Customer Success Path

Do you know the path a potential customer takes when they first get introduced to your business? If not, it’s time you created your own customer success path to help make every part of your business flow together like you’ve never experienced before.

Take a look at the example diagram below.

We want you to imagine the path your 1% target customer is going to take from a fresh new lead to a longtime loyal customer.

<< Figure out what your 1% target customer is>>

Example Customer Success Path:

What steps do your customers take to move forward along the path?

What questions, concerns and interests do they have at each stage?

In our example image above, we show 5 steps, but you could have more. By answering these questions you can create a complete overview of all your customer’s needs, create content that attracts traffic, and use that to create more conversions over and over again.

Customer Success Path Steps

Let’s look at each step in our example a bit deeper. For each step, we want you to think about the questions they have, what type of characteristics customers in this stage have (are they newbies to your service/products/industry?), and what type of milestones and actions they would need to take to move forward to the next step on your customer success path.

Stage #1 – Start/Entry Point

The first stage in your customer success path is the start or entry point that a new lead would be coming into. Think of this as if they have zero knowledge of you, your business, your products or your services and how you would help them.

You should be identifying your customer’s biggest pain points at this stage. Try for 1-3 top pain points.

Think about this, when a new lead comes in:

• • What information are they looking for?
  • Do you offer services or training for a newbie or first-level customer?
  • How do they reach you or learn about all your levels of servicing or products to understand where they land in your overall business?

Biz HERO Example:  Our first stage in our own biz hero customer success path is for new business owners & entrepreneurs who are just starting to create their foundations, whether it’s online with a website for ecommerce, their social platforms and even physical stores.

You can go deeper with each pain point by popping the “why stack” to get to the value layer to find opportunities.

Start the “why stack” with:

• • Why is “pain point A” a problem?
  • For who?
  • Why do they need to solve it?
  • What is the desired outcome? And why?
  • What are the consequences if not solved? And why?
  • Who ALL does it benefit? And….why?

After determining their biggest pain points at this stage, you can start to connect their pain points to your solutions.

List 5 top things you offer your customer at this stage. If you haven’t sold yet, what are 3-5 you think your customers will love & benefit from the greatest depending on the pain points you identified?

Now, pick the 1 that relates most to their pain point and create your first piece of content around and a lead magnet for them to download (and you to start collecting your own assets= emails).

Example lead magnets to create:

• • What can you offer for free?
  • Can you provide an inside look?
  • A live demonstration?
  • A quick action guide?
  • Top tips/tricks/new strategies?
  • 1-10 must-do maintenance list?

Stage #2 – The Paying Customer

You will do the same steps you did in Stage #1 that you will do for Stage #2.

• Identify your customer’s biggest pain points at this stage. Try for 1-3 top pain points.
• Create a match from their pain point to one of your products or services
• Identify information they are looking for and need to help resolve their pain points at that stage
• Determine services and/or training that you offer customers at this stage
• Create a piece of content for each pain point you identify and a downloadable lead magnet if you can
• What milestones would they need to overcome to move into the next stage?

Stage #3 – The Upgrading & Building Customer

You will do the same steps you did in Stage #1 & Stage #2 again with a couple additional action steps listed last.

• Identify your customer’s biggest pain points at this stage. Try for 1-3 top pain points.
• Create a match from their pain point to one of your products or services
• Identify information they are looking for and need to help resolve their pain points at that stage
• Determine services and/or training that you offer customers at this stage
• Create a piece of content for each pain point you identify and a downloadable lead magnet if you can
• What milestones would they need to overcome to move into the next stage?
• Start adding in additional features to these stages, as in “You might also like” and “Based on your purchase history” and offer additional add-on’s to start creating a more personalized experience for your customers
• How can they promote or refer other potential leads (aka buyers)

Stage #4 – The Engaged & Growing Customer

You will do the same steps you did in Stage #1 & Stage #2 & Stage #3…..again. But this stage, you will be doing a few added action steps.

• Identify your customer’s biggest pain points at this stage. Try for 1-3 top pain points.
• Create a match from their pain point to one of your products or services
• Identify information they are looking for and need to help resolve their pain points at that stage
• Determine services and/or training that you offer customers at this stage
• Create a piece of content for each pain point you identify and a downloadable lead magnet if you can
• What milestones would they need to overcome to move into the next stage?
• Start adding in additional features to these stages, as in “You might also like” and “Based on your purchase history” and offer additional add-on
• How can you engage them more across different channels?
• What options do they have to offer feedback, suggestions and improvements so that you can identify them as a value customer using their experiences to better your products and services?
• Can you offer more advanced programs and services to enhance their customer experience, such as a membership, recognition or grouping of products and/or services?
• Create new content for tips and more advanced training options for basic to mid-level products & services

Stage #5 – The Loyal Customer

You will do the same steps you did in previous stages #1, #2, #3 and $4 with additional added action steps.

• Identify your customer’s biggest pain points at this advanced stage. Try for 1-3 top pain points. Their pain points at this top stage might be on how to really advance the products & services they have been using.
• Create a match from their pain point to one of your products or services
• Identify information they are looking for and need to help resolve their pain points at that stage
• Determine services and/or training that you offer customers at this stage
• Create a piece of content for each pain point you identify and a downloadable lead magnet if you can
• How can you engage them more across different channels?
• Provide options for them to give feedback & suggestions.
• Can you offer loyalty programs with points and allow them to utilize their continued customer purchases for bonuses, discounts and other unique benefits at this stage?
• Create options for them to scale their experience

Final tips and advice for creating your own Customer Success Path:

1. 1. Be customer-centric to your vision and mission
   2. Have your customer’s successful outcome the focus of all stages
   3. Be flexible in adjusting your stages as you learn and grow
   4. Use your customer’s problems, pain points and issues to create better product & services for them
   5. Remember that customers buy internal solutions that satisfy not only the physical problem but also the emotional & intellectual one as well.
   6. Focus your solutions on the customer’s desired end result, not your profit. Their happy experience will bring you return customers and more profit in the long run.
   7. A positive result is equal to a customer’s desired resolution, positive feeling and overall satisfaction.
   8. Allow your customers to communicate with reviews, feedback and messaging to allow your own growth for better products and services that will address their issues and enhance their customer experience.

BONUS: 

Try answering this sentence for every stage along with a related free download:

How would you like to never __ (pain point) again and always have ____(dream scenario).
With our ____ (freebie) you will learn how to _ (solution to pain point) in only # __ (quickest timeframe) and get _(results).