Client Success Managers (CSMs) are the primary points of contact for Tideworks’ client success team. CSMs interface with clients daily to anticipate their needs, understand their challenges, and provide an open avenue for communication.
However, the CSMs are just half of the client success relationship. The other vital half is, of course, the client. Building trust and rapport with clients is critical for CSMs to serve their clients better and improve profitability.
We recently sat down with various CSMs to discuss what makes an ever-evolving client success relationship thrive.
Understand Client Needs and Problem Solve
Scott Duncan
I think one of the most important ways to make that client/client success relationship a good one is to understand your client’s needs. From the client’s side, it’s ensuring that you’re accurately portraying what you need on a day-to-day basis.
I think many clients may not know exactly what it is that they’re looking for out of the TOS. So, being able to articulate that is crucial to seeing the results you’re hoping for. On the client success side, we have to ask the right questions to understand exactly what they’re looking for and do our best to get that resolution.
Justin Clifford
It’s understanding what the client is going through. I had ten years of experience on terminals, and I’ve had experience before that with a steamship line, which helps with the connection. It’s understanding what they’re saying and sympathizing with the urgency that’s required.
Maintain Open Communication and Visibility
Michele Evans
I think visibility and communication build trust and having the client as part of the team. It’s important to stay in touch and to have that ongoing communication with the client, so they aren’t surprised. We’re communicating the good and the bad, but they’re right there with us and understand. They feel as though they can trust us because we will honestly tell them where we’re at or any struggles we might be having with a deployment or development. It’s just having that ongoing relationship with them as a partner. I think that’s the key thing — partnering with our clients in the constant communication that builds trust.
Cherese Moss
I think a good client success relationship requires the person to put themselves in the client’s shoes. It’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day, just going from one thing to the next. But when you stop and put yourself in their shoes and consider that what we do for them is hugely important for how they interact with other clients, truckers, and the logistic community, it’s super important. I appreciate that my team takes time to reach out to them, not just through emails and the ticketing system, but they reach out on a phone call and say, “Hey, how are you doing today? I just wanted to check on you, make sure everything’s going alright.” So, I think they just go the extra mile with that client relationship.
Encourage a Learning Environment
Michele Evans
When dealing with problems, it’s essential to present options for the client very clearly. Don’t overwhelm with a lot of terminology and jargon. Just very clearly explain, in a written and verbal way, how a product or strategy impacts their business and what they should consider — the pros and cons of each of the options—then being available afterward to answer any questions.
After the communication and written documentation is provided to the client, there is time for that client to come back and ask questions and better understand where things sit. Often, people get a little embarrassed about their questions, thinking that it wasn’t a good one. All of their questions are well-received and answered respectfully and clearly. The problems are serious, but it’s nice to have some levity and laugh and just make it feel like it’s just a group of people talking, a group of friends trying to work an issue out.
Be Reliable and Go the Extra Mile
Terry Hart
Do what you said you were going to do—number one. If you say you’re going to do something, do it. That gets you above 80 percent of the rest of the world. So, if you say, “Hey, I’m going to be there at 5 a.m. on Tuesday,” you’d better be there at 5 a.m. on Tuesday. That’s my advice to people. If you do what you say you’re going to do, you will keep your client relationships.
Justin Clifford
I think the connection we make is personal. So, when a client needs something, they know we’ll be there right away for them, whatever the issue may be. Even with time differences, we’re always willing to pick up the phone, and someone’s always ready to help. I think the most significant part is knowing that if something critical happens or if an issue arises, we’ll be there. But it’s a little bit more than that. It’s more about the partnership that we institute with them.
Michele Evans
We are always seeking ways to improve their operations, and showing that we care, we go the extra mile. Change is challenging. So, as the software grows, and we’re making improvements to optimize their business and make it more efficient, there is also a learning curve and some change. It’s not always an easy road because you have to work through the hiccups. But in the end, they see the effort and the client like the result. That’s important. It feels good when you feel as though you are helping in some way to make their business better.
Thank You From The Tideworks Team
Tideworks is just as much a service-based company as a technology provider. It’s part of our ethos to treat your challenges as our own. When we’re both working towards a common goal, you’re more likely to see resolution swiftly. This approach is beneficial for both our team and you, the client. Thank you to all of our CSMs who gave us their time, and thank you to all of our innovative, brilliant clients who make our work fulfilling every day.
