Auctor purus, aliquet risus tincidunt erat nulla sed quam blandit mattis id gravida elementum, amet id libero nibh urna nisi sit sed. Velit enim at purus arcu sed ac. Viverra maecenas id netus euismod phasellus et tempus rutrum tellus nisi, amet porttitor facilisis aenean faucibus eu nec pellentesque id. Volutpat, pellentesque cursus sit at ut a imperdiet duis turpis duis ultrices gravida at aenean amet mattis sed aliquam augue nisl cras suscipit.
At elit elementum consectetur interdum venenatis et id vestibulum id imperdiet elit urna sed vulputate bibendum aliquam. Tristique lectus tellus amet, mauris lorem venenatis vulputate morbi condimentum felis et lobortis urna amet odio leo tincidunt semper sed bibendum metus, malesuada scelerisque laoreet risus duis.
Ullamcorper pellentesque a ultrices maecenas fermentum neque eget. Habitant cum esat ornare sed. Tristique semper est diam mattis elit. Viverra adipiscing vulputate nibh neque at. Adipiscing tempus id sed arcu accumsan ullamcorper dignissim pulvinar ullamcorper urna, habitasse. Lectus scelerisque euismod risus tristique nullam elementum diam libero sit sed diam rhoncus, accumsan proin amet eu nunc vel turpis eu orci sit fames.
“Sit enim porttitor vehicula consequat urna, eleifend tincidunt vulputate turpis, dignissim pulvinar ullamcorper”
Nisi in sem ipsum fermentum massa quisque cursus risus sociis sit massa suspendisse. Neque vulputate sed purus, dui sit diam praesent ullamcorper at in non dignissim iaculis velit nibh eu vitae. Bibendum euismod ipsum euismod urna vestibulum ut ligula. In faucibus egestas dui integer tempor feugiat lorem venenatis sollicitudin quis ultrices cras feugiat iaculis eget.
Id ac imperdiet est eget justo viverra nunc faucibus tempus tempus porttitor commodo sodales sed tellus eu donec enim. Lectus eu viverra ullamcorper ultricies et lacinia nisl ut at aliquet lacus blandit dui arcu at in id amet orci egestas commodo sagittis in. Vel risus magna nibh elementum pellentesque feugiat netus sit donec tellus nunc gravida feugiat nullam dignissim rutrum lacus felis morbi nisi interdum tincidunt. Vestibulum pellentesque cursus magna pulvinar est at quis nisi nam et sed in hac quis vulputate vitae in et sit. Interdum etiam nulla lorem lorem feugiat cursus etiam massa facilisi ut.
For most customer success departments, the internal department you work closest with and most often is definitely sales. And, for as much as you work to make customer success an organization-wide effort, your department leaders and/or executives are most likely the ones spearheading this initiative, leaving CSMs themselves free to deal with customer-focused tasks.
This is all to say that while working closely with sales departments comes naturally to most CSMs, bringing in other departments – such as marketing – can sometimes leave both customers and internal teams wanting more.
The old adage that ‘your current customers are your best marketing tool’ still holds true, even in the age of digital marketing and SaaS vendors. Your current customers know your product inside and out and, hopefully, have seen firsthand the value your solution provides and the support of your account management team. These current customers are the perfect resource for prospective customers to learn exactly why doing business with your organization is a good idea.
Additionally, asking a customer to participate in customer marketing initiatives can provide an additional personal touch for customers who may be feeling a little down about their service levels. Approaching a customer about a marketing opportunity shows them that you trust their opinion, that you value the business they’re bringing to the table, and that you are serious about providing exceptional service to take their account to the next level.
Bringing in customers to help out with marketing initiatives is no new task, which is why being creative and customer-focused in your customer marketing strategy is key.
Here are a few ways to bridge the gap between customer success and marketing to help improve retention and potentially even provide more satisfaction to customers:
Case studies are one of the most common types of customer marketing initiatives, but there are a few things to remember before passing a customer contact over to marketing. Your customers should be in the right ‘stage’ for a case study or else they may feel overwhelmed and put-upon. And the results need to be there as well. Increasing transparency into the customer journey for your marketing team so they aren’t constantly asking if a customer is ready for a case study can help streamline this process on both sides.
Who better than the people currently using your product to give feedback on new features? This initiative can work as a joint project between customer success, product, and marketing where a customer can have access to beta features and then give feedback which is then passed to marketing to develop content and material to take the new functionality to market.
Vendors have been asking customers to speak for them at conferences or on webinars for decades, so this one isn’t new. But taking a creative approach here – aka having a customer and CSM co-present on the value of support during an onboarding exercise – can take your events to the next level. And, of course, your team should treat your customer speaker as the VIP they are once the conference (or virtual event) arrives.
Asking your customers to provide a quote for your website, a blog post for an expert’s series, or to co-produce a whitepaper with your team can be a great way to get your customer’s names and logos on your website quickly. These kinds of digital marketing efforts are also key for boosting your customer’s image and giving them content to take back and use as marketing materials on their side.
You can learn more about bridging the gap between customer success and marketing to increase retention with these resources from ClientSuccess:
