We all know the current business landscape is competitive. Companies industry-wide are turning to new ways to reach their goals more efficiently, and work toward new ones.
That’s where technology, particularly data technology, comes into play. The age of digital transformation shows no signs of slowing down, and as more companies integrate advanced technology into their strategies, the demand for data solutions has grown exponentially. Foursquare has a roster of diverse customers across various industries, each with different goals. Managing a portfolio of this size can be a challenge, which is why customer success is vital to ensuring we’re meeting our customer’s needs and doing so with excellence.
How Does Foursquare’s Customer Success (CS) Team Work?
Ultimately, good customer success is about listening, understanding, and caring. It centers on building strong relationships with customers and having a deep understanding of what their goals are and how we can help achieve them. The Foursquare CS team focuses on asking the right questions to get to the heart of what our customers want and need from Foursquare’s products. From there, we make sure they get it and continue getting it.
For example, say a customer is struggling to incorporate data on the number of people visiting national parks. We could just provide a technical solution for them, but that won’t guarantee the customer’s long-term success. Instead, we ask them what they are trying to accomplish with that data. Why is it important to them?
Once we have those answers, we can provide them with holistic solutions to ensure they receive the full value of our products. We see Foursquare as a partner to our customers, rather than a provider, and this approach leads to working relationships with better outcomes for all parties.
One Size Doesn’t Fit All
Building strong relationships with our customers is paramount to the success of our CS team, and the key to strong relationships is understanding that no two customers are the same – and neither should their solutions be. Some companies already have advanced infrastructure and processes in place, alongside an army of data scientists to move things forward. Therefore, they are familiar with the types of solutions we offer and don’t need much in the way of understanding how best to integrate Foursquare into their workflow. We still check in, but aren’t starting from ground zero.
Not every company is that tech-savvy initially, of course. Some struggle to integrate data or are concerned that their processing costs are too high. We help them streamline everything. In other instances, companies may have purchased data without realizing just how many data scientists they needed on staff to make it useful. For them, we provide more fundamental education in the nuances of our data, so they can get to the information they most need and leave behind what they cannot use.
There is one thing, however, that is true for all customers. It’s not enough for the CS team to say the right things. It is actually delivering on those promises that forms a strong and trustworthy relationship.
Why have a Customer Success Team?
A good CS team is instrumental to Foursquare’s business. First and foremost, our reputation matters. Existing customers let friends, colleagues, and even other departments within their organization know how valuable Foursquare’s products can be, provided they have an excellent experience.
That reputation building has several ripple effects, particularly across our revenue streams and in deal-making. Nothing is as valuable to a tech company as its recurring revenue – that is how investors understand that the company can be profitable over the long term.
New deals with existing customers close much more quickly than new deals with new customers. Every customer we keep happy and renewing is time freed up for the sales and contracting teams to focus on other priorities.
Furthermore, potential customers will hear the good word and know that we invest in delivering great customer success and having a dedicated and talented CS team.
It’s just too important to the company not to have it around. After all, we only succeed when our customers do too.
Ryan Chang is the Director of Enterprise Customer Success at Foursquare
