14 January 2025

What Makes a Happy Customer? Alan Komet on Customer Experience, Success, & Retention

What Makes a Happy Customer? Alan Komet on Customer Experience, Success, & Retention
Business Focus Podcast

What Makes a Happy Customer? Alan Komet on Customer Experience, Success, & Retention

What does it take to create an exceptional customer experience? Join us as we chat with Alan Komet, Chief Customer Officer at ConnectWise, about how to optimise customer journeys using clear processes, technology, and AI.

Episode Highlights: 

  • Leverage AI and automation to improve retention and satisfaction
  • Build seamless customer journeys with clear processes
  •  Navigate onboarding, account management, and scaling effectively

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Improving Customer Experience Through Process, Technology, and AI: Lessons from Alan Komet

Customer experience (CX) has become a critical driver of success for businesses, with technology and innovation shaping the ways we connect, deliver, and retain value. In a recent discussion with Alan Komet, Chief Customer Officer at ConnectWise, key insights were shared about optimising CX using structured processes, technology, and a commitment to continuous learning. Alan’s extensive 30-year journey across the channel—spanning sales, customer success, and marketing—provides a wealth of knowledge for businesses seeking to refine their customer experience strategies.

The Foundation of a Successful Customer Journey

For Alan, the customer journey begins long before a purchase is made. Aligning the right customer with the right product at the right time is essential. Misalignment at this early stage leads to challenges throughout the relationship. As Alan aptly describes, it’s like driving a car: the salesperson may take the wheel initially, but others—such as success managers and support teams—take turns navigating, without ever leaving the car. The journey is collaborative, holistic, and ever-evolving.

  • Early Alignment: The “hunter-farmer” sales approach highlights the importance of targeting customers who align with your value proposition.
  • Cross-Functional Ownership: Different team members “drive” at various stages, from onboarding to ongoing support.
  • Customer Feedback as Fuel: Continuous learning from clients helps refine the journey over time.

Onboarding: A Critical Moment of Truth

Onboarding can make or break the customer relationship. At ConnectWise, onboarding is broken down into smaller, manageable phases to ensure clarity and accountability. This process includes provisioning, installation, customisation, and education. Each phase is tailored to the unique needs of the customer.

For example, new businesses with limited complexity might skip certain phases, while more mature organisations require deeper integrations or workflow changes. This segmented approach ensures that customers, regardless of size or maturity, receive an experience that meets their needs without unnecessary steps.

Scaling Personalised Account Management

One of the challenges Alan addressed is balancing personalised account management with scalability. For smaller customers, digital tools and automated touchpoints are essential, as these businesses often lack dedicated IT resources. Conversely, larger clients with dedicated IT teams require more frequent and in-depth engagements.

ConnectWise achieves this balance through:

  • Market Segmentation: Dividing clients by size and complexity to determine appropriate account manager workload.
  • Hybrid Tools: Combining automated tools with human expertise for tailored interactions.
  • Clear Roles: Using a pod structure with defined roles—account managers, sales engineers, and success specialists.

For smaller businesses, Alan emphasises the importance of digital check-ins that respect their limited time and resources. For larger organisations, the human touch becomes more significant, enabling deeper connections and long-term partnerships.

The Role of Customer Success in Retention

Customer success, Alan explains, is all about retention. Success managers focus on ensuring customers fully adopt and utilise their purchased products, helping them realise their value. This leads to “stickier” relationships and higher renewal rates. Unlike account managers or sales teams, success managers are not incentivised by sales quotas, allowing them to remain focused solely on the customer’s success.

Success-driven strategies include:

  • Deep Product Adoption: Encouraging customers to utilise advanced features of their tools.
  • Ongoing Education: Providing continuous training to ensure customers maximise their investment.
  • Proactive Engagement: Identifying potential issues before they escalate using data-driven insights.

Measuring Customer Health

A customer health scorecard is a vital tool for assessing the likelihood of customer retention. At ConnectWise, this scorecard integrates data from various sources, including product usage telemetry, support tickets, and sentiment analysis tools like Gong. The health score helps identify at-risk customers and triggers proactive playbooks to address their needs.

For example:

  • Low Engagement: A lack of support tickets might indicate customers are disengaged, not using the product, or at risk of churning.
  • Active Users: Frequent use of key features suggests a healthy relationship, but there may still be opportunities to introduce additional value.

By combining data from tools like Salesforce and Gainsight, ConnectWise develops a comprehensive view of each customer’s health, enabling timely interventions.

Marketing’s Role in Customer Experience

Marketing doesn’t stop at lead generation; it plays a critical role throughout the customer lifecycle. From communicating product advancements to showcasing the value of existing investments, marketing bridges the gap between technical capabilities and customer needs.

Alan highlights the importance of:

  • Ongoing Communication: Explaining the value customers continue to receive, whether through support interactions or new features.
  • Competitor Awareness: Staying ahead of new market entrants by continually showcasing value.
  • Multi-Channel Strategies: Delivering information in formats customers prefer, such as podcasts, videos, or bite-sized updates.

Leveraging Technology and AI

In today’s fast-paced world, automation and AI are no longer optional—they’re necessities. Alan emphasises the role of tools like Gong for sentiment analysis and AI-driven insights to streamline processes. These technologies reduce the burden on sales teams and ensure critical information is captured accurately.

Key benefits of automation include:

  • Scalability: Enabling engagement with thousands of SMBs without overwhelming resources.
  • Accuracy: Minimising manual data entry errors by auto-capturing CRM updates.
  • Efficiency: Freeing up account managers to focus on high-value interactions.

However, Alan is quick to point out that automation cannot fully replace human interaction. Customers still value personal connections, especially for complex or high-stakes scenarios.

The Evolution of Customer Experience

Looking ahead, Alan sees customer experience as an ongoing journey, driven by innovation, collaboration, and adaptability. Whether through in-person events like IT Nation Connect or digital touchpoints, building community and advocacy remains central to ConnectWise’s strategy.

For businesses aiming to improve their customer experience, Alan’s insights offer a roadmap:

  • Start Strong: Align the right customer with the right product from the outset.
  • Simplify Onboarding: Break down the process into manageable phases with clear ownership.
  • Prioritise Retention: Invest in customer success to ensure long-term loyalty.
  • Use Data Wisely: Leverage health scorecards and AI to identify risks and opportunities.
  • Communicate Consistently: Deliver value messages across multiple channels to stay top of mind.

In a world where customer expectations are constantly evolving, businesses must remain agile, proactive, and customer-centric. By embracing these principles, companies can not only meet but exceed customer expectations, building lasting relationships that drive success.

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