"No one really cares about your product or service." When I first heard that, it shifted a paradigm that was heavily anchored in product quality and robust adaptability, not customer centricity. I’ve heard in meetings, “ yeah I hear the customer, but if I put my business hat on and think as an investor in this company we would actually do this instead .” 🚩 This sentiment is often tone deaf that lacks longterm vision. The reality is, no customer cares about your product or service, or your business hat. They care about themselves and how your offering serves them. Their desires, aspirations, goals, emotions, outcomes etc. Without customers, you don't have a business. The end of scalable solutions or subscription models is often, “...as-a-Service.” Something continuous (such as subscription based models) and hopefully on auto renew. No matter what software, platform or solution, experience is the ultimate differentiator between two offerings that compete on features and value. Experience-as-a-Service is the story behind the story people are interested in. There can be subsets to customer experience, such customer success, sales, support etc… but experience is all-encompassing. It's what lasts. Customer experience permeates every instance and department. And customers will have an experience whether you're aware of it or not, and that’s something that needs critical business acumen to manage. Experience is primarily the reason I eat out when I have steak in fridge I just bought at the store. I don’t just want a steak. I want the experience of a nice ambient environment, preferably dimly lit - unless I want busy - I may want the social connection with friends and a waiter that enjoys their gig, providing top notch service. And appetizers. I never make myself appetizers at home. Snacks and grazing the fridge doesn’t count. There’s also the side options, served to near perfection for me in an artful plated display, and I don’t have to clean the dishes when I’m done 🫡 Also, whatever chocolate dessert is available, just take my money! I’m not overly concerned with the method of my desired outcome, as long as it delivers or exceeds my expectation of the experience I’m seeking. When I want a home experience, that’s where I’ll invest my time and no restaurant will be able to replace the feeling of me cuddling up with the wifey and daughter in the living room, maybe with some popcorn or a buffet of all our go-to delights. However, if I’m going out, it’s often because I’m seeking an experience. I’ll iron a shirt to go out. If I want to stay home, it’s the experience I'm aiming for as well and I'll enjoy a wrinkled shirt. It’s in our nature. Desire for better experiences starts when life starts, since we were little kids. Novelty and curiosity, familiarity…repeat. None of us seeks out a poor experience. Whether a meal, product, vacation, play, business partnership etc… We invest our time (i.e. life) and money in things that provide better life experiences. As my man Jim Rohn said, “ Life is not simply the passing of time. It’s a series of experiences, their frequency and their intensity. ” People are the common denominator. In business as in life. People are what make up a business. And what we people want, are better experiences that help us do what *we* want. Efficient? Yes. Automated? Sure. (However just because it can be automated or efficient doesn’t necessarily mean it should be). No one cares about your product or service, they care about what it delivers. I can heat up a raw slab of ground beef in a microwave with a few button presses. Done. However, it’s nothing when pitted against hand rolling two patties and letting it hit a preheated flat iron grill, sizzling, letting the fat and juices permeate with the salt and pepper - you can almost smell it now, make sure the vent is on - then smashing the two patties at just the right time and thickness (thinness) so it’s crisped on either side. Takes more time, but waaay different experience than a nuked microwave patty. If that’s what I’m feeling then the microwave can keep its ridiculous super fast, scalable and efficient heating apparatus! I’ve got several stories when selling SaaS solutions and helping make environments much more optimal: all vital data in a single source of truth that automated manual tasks and save time… they work. The customer cares that it works. Their care about their success. But not because it’s your brand or service. They can be successful with a bad experience and leave. They’re in it for an emotional value that has obvious proofs of realization along with their success. Those proofs show up in sticking with you at renewal, positive feedback or even in increasing their partnership with additional service. "Yes, I'll have the chocolate volcano melted-lava dessert!" Connect meaningfully. Experience-as-a-Service in business, at its core, is about connecting with the humanity in our interactions with people - customers, colleagues and everyone else - and aiming to enhance the positive sentiment of the experience. Connecting meaningfully, not simply transacting. Now, I’ll eat my steak that I have at home when I want. For some quick uses I’ll even use a microwave when it serves me to do so. Typically, when I pay more for something, like most of us, it’s because I want better, a better experience. If my experience is positive, I’m inclined to keep renewing it.

