A solid value proposition. A dazzling demo. The excitement around a new innovation and the thrill of thinking that this is the "thing" that will dissolve your pain points and propel the efficiency and fiscal quantum leaps you've dreamed of. These things might sound familiar to those of you who have championed a product or service at the enterprise level as the decisionmaker or the one who made the introduction for the vendor. Unfortunately, too many of these champions have also felt disappointment after the big purchase, and this often has nothing to do with the sales team or the viability of the product. SaaS and fintech enterprise solutions for lending and real estate are frequently as complex as the industries they serve; and effective implementation, adoption, usage and satisfaction all depend on a masterful Customer Success program.
Great Customer Success programs should run parallel along the entire relationship lifecycle, from prospect to renewal. Even if sales teams accurately represent their product and make an honest effort to set expectations, customers can become dissatisfied if their post-purchase experience doesn't match their pre-sale assumptions. Getting the maximum benefit out of a product or service and true customer satisfaction at the enterprise level requires a "handshake versus a handoff," according to InGenius Senior Vice President of Customer Success Varant Herculian. "My team gets involved before the sale is complete so there is a knowledge transfer about the customer's pain points, needs and vulnerabilities as the sale is closing. Clients shouldn't have to repeat what they shared during the sale process as we begin to set them up in the InGenius platform. I also ask our customers what success using InGenius looks like to them in six months and a year from now - whether that's user log-in stats, using our tool in a certain way or another metric. My team asks customers to explain what success with InGenius looks like in their own words, and then we use their definition and expectations as the north star for the relationship."
Anyone considering an enterprise purchase should inquire about the vendor's Customer Success philosophies, resources and teams. Uncovering the level of passion about and commitment to Customer Success is an important indicator of how your relationship with a particular provider will go. If they don't ask what success looks like to you, there's a good chance your expectations won't be met.
Jeff Walton is CEO of InGenius. With over 35 years in home mortgage and as a CEO and President of large national mortgage companies, Jeff is focused on helping the industry achieve high performance using actionable intelligence. Interested in learning more? Book an intro call with InGenius Data.
