The step to turn the support page into Customer Success has already had exciting effects. This is according to Lars Andersson, head of this department at Inexchange.
Lars sees a journey of change where the focus is on getting a better overall picture of customers and putting needs and appropriate solutions more in the center.
- It feels that we have broadened. We are becoming an even greater asset to our customers, he says.
When Inexchange and Scancloud merged at the turn of last year, it meant, among other things, that the support was restructured. Geographically, everything is as before, the staff are located in Östersund and Skövde just as they were before the merger, but in terms of organization and work, there has been a renewal.
Change usually takes time, but the transformation to a Customer Success department has meant a different approach in just a few months. The intention is to become more proactive and forward-looking. There's no doubt that things are moving in that direction.
Which is exactly what Lars and the rest of the department had hoped for.
- The word "support" sounds very reactive to me and doesn't rhyme with the journey we are on, he says, highlighting one of the reorganizations that have taken place.
- We used to be one support team. Now there are two service teams. One in Skövde and one in Östersund. Then we have three more teams in Skövde. And again: the idea of this is to be more proactive. We offer something more than just support. We provide a service in addition to reactive support.
It's trendy to talk about a sounding board, and that's definitely an appropriate term in this context as well.
- The goal is to emphasize the advanced cases that come in. The customer should be able to handle simpler things through self-service via the help center or our chatbot, which we are rebuilding and implementing this summer. Then we can instead spend more time on onboarding and ensuring that customers get started with the product and services in the best way, says Lars and emphasizes a little extra:
"We want our customers to be able to take advantage of the full capacity of the services. That's why we think it's important to be on hand to provide advice, training or other types of assistance.
There are also clear signs that customers' routines are changing and that this means a new form of service. The habit of obtaining support through digital tools is growing ever stronger.
"I think we are in the midst of a generational shift among customers too. In the past, it was more common for customers to want to get in touch with us on the phone and get quick answers that way, but as AI spreads in the market, more customers are inclined to try to find answers themselves via a chat or a help center. We obviously need to counter that behavior and make sure we meet customers at their preferred points of contact when the need arises.
Lars points out in the next breath:
- After all, the support phone is not open all the time. In that case, office hours apply (weekdays 8-17). But with the help of chatbots, help centers and AI, we can still offer 24/7 service.
In addition, the refinement of the support function makes the customer journey even more complete. Regarding the key stages of the journey, from contact to salesperson and signed contract to commissioning, these parts have always been fully covered, but now a follow-up is created that benefits customers to an even greater extent. The final stage, ensuring that customers get started with the service in the best possible way, is being monitored more closely.
After a few years in the role of support manager, Lars Andersson is now leading the work to design a department that is in line with future developments.
"I'm passionate about this new thinking," he says, smiling a little as he thinks back.
"I've basically worked with support all my working life. You can see how it has changed. In the beginning, when I was fresh in this field, it was a payment line into support. In my first job, as a customer, you had to pay per minute to call support. Today, you can get an answer from Chat GPT that in some cases is even clearer than what a physical person can give. The development is really cool.
- At the same time, my attitude is that self-service, AI and chatbot will not replace the personal contact. As an InExchange customer, you should still be able to call us and use that channel if you feel more comfortable with it. But the ability to find answers on your own, and get help in other ways, we will also fulfill. We have come a long way in this respect, but we will go even further," he declares.