Simplifying sales through customer success with Josh Vitello
Jul 10, 2023
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Josh Vitello, Chief Success Officer at Tableau and Customer Success & Sales Executive at Salesforce, shares insights on operationalizing customer success, understanding successful and failing customers, and the intersection between sales and customer success roles. They also discuss the impact of democratizing the analyst role and the role of automation in enhancing customer engagement. Explore the maturation of customer success, career advancement opportunities, and the goal of solving problems through technology.
Operationalizing customer success focuses on delivering a unified and valuable customer experience across diverse product portfolios, leading to greater success and customer retention.
Industrializing customer success through technological advancements allows for cost savings and efficiency gains, while also creating opportunities for employees to engage in more sophisticated and strategic work, enhancing their career prospects.
Deep dives
The Importance of a Common Customer Experience
Customers expect a consistent and unified experience regardless of which products or services they have invested in. This means that companies with a diverse product portfolio should strive to create a common model that transcends their various offerings. By doing so, they can make it easier for customers to partner with them and leverage the resources they provide. This approach, often referred to as operationalizing customer success, focuses on delivering a customer experience that maximizes value generation and builds trust, ultimately leading to greater success and customer retention.
Industrializing Customer Success and the Role of Technology
Industrializing customer success involves leveraging technology to automate and streamline various tasks and processes within the customer success function. This allows for cost savings and efficiency gains, freeing up human effort to focus on higher-value activities. As generative AI and other technological advancements continue to transform various business functions, including customer success, it is important to recognize that many roles may undergo significant changes. However, technological advancements also present opportunities for employees to engage in more sophisticated, strategic, and consultative work, enhancing their career prospects.
Craftsmanship and the Evolution of Sales and Customer Success
Sales and customer success are both evolving professions that require a focus on craftsmanship. Just as sales professionals continuously improve their skills and capabilities, customer success professionals should also strive for excellence in their craft. This entails understanding the intricacies of the job, such as product knowledge, effective messaging, negotiation skills, and strategic alignment with customers. By emphasizing craftsmanship in both sales and customer success, individuals can find fulfillment and success in their roles, regardless of the specific function or label assigned to them.
The Intersection of Sales and Customer Success
Sales and customer success are interrelated functions that work together to drive growth and customer satisfaction. Rather than viewing them as separate entities, organizations should recognize that both functions contribute to the overall success of the business. The alignment between pre-sales and post-sales organizations is crucial, as they both act as change agents, influencing customer decisions and solving problems. While there may be different tasks and responsibilities within these roles, the ultimate goal is to deliver value and ensure customer success. By fostering collaboration and shared objectives, companies can optimize their sales and customer success efforts and drive better outcomes.
How can customer success in sales be the pivot point for your company? Josh Vitello knows exactly how.
Josh is a highly accomplished professional serving as the Chief Success Officer at Tableau, a leading data analytics and visualization company, and as a Customer Success & Sales Executive at Salesforce, a global leader in customer relationship management. With a strong focus on customer success, Josh brings extensive expertise in driving strategic growth and fostering strong client relationships.
In this episode of Reveal: The Revenue Intelligence Podcast, Josh dives into his insights and experiences in operationalizing the customer success function, exploring the anatomy of successful and failing customers, and the commonalities between sales and customer success roles. They also discuss the impact of democratization of the analyst role and Tableau experience in elevating expertise to fill in critical customer engagement and participation spaces. Join us as we explore the maturation of customer success, career advancement opportunities, and the ultimate goal of solving problems through technology.