Interview Customer Success as a part of Product Improvement

Recently a former colleague reached out and asked if I would sponsor an introduction to a connection on LinkedIn. The request was simple, just an introduction. I pressed for a little bit of detail as to avoid being part of a sales solicitation. “He utilizes our product and I wanted to collect his feedback directly, my attempts to e-mail him have gone unanswered.”

This immediately made me wonder; “Where is your customer success manager and why are they not providing a direct line into this key stakeholder?”

A well developed Voice of the Customer program opens the door for your product team to have direct access to your customers without having to solely rely on phone calls, e-mail, surveys, or LinkedIn requests. Too often we forget as CS leaders to bring Product into the conversations and give them space to interview our front line CS managers. They need this information.

Your customers are in a constant conversation about what they love, what they wish the product would do, and when the product does something they do not like. Arming your product team with this information will overwhelmingly empower them to make your product the best that it can be. Utilize this information, feed your business, and close the loop with your customer as the product development are scheduled and ultimately released. This is one of many contributions Customer Success can make in building revenue for your business. It is also important as a CS leader for you to understand if a particular feature or asset of your product that is well loved by your customers is going to change!

Here are some suggestions on utilizing customer feedback for product development:

Educate Product Leaders on What Customer Success Can Offer: Start at the top with an open conversation about what information your Customer Success managers can provide to product development team members. Gain an understanding of what data maps to critical success criteria that Product is measured on. Collaborate together on ways to organize the feedback so it is understood and consumed efficiently. Listen to Product Management on how they organize stories. This will be critical for your CS managers to understand as they prepare to organize the feedback from the customers.

Common Mission: Lay some ground rules with your CS managers ahead of the Product forum. This open forum has to have some structure to it. They should organize customer feedback, positive — negative — passive into the categories that your Product leaders discussed in your initial meeting. This will make the best use of time and give your Product Managers a feeling of collaboration.

Be Prepared for Follow Up: As the conversation in your customer forum happens, take notes on any relevant feedback. Give the Product Managers the space to review roadmap items and ask for commitments. As your CS managers receive return feedback from the Product Manager they have to ensure that tasks are carried out. Product Managers will immediately begin to recognize that CS managers are the treasure trove they have been looking for.

Customer Council: As this conversation builds between Product and Customer Success I encourage you to begin forming a Customer Council. This should contain key stakeholders (no more than 1–2 from each customer) from the target customer persona. When you think about the structure look at including time for your customer base to present the use of your product and it’s benefits. Give your Product Managers space to present open feedback sessions that then turn into user stories for continued development. Sharing a meal or happy hour is a healthy way to close the loop with your customers at the end of your Customer Council. A byproduct of this is that you have now introduced a direct and personal connection between Product and your Customer.

The outcome from this project is measured in improved feature request to market cycles, competitive pricing, increased customer engagement, brand awareness as well as adoption; among a myriad of other ways. Customer feedback does not need to be a dry topic. Use it to your advantage and reap the rewards!

Continual Success!