For subscription businesses these days, it’s not enough to merely supply a product or service; that just won't cut the mustard anymore. To truly stand out, businesses must foster partnerships that drive mutual success. It's not just about showing value to the customer – both you and the customer need to benefit from customer success.

The shift from being perceived as just a vendor to becoming your client’s trusted partner requires deliberate strategy, commitment, and cultural transformation. When you build strong partnerships with your customers, the relationship will go the distance too.

In this article, I'm going to share a few tips I've picked up along the way that'll help customer success leaders set this culture within their teams and wider organizations.

  • Understand and align with the customer’s goals
  • Prioritize proactive engagement
  • Foster transparency and trust
  • Empower your team to act as advisors, not just support
  • Collaborate on strategic initiatives
  • Celebrate mutual success
  • Continuously evolve the relationship

1. Understand and align with the customer’s goals

The foundation of a partnership is understanding what the customer is trying to achieve, yes? Asking customers what value they’re seeking and what they perceive as success for them is one of the first steps in understanding. 

CS leaders should ensure that their teams are deeply familiar with the customer's business objectives, challenges, and long-term goals. But this goes way beyond the basics of product usage; it involves understanding the broader context in which the product operates. 

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Actionable tip: Develop a customer success plan that aligns your service with the customer's key performance indicators (KPIs). Regularly review this plan with the customer to ensure it evolves with their changing needs.

Work with sales and pre-sales to develop a set of questions that can be asked during the discovery and closing stages to understand the needs of the customer better.

Going into the interaction fully equipped with as much information as possible will make for a more seamless handover for the customer from sales to customer success.

2. Prioritize proactive engagement

Being a partner means anticipating customer needs before they become problems. CS teams should be equipped with tools and processes that allow them to monitor customer health, identify risks, and engage proactively. 

Taking a very analytical approach to customer data will help better understand areas for focus. This could be taking a look at how engaged the customer is in the product or service. 

How often are they reaching out to their CSM? When they do reach out, what is the engagement like? Do they need a lot of assistance (this could be an opportunity to educate), or are they after validation and recommendations? Remember, the customers rely on the CSM to be their advocate and advisor.

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Actionable tip: I’d suggest you implement a system of regular check-ins and health checks, where the focus is on the customer’s success and long-term strategy, not just immediate issues. 

Depending on the product or service, this may be deployment data, overlayed with the number of support tickets submitted. It could also include the number of knowledge base articles a customer has accessed. 

3. Foster transparency and trust

Transparency builds trust, which is the foundation of any partnership. CS leaders should encourage openness about what’s working, what’s not, and what both parties can do to improve the relationship. This requires honest communication, even when the news isn’t positive.

Taking on feedback from customers and hearing what they’re saying, then actioning will build trust. Likewise, being upfront with a customer about deliverables, while it may be uncomfortable, will garner more respect from a customer in the long run.

At the end of the day being honest and approaching each situation on a human level as well as being empathetic to their situation (put yourself in their shoes) will always win out in the end. 

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Actionable tip: Create a culture where feedback is encouraged and acted upon. This includes sharing both wins and challenges with the customer and working collaboratively on solutions. Tackle the "hard" conversations with customers. Avoidance will get you nowhere. 

4. Empower your team to act as advisors, not just support

CS teams should be empowered to act as advisors who provide insights and recommendations that help customers achieve their goals. This advisory role goes beyond the product, encompassing industry trends, best practices, and strategic advice.

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Actionable tip: Invest in ongoing training for your customer success team to ensure they're knowledgeable about industry trends and can provide value-added insights to customers.

This also includes ensuring the tools to empower them to do their job. Do they have access to all the analytics for customers that will help them act as advisors? Give them time and space to research and learn.

5. Collaborate on strategic initiatives

Partnerships thrive when both parties work together on strategic initiatives. CS leaders should look for opportunities to collaborate with customers on projects that drive mutual success, whether it’s co-developing a new feature or exploring new use cases.

Encouraging customers to share their stories with your organization via case studies or collaborative participation in events is also helpful. 

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Actionable tip: Establish joint success metrics and regularly collaborate with customers on strategic initiatives that benefit both parties. You may want to consider organizing a customer event where key customers collaborate or partner with your organization in delivering the event. 

6. Celebrate mutual success

Acknowledging and celebrating success is an essential part of building a partnership culture. When customers achieve their goals, it’s a win for both parties. CS leaders should create opportunities to recognize and celebrate these successes together. Many initiatives can be developed to build this out.

Some of the initiatives will overlap with other areas, such as collaborating on strategic initiatives.

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Actionable tip: Develop case studies or success stories that highlight the customer’s achievements and the role your team played in supporting them.

Share these stories both internally and externally. Aside from developing case studies and video testimonials, you could co-host webinars, develop co-branded content, and run joint innovation days where teams from both sides collaborate to brainstorm new ideas for projects or roadmap items.

Create a digital success wall on your website showcasing successful collaborations.

7. Continuously evolve the relationship

The needs of customers evolve over time, and so should the relationship. CS leaders should focus on continuously improving the partnership by regularly assessing the relationship’s health and making adjustments as needed.

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Actionable tip: Conduct periodic reviews with customers to discuss what’s working, areas for improvement, and new opportunities for collaboration. This could be in the form of a QBR as an example. However, it’s good to think about whether this approach is valuable for all customers.

Some customers may find collaborating in different ways works for them. Consider customer's needs individually before you apply a blanket approach. One size does not fit all. In short, talk to each of your customers to understand their needs and how they would like to continue working with you and your organization.

Conclusion

Transitioning from a vendor to a partner requires a cultural shift within your CS org.

By understanding the customer’s goals, fostering trust, empowering teams, and continuously evolving the relationship, CS leaders can set a culture that positions their team as trusted advisors and partners in their customers’ success. This approach not only enhances customer satisfaction but also drives long-term growth and loyalty.

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