Having product fly off shelves is music to any business owner’s ears — unless, of course, the supply is depleted. Such was the case with makeup company Winky Lux. Right before the COVID-19 pandemic, the brand rolled out an array of products at Target locations across the country. But technology they were using to communicate with manufacturers was behind the times.
That is, until they relied on the customer success team at collaboration engine SourceDay.
“Managing supplier risk and performance is a critical function that is ripe for transformation,” SourceDay Director of Customer Success Christine McAvoy said.
CS professionals were able to help Winky Lux customers get their hands on the products they were looking for while streamlining operations through unified material sourcing and management.
Their secret?
Supporting clients through change.
“Reluctance to adopt a new approach usually stems from fear,” McAvoy said. “We know that learning something new can be overwhelming, so it’s our job to ensure they feel supported throughout the whole process,” she added.
At SourceDay, providing that reassurance through constant communication and openness to feedback is the crux of what customer success professionals do.
What has been the most valuable customer relationship advice you’ve learned since starting in your role as director of customer success? How has it helped you in your day-to-day work?
Throughout my role, I’ve learned that authenticity and genuine care for customers are the most important ingredients for success. At SourceDay, we are committed to delivering meaningful business results and improving our customers’ lives. These core values drive how we communicate and partner with our customers day to day, including offering change management support and strategic advisory.
What technologies does your team leverage to encourage innovation internally and externally?
Our team’s ability to communicate and collaborate is critical to our success. We use Slack and Zoom to ensure we are in lockstep with one another. We leverage Pendo.io throughout the onboarding process to guide customers through the platform and collect feedback.
As a team, we are always looking for ways to expand and improve our communication and relationship management skills. This includes leveraging ChurnZero educational resources and webinars on customer success and creating customer experiences.
We focus on the human element of the process: building relationships, managing change, defining and celebrating successes.’’
What is your biggest customer relationship challenge? How are you working to overcome it?
Ironically, our biggest challenge with every customer relationship is not technological. It’s driving their change management process. When it comes to the adoption and integration of new technology, we help our customers understand how important it is for every level of the organization to be committed to making change happen. This always requires true partnership. We have to be open to feedback from our customers, and they have to be willing to work with us throughout the process.
The real difference-maker is when you help a customer understand the positive impact this change will have on their business and how it will improve their employees’ day-to-day lives. Reluctance to adopt a new approach usually stems from fear. We know that learning something new can be overwhelming, so it’s our job to ensure they feel supported throughout the whole process.
What makes customer success especially important in a traditional industry like supply chain management?
Supply chain management is one of the oldest and most mature categories of enterprise software. However, as global supply chains become more complex, there are segments of the industry that have seen a lot of innovation, like demand planning, order management, scheduling and logistics. Managing supplier risk and performance is another critical function that is ripe for transformation. Our customer success team plays a fundamental role in ensuring our customers get the full value of our technology. We focus on the human element of the process: building relationships, managing change, defining and celebrating successes, both large and small.
What trends within the customer experience space has your department capitalized on and how has it helped the team to grow?
I’m part of a few professional groups that share useful content and information on customer success, including Success Masters, ATXCX and Future of SaaS. These tools and networks are expanding as customer success continues to become a recognized field.
