Earn every minute of your customer's time

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Customers deleting your emails without reading them is the new customers sending your calls to voicemail. I can guarantee that your customers delete your emails without even reading them. Why? Because you most likely aren’t offering enough value to warrant them taking even 5 seconds to scan your messages.

I’ve unofficially banned the words “checking in” from our customer success team’s vocabulary. It’s a waste of time as customers don’t need you to check in with them. Either they will reach out to you if they need something, or they will respond if you offer them something that they deem valuable.

Be your customer’s blind spot

What excites customers is when you notice an issue or an area of opportunity they weren’t aware of. If you can be your customer's blind spot, you will get noticed and build trust. I recently saw an amazing example of this from my own CSM team.

One of our customers is being impacted by the current trade wars, and our CSM reached out to them to not only provide some tips but also make certain modifications that would help them automate their current processes. Our CSM knew that they were short-staffed and would probably not have made this on their own. She knew that they really needed our help and that if we didn’t step in and provide value, we may have a churn risk on our hands. This change was going to save them time and provide a better experience for their end customers.

She not only stepped in, but her communication was extremely crisp, so they understood what was expected of them. She even provided examples of the positive impact of the changes she made. She was acting as her customer’s blind spot.

What was the end result? She earned a call with the customer where she could quickly review the changes she made and better understand what else was happening in their business. In this way, she can look for additional opportunities to drive more value and build trust.

What I love about this approach is that she operated as if the client’s time was precious and it wasn’t a given that the client would jump on a call with her. She earned that right. Before she could switch to a more strategic perspective with the client, she was very tactical and got her hands dirty in the product.

There are a few additional lessons to point out.

Act as if you won’t get a response

Too often, I hear “Well, they just ignore all of my reach-outs” as an excuse for not engaging the customer. That may be the case, but you first need to ask yourself, are you providing enough value to the client that earns you the right to get a response? I’m not talking about mentioning a recent product release of yours. Are you sending them something that they truly see as valuable? Are you teaching them something about themselves that they don’t know about? While you may think you’re wasting your time as they’ll probably just ignore your email, you have to put these concerns aside. Communicate as if you won’t get a response from the customer and be OK with that.

What do you think is the response rate of emails to your sales reps? Probably 5% at best. Your response rate should be much higher, but don’t expect to hear back, and don’t be discouraged after that first reach out. You should be tracking whether it was received and opened. That tells you that your clients may be finding it valuable. Expect to send a follow-up if you don’t get a response. If your message contains something of significant value, I can guarantee that it will have a higher chance of a response. In my follow-up messages, I like to use “no” oriented questions such as “Were those updates I suggested not helpful?”. This tends to get more traction.

Regardless, have a mindset that you may not hear from your client, but you should be sending your updates or message regardless.

Don’t try to do too much all at once

While providing something of value is a necessity when reaching out to clients, don’t do too much all at once. Just keep things simple and focus on the most impactful actions. You can then earn the right to take additional actions. That’s what my CSM did. When the client responded enthusiastically to her message, she then recommended additional changes. This ensured the client wasn’t overwhelmed. It’s like the old cars that would be flooded when you gave them too much gas. Go easy at the beginning with your clients so their engines are warm and they are receptive to taking on more.

Gone are the days when there was a 99% chance your customers would respond to your communications. With layoffs, leaner teams, and the sheer amount of technology vendors that many of your clients deal with, they don’t have the time! They don’t even have the time to read your communication. You need to stand out from the rest. You need to earn every minute of your customer’s time and not expect anything in return. But, if you prove your worth by providing something that they perceive as valuable, you have a better shot of creating a partnership that will result in a longer-term relationship. PS: One tip I mention in my book is this concept of the golden nugget. This is a valuable piece of information that your clients are most likely unaware of. Create a golden nugget database that you and your team can refer to. You can even create a custom AI GPT to query.

PPS: I’m so happy to announce that I’m formally starting my launch team for my new book, The Strategic Customer Success Manager, where I talk about these concepts and more. If you want to join the team and get some of the materials in advance for free, go to my launch site.

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