William Sankey, CEO of North Spyre.
getty
Many believe that the key to running a successful technology company is having an incredible, cutting-edge product that solves real problems within a specific industry. While this is clearly a critical part, most successful startup founders have come to realize that this alone does not lead to overwhelming new customer adoption and retention.
For a technology company to thrive and grow its business, it must understand that prioritizing interpersonal relationships with customers is the foundation for long-term success.
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In the current economic climate, business owners are increasingly concerned about their bottom line as they face the pressures of a looming recession. As a result, they pay more attention to their budgets and scrutinize how every dollar is spent. Vendors, service providers and technology solutions that have not yet proven to be an invaluable, necessary component of the business soon find themselves in front of the chopping block.
Tech providers may think it wise to focus on their use of data or improved product features in these times of uncertainty, but experience has taught me that cultivating strong and meaningful customer relationships actually warrants more energy and focus. This is often the saving grace of a technology company. By adding additional value through real human connection and support, startups have the opportunity to build a loyal customer base by nurturing relationships that result in long-term value creation for their customers.
Technology companies that lose sight of the human aspect of running a business risk becoming disconnected from their customer base, often resulting in an incomplete understanding of customer priorities and challenges. In an industry like commercial real estate, where finances and project status can change in the blink of an eye, investors, property owners and developers need to be able to react quickly to market turbulence.
Startups that consistently engage in conversations with their clients can gain real-time insight into how market shifts affect their client’s businesses and adjust their strategy to anticipate any future obstacles.
Building mutually beneficial connections
The best way to maintain strong interpersonal ties is to think of your customers as people first and foremost and not as another source of income. I founded my real estate technology startup almost seven years ago and one of the smartest decisions my founders and I made was to create a dedicated client success team. The primary responsibility of this team is to serve as trusted advisors to our clients, which is why it consists of former real estate developers and project managers.
Your customer success team should essentially act as an extension of the customer team, so it’s imperative to have employees who speak the customer’s language and understand the nuances and pain points of their business.
Especially during times of economic uncertainty, customers need to know that your team is reliable, responsive and that you genuinely care about any issues they face. By taking your customer support processes a step further and making an effort to understand the people that make up a customer’s business, not just the numbers and the bottom line, they will see you as a trusted partner and an integral member of their own team.
An added bonus of maintaining strong customer relationships is that you can learn from your customers to build a better, more robust product. For example, if a customer is having trouble projecting their cash flow, my team can develop a function to solve this problem for them.
This gives us the opportunity to refine our solution and expand our offerings to address pain points that might not even have been on our radar without a customer’s candid feedback or ongoing conversations with our customer success team.
Focus on lasting relationships
To create meaningful, long-lasting connections with customers, it is crucial that they feel heard, understood and supported. Below are a few tips and tricks I’ve learned over the years to build stronger, more connected relationships with customers:
1. Focus on long-term goals versus short-term rewards. While it may be easy to make more money in the short term by recommending a wide variety of products, taking the time to thoroughly understand a client’s business and the gaps in their operations and workflow will make all the difference when it comes to establish a long-term strategy around your client’s goals and will result in a more meaningful business relationship.
2. Build a team of industry experts. Customer success teams should add layers of contextual experience to the technology. Having a team of professionals who have spent time in and understand the intricacies of the client’s industry is crucial in providing relevant insights and recommendations.
3. Be a trusted advisor. Trust is a fundamental aspect of any relationship and customers should feel they can rely on your team to be there when needed, especially in times of uncertainty and hectic market conditions. Building a smart customer success team that knows how to navigate and solve complex problems will prove to your customers that they can rely on you in even the most difficult situations.
4. Don’t lose the personal touch. At the end of the day, your customers’ business is run by people who are influenced by the same things as you. Be personable and empathetic when the opportunity arises and show a genuine interest in their family and hobbies. Getting to know the individuals who make up your clients’ businesses is key to creating a lasting relationship.
In my role as a leader, I actively emphasize that prioritizing customer relationships is prioritizing organizational success. At the end of the day, both startups and their customers understand that the end goal is making money – it’s still a business – but the tech companies that don’t forget the importance of human connections will always have an edge over their competitors.
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