So You Want to Build a Customer Team?

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Editor Notes

The Scoop

Hey CS trailblazers!

Welcome back to "The Customer Champion"—your weekly base camp in the expedition of Customer Success across Europe and Asia Pacific.

You're out there every day, helping businesses of all sizes grow and succeed. That's why this week, we're focusing on a crucial topic for our friends in the small and medium enterprise (SME) space: "Key Considerations for SMEs Building a Customer Function."

In this week's edition:

• We're breaking down the top five considerations for SMEs looking to build or enhance their customer function, with practical, real-world examples you can apply to your strategy.

• Clear, actionable tips for SMEs to implement right away, no matter where they are in their customer function journey.

Whether you're working solo in a startup, or managing a small team in a growing business, we've got insights to help you build an effective customer function. Our mission? To make this newsletter your practical guide for creating a strong CS operation, no matter your company's size.

So, let's dive into the essentials of building a customer function in SMEs!

Best regards,
Tomas - Chief CS Enthusiast, The Customer Champion

P.S. I recently shared some thoughts about how Customer Success is evolving from a cost center to a revenue engine. With McKinsey reporting that 72% of revenue comes from existing customers, it's clear that CS teams need to become strategic partners in driving business outcomes. Check out my full thoughts on this.

Featured Article

Key Considerations for SMEs Building a Customer Function

Remember when "customer service" was just a complaint hotline? Well, buckle up, because we're about to take a quick tour of building a customer function in SMEs. It's time to transform your customer approach from a reactive repair shop to a proactive performance lab.

Now, let's dive into the five key considerations for SMEs building their customer function. We have used the Zendesk 51 customer service statistics you need to know to support this week's article. Check it out after this!

1. Navigating limited resources and budget

For SMEs, every penny counts. But here's the kicker: investing in your customer function isn't just a cost, it's a growth strategy.

According to Zendesk's research, 80% of companies are planning to increase their investment in customer experience initiatives. Why? Because the ROI is clear—companies that focus on customer experience (CX) can increase revenue by up to 80%.

2. Cultivating a customer-centric culture

Customer experience isn't just nice to have—it's essential for survival. The evidence? More than half of consumers will switch to a competitor after just one bad experience, and 73% will abandon a brand after multiple poor interactions.

But here's the good news: 75% of consumers will spend more with businesses that provide good customer experience. That's right—great service directly impacts your bottom line!

3. Choosing the right technology

Technology is the engine that powers your customer function. But choosing the right tech can feel like navigating a labyrinth.

The data shows that 71% of customer service agents say that switching between multiple tools makes ticket resolution take longer. Even more telling? Only 35% of companies have their customer data fully integrated with their service tools.

4. Balancing personalization and efficiency

With the rise of AI and automation, customers expect personalized experiences. But as a SME, how do you deliver personalization without burning out your team?

The stats are clear: 61% of consumers expect more personalised service with AI, and 91% of customer experience trendsetters believe AI can effectively personalize experiences.

5. Measuring customer success

You can't improve what you don't measure. For SMEs building a customer function, defining and tracking the right metrics is crucial.

Surprisingly, two-thirds of SMEs don't even measure customer satisfaction. However, companies that do track these metrics show that fast-growing SMEs maintain customer satisfaction rates between 83-95% across different business types.

Building a customer function in a SME is no small feat. It requires strategic thinking, efficient resource allocation, and a genuine commitment to customer success. But the rewards—increased customer loyalty, higher retention rates, and business growth—make it a journey worth embarking on.

Remember, in the world of customer success, it's not the size of the company in the race, but the size of the race in the company.

Quick Tips

Ready to Level Up Your Customer Function?

Try these quick tips on for size:

Start a "Customer Feedback Friday"

• Set up a simple feedback collection system using free tools like Google Forms.

• Dedicate an hour every Friday to review customer feedback as a team.

• Share insights across departments to foster a customer-centric culture.