The Scene We were growing, our renewal rate was not. New logos coming in and the sales team had been flying all over the country closing deals with actual paper contracts. We were making waves in the market as disruptors to the only big, but never innovating, incumbent. As the customer base expanded, I shifted from sales to head up what would become our customer success management (CSM) team, although that term wasn’t really as big as it is today. As a first step, I audited our customer base and checked-in on how things were going. Red flags, several, flapping all over the place. Out the gate I discovered a few customers, but one in particular, were stealing massive amounts of our data and reselling it in China! No one had any idea that this customer, likely a fake person somewhere in Boston (the location of their "office"), was a front for an overseas company that was taking our precious data and reselling it on their website. I went full Sherlock, tracking down all the IP addresses, geo-tracing to the territory, narrowing down the region and eventually matching it with their website in eastern Asia. I even found the registered agents and tried cross-referencing it to the name on the credit card used. This was costing us thousands in IP and we were feeding competition that had been undercutting our value prop for a while. They made a business off of us. We shut it down and implemented some mitigating controls, after trying to catch the guy in Boston. We even had two FBI cyber crimes agents come into our office and sit with me and our CEO telling us they had no jurisdiction, just be more mindful of your customers. “ Be more mindful of your customers .” The Boston guy was in the wind. This was not customer success. We were so busy closing these new logos up front that we didn’t see what was going out the back. We had built-in blind spots. After that, and a few other interesting finds, I saw that a big change in our customer success team incentive structure was needed, and likely a primary cause of our oversight on what was going on under the hood with our clients. This was as big of an issue as Chinese data pirates. We were also losing smaller paying customers fast and the churn was compounding. Here’s what was happening: we had a structure where the Account Executives (AEs) were also Account Managers (Ams) that operated like both hunters and farmers , with a few BDRs chipping in as assistants across the customer journey. These hunter-gatherers obtained the net new logos and also managed the book of businesses they were growing; being paid commission on the front for a new sale and on the back-end, based on the monthly YoY NRR growth as well. The dynamic that emerged out from this was one where higher paying customers got the best attention because they paid out the most. Surprise. Not having a fully focused CSM team yet, we had to do some hands-on incentive designing. Cultural Implications The shift was a cultural one. At startups, compensations plans can change from one leadership meeting to the next. Not to mention how often things changed with territories or how customers were being targeted by either commercial, strategic, enterprise, industry etc… These rapid shifts often amplify how the sales reps react to the changes, and so trying to retain staff creates a tension where any customer-centric value culture gets lost in the shuffle. Customer success may be a slogan in such circumstances, but not a reality. While higher paying customers were well taken care of, taken out for fancy meals, getting frequent check-ins and business reviews, the lower paying clients were sent a scripted email and were hopefully simply auto-renewed. Not a surprising outcome when the CSM team was incentivized with monthly quotas goals. This also brought everyone into the weekly Monday sales call where, depending on the sales leadership, can be infused with a bunch of alphas talking like A-players , crushing quotas and president’s club dreams. Totally focused on…not the customer. Discussions about what campaign can our marketing team deploy to get the customers on a demo in front of the new solution we’re shipping by end of quarter. Good for sales teams, and discussion like this are appropriate for the internal sales team call, but not for the customer success managers who are playing a longer value game, not only a short term one. Our CSM team was a team of CSMINOs, CSMs-In-Name-Only (yes I just created that term…@ me!). Unwinding the Monthly Incentive Structure In this case, the need for a strong CSM team not tethered to a monthly commission was key. Sure, nowadays everyone would say that’s obvious, but back in the mid 2000s, when software and platform service sales were growing, it wasn’t. There were still some subprime mortgage loans going around and a boiler room mentality . We needed to focus on longterm customer value and still take care of (pay well) the reps supporting them. So, I decoupled the incentive and replaced it with a pool bonus, where everyone worked to take care of even the little guy and were still rewarded, as a team. There was a bonus kicker for individual contributors that had 90-95% and 96-100%+, YoY NRR growth, but it was a kicker, icing on the cupcake (portion control). The team pool was where the money was at. Some team members even stepped in to help others so the pool threshold hit the percentages! Instead of a pressurized CSM culture of head to head competition, it was