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A win-win: Earning while also gaining valuable insights into the customer's
business. Through this, the customer success team can
revenue through initiate a range of actions that can increase customer
spending, driving revenue for the company.
customer success Customer success characteristics

To make money for its company, a customer success team
needs to possess three main features:

1. They must have a clear and thorough understanding
of the customers' needs and objectives. While a
company may sell one set of products, each customer
has their own specific goals. The customer success
officer needs to spend time learning about their
client's needs and objectives.

Once the officer has a proper grasp of what exactly
the customer requires and hopes to achieve, they will
be able to provide the right solution or service by
recommending the right mix of product features.

2. They must be able and willing to play an advocacy
By Duleepa Karunaratne role. Providing a product or service may not reap
Applova the expected results if customers do not make the
necessary process-level changes. For instance, if a
n most traditional organizational structures, the restaurant installs a self-ordering kiosk, the expected
sales team is usually the only revenue-generating efficiency and increased orders will not happen unless
unit, while other departments are considered cost the front-of-house functions are properly reorganized
I centers. This is not to say that these other units are to incorporate this new technology.
a complete drain on a company's resources—far from it.
The customer success personnel need to consult with
Each group has its distinct role to play and adds value to their customer, guiding them on how to realign their
an establishment in its own unique way. However, more processes so as to benefit from what they have bought.
often than not, just one team's work results in visible and
direct revenue generation, and that is sales. It is the sales 3. They must actively market the company's offerings.
team that courts a client, converting them from a lead to a The sales team will likely sell a client one product
customer, bringing in money for the company. or service and be done with them. As the customer
success team works with a client, they become privy
An often overlooked and undervalued department in to other needs or gaps that were not apparent to the
most organizations is customer success. This unit is members of the sales team.
usually responsible for customer training and retention.
Among the duties of the customer success team is Once a requirement has been identified, the customer
facilitating smooth onboarding of the customer. They are success officer should recommend other offerings that
also responsible for cultivating a close relationship with could fulfill these, clearly describing the advantages
customers throughout their lifecycle, guiding, advising to the customer. Customer success personnel should
and helping. This continuing connection has tremendous proactively promote upgrades and new purchases as
potential for revenue generation. their customer's business evolves.

The sales and customer success teams operate in very While each customer success agent needs to embody the
different ways. The sales team's sole goal is lead conversion above qualities, for them to truly thrive, the company's
and, once the deal has been clinched, they move on to the product offerings must be solid. The company must ensure
next lead. The customer success team, on the other hand, that it has a high-quality product suite with multiple
works toward maintaining a long-term relationship with a upsell and cross-sell options for the customer success
customer. Their aim is to retain the patronage of the client, team to promote. Consider, for instance, a quick-service
keeping them on board for as long as possible. restaurant. They could start off with web ordering and
then, as online order ahead becomes popular, they could
The ongoing engagement with a customer puts the upgrade to their own custom-branded mobile ordering
customer success team in a position of privilege. They app.
are able to win the trust and confidence of a customer

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