Implement a basic health score

• Define your key metrics and set up a spreadsheet to track them.

• Create a simple scoring system based on 3-5 key metrics (e.g., product usage, support tickets, Net Promoter Score).

• Use this to identify at-risk customers and prioritize outreach.

Launch a "Customer Win of the Week" program

• Ask your team to submit customer win stories and choose one to highlight.

• Celebrate a customer success story each week in your team meetings.

• Share these wins company-wide to boost morale and reinforce customer focus.

Create a DIY knowledgebase

• Identify your top 10 most frequently asked questions and write clear answers.

• Start documenting answers to common customer questions.

• Use a free tool like Google Sites to create a simple, searchable knowledgebase.

Implement a "Customer Insights" Slack channel

• Set up the channel and share the first customer insight to kick things off.

• Create a dedicated channel for sharing customer feedback and insights.

• Encourage all employees to contribute, fostering a customer-centric culture.

Remember, building a strong customer function doesn't happen overnight. Start with one or two of these tips and gradually incorporate more as you see results. Small, consistent steps lead to big customer success wins!

Events

Save The Date

Adobe Summit
 📅 Date: March 18-20, 2025
 📍 Location: Las Vegas, NV, USA
 🌐 Website: summit.adobe.com/na/ 

All4Customer
 📅 Date: April 1-3, 2025
 📍 Location: Paris, France
 🌐 Website: www.all4customer-paris.com/en

Chief Customer & Marketing Leaders
 📅 Date: March 19-20, 2025
 📍 Location: Singapore
 🌐 Website: www.cxnetwork.com/events-chiefcustomerandmarketingleaders

Deep Dive

What We've Been Reading

🧑‍🌾 The Customer Success Pioneer: The First 12 Months of Your Journey Into Growth by Kellie Lucas

🏅The Startup's Guide to Customer Success: How to Champion the Customer at Your Company by Jennifer Chiang

🐘 Small Giants: Companies That Choose to Be Great Instead of Big by Bo Burlingham

What We've Been Listening Too

Merging Heap, Hotjar, and ContentSquare: Building a Unified Customer Success Strategy ft. Tushar Bansal (SVP of Customer Success, ContentSquare)

Q&A

Your Questions Answered

Q: I'm a founder of a small startup. Do I really need a dedicated Customer Success function, or can I handle it myself?

A: While you can certainly start by handling customer success yourself, creating a dedicated function, even if it's just one person to begin with, can be incredibly valuable. It allows you to focus on strategic aspects of your business while ensuring your customers receive consistent, high-quality support.

Q: We're operating on a tight budget. What's the most cost-effective way to start building our customer function?

A: Start by leveraging affordable or free tools like HubSpot CRM to manage customer interactions. Focus on high-impact, low-cost initiatives like creating a knowledgebase or implementing a "Customer Win of the Week" program. Remember, building a customer function is about mindset and processes as much as it is about tools and resources.

Q: How do I measure the success of our customer function when we're just starting out?

A: Begin with simple, easy-to-track metrics like customer satisfaction scores, Net Promoter Score (NPS), and customer retention rates. As you grow, you can implement more sophisticated measures like Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) and expansion revenue. The key is to start measuring early and consistently, even if you start small.

Q: We're a B2B company with only a few large clients. Does the advice about building a customer function still apply to us?

A: Absolutely! In fact, when you have a small number of high-value clients, a strong customer function becomes even more critical. Focus on creating deep, strategic relationships with each client. Consider implementing account health scores and regular business reviews to ensure you're continually providing value and identifying growth opportunities.

Q: How can I foster a customer-centric culture across our small team when everyone is wearing multiple hats?

A: Start by making customer feedback visible to everyone in the company. Share customer stories in team meetings, create a Slack channel for customer insights, and involve team members from different functions in customer interactions when possible.

Got a burning CS question? Send it our way, and we might feature it in our next issue. Email your questions to [email protected] with the subject line "CS Insights Q&A".