In this installment, we are joined By Ashu Avasthi, who leads customer success, client implementation, process improvement, and business operations teams at Certa. With over 20 years of experience, Ashu has driven revenue growth in roles spanning Product Development, Marketing, Sales Operations, Direct Sales, and Management Consulting.
Ashu shares insights, ideas, and inspiration from his journey in CS.
That customer success = customer satisfaction.
It’s a very limited view of CS. While satisfaction is important, Customer Success goes beyond that. It's about ensuring clients achieve their desired outcomes, bring value to their market, and build a strong client base.
Often, there's a misconception that Customer Success begins only after the sale is made. It is a full journey map – starting even before they become a client.
If we treat Customer Success like a complete journey map right from day one, it changes the game. CS should start from the initial interaction with the client. This includes setting mutual expectations, establishing a clear communication cadence, and ensuring continuity from sales to implementation and ongoing support.
CS also needs to work closely with the sales team to ensure they have all the tools, information, and support to kick off the customer journey positively.
Customer Success has not been a point-in-time activity for me - I've endeavored to always never be more than one step removed from the customer.
It has been 100% of my journey throughout – whether in product development, sales, implementation, or advisory roles.
Over time, I’ve been able to bring my perspective from all these roles to now have a more wholesome view of CS.
Be more structured and focused on what Customer Success means from the beginning. It's about seeing beyond mere satisfaction to actively helping them be successful in what they set out to do.
At Certa, we invest in Customer Success because our leadership team has been there from the start. They've been on the factory floor, so to speak, talking directly with clients. Our CEO, especially, takes every client engagement personally.
Some might say, "Oh, that's fine for a small company, but it won't scale." I disagree. Caring about our clients isn't just about knowing the details of the first hundred; it's about embedding that ethos into our company's architecture. It's about having clear vision and mission statements that prioritize our clients' success above all else.
In our field of third-party risk management – where we protect clients from regulatory or brand risks – their choosing us is a sign of the personal trust they're placing in us.
We take this trust very seriously and it’s personal to us because we're safeguarding their interests every day. This approach has struck a chord and is shaping our team culture for the better.
Our top priority right now is ensuring that we're fully integrated into the sales cycle from an earlier stage. We're focused on equipping our sales team with the right tools, templates, and narratives to set accurate expectations and support them throughout the process.
From an implementation and CS perspective, we're aiming to engage as early as the 50% mark of the deal to establish relationships and align expectations effectively.
This year, our main goal is to solidify these initiatives and embed them firmly into our sales workflow.
When I think about the future of Customer Success and where AI fits into it, I see two key aspects.
First, AI allows us to accelerate client success by simplifying interactions. For instance, using AI tools like our SmartFill AI component to ease the burden on clients when inputting data. This helps us enhance their experience and overall satisfaction right from the start.
The second crucial aspect is AI’s ability to process customer data effectively. It's not just about extracting the data, which is automation at its core, but about leveraging AI to analyze that data for actionable insights and reminders.
By providing early warnings and insights through things like sentiment analysis and KPI tracking, AI empowers us to make informed decisions promptly and pivot when necessary.
When someone suggests that AI could handle all aspects of Customer Success, it's a bit extreme. It's like saying humans won't need to interact with other humans anymore.
We believed remote work would replace office interactions entirely. However, productivity suffered, showing us the importance of human structure and interaction. COVID also highlighted that human connection remains essential for well-being and productivity.
I firmly believe the bell curve will shift – AI will undoubtedly reshape CS, automating routine tasks and providing insights from data.
Yet, in areas like whiteboard sessions or deep discussions, where clients need personalized solutions, AI simply can't replicate that human touch. Clients often request on-site work sessions or extended workshops—those needs won't fade.
Finding that balance—where AI enhances human capabilities rather than replaces them—is where I believe the future of CS lies.