collaboration. The ship began to turn around. And, with no more data pirates siphoning our goods, we grew more steadily. Healthy renewal rates returned and we were in a position to acquire some competition, having continually solidified our market position. Seeing Through the Customers' Eyes There’s endless debate for different approaches, yet this is what worked in our situation. There was a heavy weight on the shoulders of the team taking care of customers. What most CSM reps had in the back of their minds had nothing to do with the quality of support the customers ought to be receiving, but whether or not the customer would renew that month and get them a check. Personally I didn’t mind the commission, but I genuinely found so much more meaning and fun partnering with our customers to solve interesting problems and discover new value for them. Today, with the inclusion of mental health, unlimited PTO, heavy nurturing culture focus, bonusly points etc… it may be much simpler. However it’s got to be baked in from the start. Seeing through the eyes of every customer and deeply appreciating their business partnership is critical for success, even if they’re a little guy. Current low paying customers may become an enterprise customer within one quarter due to an event and bump their revenue spend significantly. It’s important to reverse engineer the voice of the customer and ensure we in the profession hear them, understand them and create a path forward together. If the internal power user is unhappy, that would put an end to any future growth. And, if their industry is small enough for them to talk with counterparts, that could hurt new sales and your company’s brand as well. Customer success is more than a department. It’s a vital organ to your business, in some cases the lifeblood due to constant interaction the CSM team has liaising between your company and the customer. One interaction can make or break that relationship. As the FBI would say, “be more mindful of your customers.”

In an era where data is synonymous with gold, one form stands out for its potential to revolutionize the approach of Economic Development Organizations (EDOs) and local businesses: logistical trade data. But how, exactly, does mining this vast reservoir of information translate to tangible benefits for counties, municipalities, and regions? Let's dive deeper into the role trade data plays in understanding business activity and its undeniable advantages. A 360-Degree View of Business Activity At its core, trade data is a detailed record of goods and services that are exported or imported within a particular region. This data, often overlooked, contains a wealth of information that can shine light on a myriad of business activities occurring within a jurisdiction. Identifying Active Industries : By sifting through trade data, EDOs can pinpoint which industries are driving the local economy. Whether it's a booming tech sector, an emerging green industry, or a resilient manufacturing hub, understanding which sectors are thriving can help EDOs focus their resources more effectively. Spotting Key Players : Not only does trade data offer insights into booming sectors, but it also unveils the significant players within these industries. This knowledge can be instrumental in crafting policies that support these businesses or in fostering collaborations and partnerships. Why This Matters to EDOs and Local Businesses For Economic Development Organizations (EDOs) : Informed Decision Making : With a clearer picture of the active industries and their key players, EDOs can make more informed decisions about where to allocate resources, which sectors to promote, and how to structure economic incentives. Strategic Planning : Future-focused planning becomes significantly more effective when grounded in concrete data. EDOs can identify potential growth areas or industries showing signs of decline, allowing for proactive strategy formulation. Stakeholder Engagement : By understanding the major contributors to the local economy, EDOs can engage with these businesses more effectively, forging stronger ties and collaborative partnerships. For Local Businesses : Competitive Intelligence : Businesses can use trade data to identify their competitors, understand market dynamics, and spot emerging trends before they become mainstream. Tailored Marketing : With a better grasp on local industry activity, businesses can tailor their marketing efforts more effectively, targeting the right audience with precision. Collaboration Opportunities : Understanding the landscape and key players can lead to potential partnerships, mergers, or collaborations that could amplify a company's reach and resources. *Side Note for freight forwarders or logistic companies: this is a goldmine for lead generation ;-) Conclusion Trade data, while technical at first glance, is a veritable goldmine for both EDOs and local businesses. By leveraging this data, counties can foster a richer, more robust business environment that is not only reactive to current conditions but also proactive in shaping a promising economic future. As we move further into an age of information, the emphasis on actionable data, like that of trade, will only grow – and those who harness its power will undoubtedly lead the charge in economic development. Connect with Haddock Consulting to learn more about how you can leverage trade data as a resource for your organizations goals.

