We here at Two Tree Solutions believe that success in the Experience Economy requires businesses to move beyond the traditional Account Management model into a more value-driven Customer Success philosophy. This evolution is driven by the adoption of two core operating mindsets:
Value attainment must be the primary Customer Success focus, rather than continuing emphasis on the revenue-first Sales model.
A Customer Journey must reflect the journey the customer is on with or without a provider, rather than only chronicling the customer’s interactions with your business.
The common thread through both of these differentiators is an underlying operating model that chooses Outside-In over Inside-Out. An Inside-Out perspective reflects a belief that the inner strengths and capabilities of the organization will make the business succeed by driving revenue. An Outside-In perspective reflects a belief that value creation, customer centricity, and intentional experience design will lead to success. Financial metrics evidence for us that the latter prevails over the former, but that evidence is for another article! Let's trust that fact for the purposes of this article, so we can focus on the two core differentiators of an Outside-In perspective in the CS world: How Customer Value and Customer Experiences (through the customer’s journey) drives success in the Experience Economy.
The Shift from Selling to Delivering Value
In my career, one of my first experiences with Outside-In vs Inside Out came when a company I was working with launched a Customer Experience group. During initial customer feedback, we heard a sentiment that changed our perspective entirely on the experiences we were actually providing to the customer: “Why do I only hear from you when it’s renewal time, or when there’s a new product to sell?”
The feedback highlighted our current Inside-Out perspective, where an Outside-In perspective would have helped us understand what the customers were actually expecting at that stage in their journey. We were still operating in the sales-driven mindset of the initial purchase, but our customers were no longer interested in our selling. Subsequent follow-ups with our customers told us they were interested in being able to do more with what they already had purchased.
This realization inspired us to shift our post-contract mindset from Inside-Out, transactional experiences, to Outside-In, value-driven experiences, by introducing salaried Customer Success Managers (CSMs). Instead of pushing additional products (Inside-Out), CSMs lead by listening and helping our customers optimize value from their initial investment (Outside-In).
Our CSMs started by collaborating with the customer through Customer and Stakeholder Success Plans (CSPs/SSPs), along with regularly scheduled success plan reviews. First they reviewed the agreed upon Customer Success Plan and its performance over the last quarter. Then they discussed what the needs were for the coming quarter, they updated the Customer Success Plan and started collaborating towards those needs.
This shift in mindset, from Inside-Out to Outside-In, ultimately led to revenue opportunities, as well as improved Customer Satisfaction, NPS scores, and advocacy. However, these outcomes were born out of the customer's expressed needs, not a sales-driven quota. All we had to do was listen and align our experiences accordingly. This is Customer Success.
Aligning a Customer Experience Map to the Customer’s Journey
The other half of my Outside-In Ah-Ha moment from above was recognizing the difference between Customer Journey and Customer Experience. The difference is quite simply that the Customer Journey is the journey the customer is on (with or without us as a provider), while Customer Experience is the collection of interactions we as a provider offer to our customer.
The Customer Journey Map is a visual representation of where your customer is going, identifying stages/steps along their journey, who is involved, and how they might feel about possible outcomes (If you are hesitant about the value of this emotional component, read our blog on the four pillars here). Each journey results in at least one outcome of value, with steps and stages of the journey generating incremental value, but always towards the end game (see Journey Map figure below).
The Customer Experience Map however, describes how a provider intends to deliver the value that a customer is looking for (when they are looking for it). It starts with the customer journey map at its foundation, then maps the provider experiences to each step and/or stage of that customer journey. The experience map should include the what, how, and when that specific experience applies to that journey step/stage (the why), along with a “Responsible, Accountable, Consultative and Informed” (RACI) table for the who. Experience maps can also include feedback results, clarifying how a customer has felt along their journey to date, as a result of their experiences with you (see Experience Map figure below).
This difference between experience and journey, like the difference between selling and value realization, is subtle, yet powerful, and both are central to the purpose of Customer Success. If you, as a provider, build a journey map that reflects your processes (Inside-Out), you are missing important steps in the customer journey that could help you understand the customer and their needs. This Inside-Out mistake may ultimately derail your customer success strategy, and explain why you have some unhappy customers, or worse yet, customers that leave!
As one of our customers said about the journey and experience mapping exercise “The Member Development Learning Journey map has provided us with a clear, actionable framework to support our members at every stage of their growth (ie experience map). It's a tool we didn’t know we needed but now can’t imagine being without.”
Conclusion: The Win-Win: Customer (and Business) Success
The shift from Inside-Out to Outside-In is subtle but powerful. By focusing on value through exceptional experiences (Outside-In), you’ll not only strengthen your relationships with your customers, but also build a profitable and sustainable business that thrives on long-term success, rather than short-term gains. Moving a company from Inside-Out to Outside-In is hard, but the benefits to both are transformational!
The Two Tree Solutions Team would love to help you build a personalized Customer Success Strategy that fits you and your organization, based upon where you are now, and where you want to go. Contact Us Today!