In the world of SaaS, achieving scalable growth in CS has become more crucial than ever. Martine van Deursen, VP of Customer Success at Foleon, brings an insightful perspective on how digital success can drive scalable, personalized engagement. By leveraging technology as a “trusted advisor” for customers, CS teams can deliver meaningful support at scale while balancing automation with the human touch that customers still value.
Digital success is the art of providing customers with the right advice, exactly when they need it. Her vision of digital CS is technology that guides users with empathy and precision in a fast-paced digital world. This approach isn’t simply about efficiency; it’s about building trust and relevance in a way that makes customers feel supported on their journey.
Building a foundation for scalable customer success
For Foleon, creating a successful digital CS program begins with enabling autonomy. Customers want the freedom to navigate software on their own without waiting for support or wading through ticketing systems. From her experience, empowering users to succeed independently fosters trust and confidence in the product. To build this foundation, Martine advises CS leaders to take a step-by-step approach:
1. Encourage customer autonomy
By removing obstacles to self-service, companies give customers the tools to help themselves, making the user experience more satisfying and less dependent on direct support.
2. Mapping the customer journey thoughtfully
Martine highlights the importance of accurately mapping each customer journey. “Mapping out this journey is where many CS teams stumble,” she notes. To guide customers effectively, it’s essential to recognize every touchpoint along the way. Martine likens this approach to arriving at a party where you’re introduced correctly by someone who knows you well, ensuring every interaction is relevant and informed.
3. Designing a streamlined onboarding experience
Martine stresses that onboarding is about more than ticking boxes; it’s about giving customers a sense of ownership from the start. For customers, early wins build confidence and reinforce a sense of autonomy that continues throughout their journey.
4. Focusing on key actions for retention
To keep customers engaged, Martine suggests doubling down on actions that foster long-term success. By reinforcing these key actions, CS teams can create opportunities for customers to get more value out of the product and establish lasting loyalty.
5. Collaborating with product teams for insightful solutions
Martine also underlines the importance of CS-product alignment. “Product teams know the paths customers should take,” she explains. By working together, CS and product teams can use customer insights to guide improvements and address any obstacles that arise, which strengthens the foundation for successful engagement.
6. Leveraging data to identify points of friction
Data analysis is central to Martine’s strategy. By observing where customers struggle, CS teams can predict and preempt potential issues, helping customers before they even think to reach out for help. This proactive approach aligns with Martine’s vision of digital success as a seamless, responsive experience that addresses needs in real time.
A real-world example of digital success
At Foleon, Martine and her team developed what they call a “content compass,” a self-service tool designed to enhance engagement after onboarding. The compass guides users to create content independently, helping them achieve that first “YES” moment when they launch a project successfully. The process is tailored to each customer’s role, whether in HR, sales, or communications, offering ready-made templates and use cases to make content creation as smooth as possible. This model of digital self-service creates “stickiness,” or increased engagement, which translates into greater customer satisfaction and retention.
Key considerations for implementing digital CS
Martine is quick to point out that digital CS isn’t a low-cost solution for every customer. It’s about strategically allocating resources to serve different types of customers effectively. To address this, Martine recommends segmenting customers into distinct groups, such as ICPs and others, and tailoring engagement strategies based on their potential impact. “It’s not about pushing everyone into digital buckets,” she says, “but about focusing resources where they’ll make the biggest difference.”
Another essential piece of the digital CS puzzle is the tech stack. With webinar tools, CRM systems, messaging platforms, help centers, and chatbots, it’s easy to become overwhelmed. Martine emphasizes the need for a unified approach, ensuring all tools work together to create a single source of truth for customer data. This integration helps CS teams deliver more focused, effective support without being bogged down by a fragmented tech landscape.
Expansion is also key. Martine stresses that digital CS needs to be part of a broader strategy involving the marketing, product, and revenue teams. “Land-and-expand strategies don’t live in a silo,” she reminds us. For long-term success, every team needs to be on the same page about how to support customers.
Enhancing the digital CS experience with personalization and proactive communication
Despite the power of automation, there’s an immense value in personal interactions, even within a digital-first framework. She advocates for “personalization at scale,” suggesting that while automated messages are effective, they should be balanced with occasional personal outreach. “If you’re in digital CS,” she says, “you can enrich the experience by talking directly with customers.” These conversations reveal insights that forms and surveys simply can’t capture.
Proactive communication is at the heart of a strong customer success strategy. At Foleon, data insights drive an approach that goes beyond simply waiting for customer inquiries. By anticipating needs and delivering solutions ahead of time, Foleon positions digital customer success as a reliable guide, actively supporting customers at every step of their journey.
Finally, Martine highlights the importance of keeping the digital CS team informed about product changes well in advance. New features need to be supported by documentation, training resources, and proactive communication to help customers see how these changes benefit them directly.
Transforming customer success into scalable digital empowerment
Martine’s approach to digital success is a roadmap for companies looking to scale customer success effectively. With a foundation built on autonomy, journey mapping, proactive insights, and strategic collaboration, digital CS can provide customers with valuable guidance without losing the personal touch. By integrating these elements, Foleon has created a framework that empowers customers to thrive independently, establishing digital success as both a scalable strategy and a powerful driver of customer satisfaction.