Customer Success isn’t merely a department; it’s an ideology, a philosophy that should be ingrained in the DNA of every organization at every level. In today's competitive market, a satisfied customer is not just a metric measured by an NPS aimed at over 70. As I discovered during my tenure building and engaged in CSM teams, customer success goes beyond one team. Every role in an organization, from marketing to sales and beyond, plays a crucial part in this tapestry of the customer experience. Marketing : My daughter will look at, smell, and lightly taste anything before taking a bite. Clearly she did that with broccoli. I’m always marketing when introducing a new meal! The journey of customer success begins even before a customer becomes, well, a customer. Marketing teams should ensure that the promises made to potential customers are realistic and align with the product or service capabilities. This is their first impression setting the stage for a positive, or negative, relationship from the onset. Moving on to an MQL stage conveys a move in the right direction, +1. That’s when they really become a customer, because from that time on, they’re yours to win or lose, they’re in your pipe. Even if they’re not perfectly qualified - which is the frustration of many sales teams, it doesn’t mean they won’t reengage in the future. My daughter loves broccoli now! It often starts with the look, smell and light taste. Sales : The sales team is often the first human touchpoint for the customer, whether SDR, BDR or an AE. The company culture will speak loud and clear in this interaction. Therefore, it’s imperative they provide clear, honest, and accurate information. Active listening is essential as well. I recall a BDR that was trying to book an opp and the customer-not-to-be shared on the call that their company was going to cut his role and he would no longer be a decisions maker. BDR: “ That’s great! Do you think anyone else might be able to help me? ” Just rip that statement apart. Tone deaf. No opp. If you have them on the phone, they’re your customer in that moment. The tension between Sales and CSM teams due to the pressure to set up or close/win an opportunity, for sales, may lead to a bit *ahem* overpromising and under-delivering. Obviously this can severely hinder the subsequent stages of customer interaction. Customer success alignment is essential for longterm business outcomes with sales teams. Show them how well they’ll be taken are of during each the stage of the sales process. Stop “hunting” them for a kill, and start building value for a longterm partnership. (There’s a whole series I’ll share about the idea of “hunters” 😖 - let’s just put a pin in it for now.) Customers will hold the entire org responsible for the promises made by sales team. Product Development : Now this one is not as obvious because product teams often never interact with the customer directly. Hot take: customers don't actually care about your product or service on its own, they care about what it does for them . The product or service itself should prioritize user satisfaction and problem-solving, it's part of the promise the brand makes. Steve Jobs agrees . I’m even a fan of bringing product into early conversations with certain deals before they close if it makes sense. I’ve seen it in action. One time our product team was on a sales call and even sharing wireframes of what was in the product pipeline and that absolutely built value because it was us listening to the future customer and showing the art of the possible - bridging the gap between what they lacked and needed. The deal closed less than a month later and the dev team certainly gave us the edge against the primary competitor. Thanks product dev team! By addressing customer needs and incorporating feedback into product iterations once they’re onboarded, we ensure a continuous cycle of improvement. At a smaller organization or startup the ability to be agile is often easier, but as the org grows so does the chasm between customer feedback and product teams. This is why customer experience should be baked in early on in your company culture as an underlying denominator driving each sprint and iteration. Start with the customer experience (in case you missed that link earlier). Customer Success : There’s an equation I like to follow in the approach of customer success, it goes, Customer . Then it goes, Success . I know 🤯 . We’re dealing with people. Sometimes they’re bringing all their joy from a sunny day, or PTSD, with them on calls. The customer success manager also has their own metanarrative, bringing all their color and background to a call. Make sure your CSM team is well taken care of! I've been in situations where a customer straight up attacked a CSM, leading her to tears after that call. Customer success managers are the ones in the arena with what keeps your business afloat. Go-to-market is essential, yet if the sales team is pouring water into a bucket with holes, they'll never keep up with the churn. One interaction can ensure longterm loyalty (that hight NPS score!), or it can friend-zone it all. Even worse, a bad experience can change the meaning of the N in NPS... the net promoter may become a negative promoter (NPS = -70, no bueno). Beyond just solving immediate problems, customer success should be proactive, anticipating potential issues and helping customers maximize the value they receive. Customer first. Success second. Customer success is everyones business. Every department needs to deeply care about the customer and their success. When the customer is successful, so is the company, every department. My next installment will share my tale of building the CSM team entitled, "A Tale of Seamless Collaboration: Building a Customer Success Team at a Startup" Stay tuned!