a customer-facing e mail and an inner e mail. The client-facing e mail is meant to introduce the shopper to their new CSM (after you’ve already defined the CSM’s position earlier within the gross sales course of). The inner e mail, alternatively, ought to be used to share data discovered within the gross sales course of, just like the buyer’s targets, largest ache factors, and another must-know data.
2: Automate the brand new buyer welcome e mail, with on-line scheduling for kickoff name.
This e mail ought to be triggered after the handoff e mail and will come “from” the newly assigned CSM, not a generic inbox.
3: Deploy in-app guides and walkthroughs.
In-app is without doubt one of the strongest instruments at your disposal for brand new prospects. These guides and walkthroughs can be utilized to seamlessly present customers round your platform after their first login, take them step-by-step any required setup that may be completed straight in your product, and information them via their first use of key options.
4: Contemplate grouping your implementation requires technical setup.
Moderately than internet hosting devoted periods for every new buyer to stroll them via any required technical setup, contemplate choosing group periods the place a small cohort of latest prospects can undergo the method all collectively (bonus – this can assist construct an early sense of connection and change into an excellent lead-in to workplace hours periods or your buyer group)
Now, implementing these automated engagement factors shouldn’t imply that your CSMs are uninvolved throughout onboarding – in truth, it’s simply the other. With an enormous chunk of repetitive, handbook work off of their plates, CSMs will be capable to spend their time making an excellent greater affect at first of a brand new buyer’s relationship along with your firm. In accordance with Bob, constructing belief and alignment with prospects throughout onboarding ought to be their focus, quite than merely checking a bunch of bins.
Associated: Why SaaS implementations fail, with 11 errors to keep away from.
CSMs ought to let the automation do the box-checking for them, and as a substitute use their invaluable time with prospects to dig deep into their broader enterprise and targets. To perform this, Bob suggests beginning the dialog with a quiet thoughts and an open aperture. This deep listening approach will set the tone to ask ‘truth-seeking’ questions through the early days of the brand new buyer relationship, like “if I may sneak into your subsequent board or govt management assembly, what do you suppose is the highest precedence or problem they’re engaged on for the subsequent yr or so?” By asking high-level questions like this early on, CSMs will be capable to join the worth of your product to those broader initiatives down the highway.
QBRs
Quarterly enterprise evaluations (QBRs), or govt enterprise evaluations (EBRs), are a relentless all through a buyer’s journey. It’s proper within the title – they’re quarterly! In the event that they’re taking place 4 instances a yr, they should present worth to your buyer. Interval. Lengthy gone are the times the place you should use a QBR as a “check-in” or a pulse verify on their buyer well being.
As Bob typically says, “prospects have QBR fatigue.” You’re not the one vendor of their tech stack, which add as much as lots of conferences that nearly at all times really feel like they’re all about you – the seller, quite than the shopper. And let’s face it, most QBRs are manner too one-sided, with you speaking loads and the shopper speaking just a bit. So, how can we resolve this? You guessed it, automation first! Right here’s what I like to recommend:
1: Automate your present QBR content material.
This will take form in a pair other ways. It might appear like an auto-populated PDF doc, and even higher, a video recorded by your CSM or created utilizing AI.
2: Ship this automated content material to your buyer no less than one week earlier than your scheduled assembly.
By sharing prematurely, your buyer has time to overview and course of the knowledge on their very own time and in their very own manner.
3: When the assembly comes round, use the time to speak about extra necessary issues.
By sharing related data along with your prospects in a manner they need to obtain it, you’re more likely to have the ability to craft QBR periods your prospects really need to attend. With the knowledge already of their palms forward of time, they’re extra more likely to interact by asking you questions on what you’ve shared as soon as they’ve had time to digest it. And extra importantly, the time might be spent asking them questions. About their enterprise, about their priorities, about their challenges.
Associated: Be taught to talk your prospects’ love languages – a ChurnZero Q&A with Bob London.
Bob’s favourite ‘truth-seeking’ query to ask prospects throughout QBRs is “what’s the largest factor that stunned you because you began utilizing our resolution?” This might reveal a possibility to shut their expectation hole, or their reply could in truth be a pleasing shock for you. For additional engagement and alignment, use Bob’s deep listening strategy of hitting your “mute” button as quickly as you’ve requested the query. This can show you how to keep away from the temptation to “counsel” a solution for them. The mixture of this centered query and true listening places the concentrate on the shopper, their expertise, and their wants, quite than on you as the seller.
Renewals
Earlier than I get into the small print on utilizing automation to create extra time for strategic buyer conversations round renewal, I need to preface all the matter with one thing vital that Bob and I vehemently agree on: your renewal course of should begin manner earlier than the contract finish date. Once I say manner earlier than, I imply six or extra months prematurely (sure, at or earlier than the midway level of a year-long contract). That being stated, listed here are a number of the finest methods to include automation into these (early) renewal processes:
1: Digitally collect desired buyer outcomes and/or renewal intention 6+ months earlier than renewal.
You could also be pondering “my CSMs already ask their prospects these questions.” If that’s the case, that’s nice! However what about your prospects that don’t have a devoted CSM? Or those who the CSM can’t get on the telephone? And is it actually scalable to have particular person CSMs asking each buyer each time anyway? (Trace: the reply is not any.)
Enter asking these questions at scale. You may both do that via a survey or by asking your prospects to answer to an automatic (however customized, related, and “from” an individual) e mail. Both manner, I like to recommend utilizing a model of the identical query(s) your CSMs are already asking enterprise prospects. I additionally advise avoiding asking fully open-ended questions the place prospects need to provide you with a solution from scratch. As an alternative, give examples and/or choices for them to pick or use as a place to begin for his or her response.
2: Create automated renewal notifications.
Particularly for those who’re planning for renewals far prematurely, it turns into a problem to maintain monitor of whose renewal is when. Use automation to create each inner notifications (for when human intervention is required), and customer-facing messages to maintain the renewal entrance of thoughts on your buyer as properly.
Associated: ChurnZero’s Renewal and Forecast Hub makes it simple to maintain monitor of renewals. See how on this video.
When planning and making ready for renewals, your focus ought to be all about insights. What are you able to be taught from the shopper? How can that inform your renewal conversations with that buyer? How does that, in flip, inform your renewal forecast? Didn’t hear again from a bunch of consumers on that survey or automated e mail about their desired outcomes and/or renewal intention? Deliver it up in your subsequent QBR! Bob suggests asking in an surprising manner, like “for those who bought an outreach from one among our opponents tomorrow, how would you react on a scale of 1 (ignore) to five (in all probability get again to them to be taught extra)?” This query could take them abruptly, so embrace the silence. Bob suggests listening for patrons’ “verbal ellipses,” which can point out they’ve extra to share! He additionally explains that their reply to this query can reveal an space the place it is advisable present finest practices or extra insights, so it’s well worth the wait.
I’m certain you observed a transparent theme in any respect three factors within the buyer journey, so I’ll minimize proper to the chase. Strategic and intentional automation ought to be used to streamline processes and take away repetitive handbook work. As soon as that point is freed out of your calendar, use it to have deeper and extra revealing buyer conversations to uncover hidden alternatives, dangers, and insights.
Marley Wagner is a contract Digital Buyer Success Marketing consultant and Fractional Chief Advertising Officer. Her work facilities on serving to B2B tech corporations enhance income and speed up development with each potential and current purchasers via natural channels that emphasize model repute and belief.
