Customer success questions to ask clients
If your main goal is customer success, the first step is to find out what success means to your customer. These questions will help you be on the same page with your client.
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If your main goal is customer success, the first step is to find out what success means to your customer. These questions will help you be on the same page with your client.
What does success look like for you this year?
Short and long-term goals are great, but it’s easy to forget that success can take many forms. Depending on your client’s industry, what they define as a successful year may not line up with your initial assumptions.
For example, a client in the engineering business might measure success by one metric: the number of qualified leads for their sales team. A company in the food manufacturing industry might measure success by two metrics: sales revenue and cost reduction. A customer support software company might measure success differently; perhaps they’re looking at long-term growth measures like customer lifetime value (CLV).
Whatever your customer’s goals may be, this is an excellent opportunity to get into specifics. If possible, ask them to define their metrics in terms of monetary value or percentage growth: “What would a successful year look like for you?”
If you can’t immediately get down to numbers (which is often the case), then at least aim to understand how they think about their business and what drives them forward. Their answers will help you hit the ground running so that you can start helping them achieve their goals as soon as possible.
What are the top two or three priorities for you this year?
This question is extremely helpful because it helps to focus your work on what matters most. It also sets clear and achievable goals with the client, right from the beginning.
You’ll want to go deeper into each of these priorities. Ask your client about their expectation for the outcomes of each priority. If a priority revolves around growing sales in one specific market, what sales figures are they looking for? Are they hoping that a large portion of their audience will download the whitepaper? If so, how many?
You’ll also want to discuss the budget. Will they be paying extra to get additional services? How far over budget can they go before needing prior approval?
In addition, talk about timelines with them. How long can the priority take before it’s no longer relevant to the client’s business anymore? Work with them to define milestones and timelines for getting there.
What are the top two or three initiatives to help you achieve those priorities?
You should always have a clear picture of the end goal. You can’t know what is most important if you don’t know what you need to achieve. If a client doesn’t have a clear end goal, the next question should be to define it. Some examples of priorities may include:
- Decrease churn rate by 20%
- Increase customer retention by 50% in Q1 and 100% in Q2
How critical is it that these initiatives be completed successfully, on time, and on budget?
Without identifying how important each initiative is, it’s difficult for your client to prioritize their efforts to ensure success with all of them. They may think every initiative can be delayed for a month without causing problems in the organization when, in reality, only two can be delayed that long before there are serious repercussions throughout the organization.
Have you thought about the consequences of not completing these initiatives?
When you ask questions about the importance of completing these tasks successfully, on time, and on budget, one of the benefits is that it brings to light any hidden pitfalls.
It’s important to know what the impact will be if a particular task fails or is completed late. Your client may have a lot riding on completing this project successfully and delivering results within a specific timeframe, or they may not. You need to find out which is true for each initiative.
How will success be measured once they’re completed?
Once you’ve identified the client’s goals, it’s time to propose the steps you will take to deliver success.
At this point, questions need to shift from what they want to achieve, to how they measure success.
For example, if a client says that they want more leads, ask them what they mean by ‘more’. Is it 25% more than the previous year? Would 50% be acceptable? The answer could affect your game plan and quote.
Asking clients how they’ll measure success can also provide insight into their end goal or business objectives. It may also highlight unrealistic expectations – for example, if a client is expecting 100% growth in lead volume from one month to the next.
Next Steps
At this point, you’re armed with all the information you need to create your own customer success plan. It’s important to note that not all customer success plans are one size fits all, though they should always take the needs of each individual customer into account.
While there is no “right way” to structure or document your customer success plan, I do recommend making sure it includes the following elements:
- A list of action items and next steps across departments
- Goals and objectives for both parties in the short-term and long-term
- A timeline so both parties stay on track
Conclusion
By understanding what success means to your customer you can align your own goals and objectives with them and make sure you create an action plan that will deliver. Also, this conversation will give you a great opportunity to establish a closer relationship with them.
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