Customers as Partners in Growth

The rise of cloud-based solutions and software-as-a-service (SaaS) platforms has significantly changed how companies do business, placing the customer at the forefront. This shifting power dynamic allows the customer more control over the direction that businesses take and has even led to the development of new disciplines focused wholly on helping companies to achieve their own goals with software or a solution. Customer Success is one discipline in which dedicated teams align with customers to ensure they achieve more using their purchased technology solutions. 

Jada Gale leads Customer Success at triValence and truly advocates for customers as new features are built to help them achieve their goals. “The first thing that Customer Success professionals should seek to understand is the outcome a business is trying to reach. This doesn’t necessarily mean their goals with our solution, but their overall business goals.” That’s an essential first step in understanding how to guide the partnership,” Jada says. “A good customer success program is a critical link between the customer and the product. By understanding customers’ true business goals, we can help companies build solutions in a way that helps them meet those goals more quickly and efficiently.” 

triValence is a B2B SaaS company that offers a single platform that streamlines supply chain and expense management operations for ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs), physician groups, and other non-acute providers. Automating procurement and payment processes eliminates administrative burdens and provides greater visibility into business operations. 

“We knew there was a great need for our product in the market as it’s capable of solving major pain points for ASCs, physician offices, and clinics. But through partnerships with early adopters, like Three Gables, we have learned much about what surgery centers are trying to achieve instead of what we think they’re trying to achieve. Customer Success is all about giving the customer a voice in the tools and solutions being developed for them and ensuring that they have an advocate on the inside making sure that the business is considering their needs and outcomes,” Jada says. 

Although Customer Success has become an essential function of growth in the SaaS era, customer success has been a minor focus at most health tech companies, which typically rely on sales reps and reactive customer service teams to solve issues after they arise. When that happens, customers typically end up with a solution that somewhat meets their needs but still lacks the necessary support to help them get fully acquainted with it. Moreover, the time it takes to see the value they would expect from a product they bought can take much longer than anticipated. This isn’t good for the customer or the business.  

“At triValence, we have a bit of an obsession with our customers, and the part that I like the most is how quickly user experience, product, and customer success teams can come together to make it as easy as possible for the customer to see value quickly,” Jada says. “My job is to keep the voice of our customers front and center. I often joke that I work for our customers and not for triValence. Fortunately, it’s easy for me to do that because triValence was founded on customer-centric values. Our leadership comprises smart people with backgrounds spanning large organizations and startups. What unites them is the experience of working with some of the most customer-centric organizations.” 

Source: https://blog.hubspot.com/service/customer-centric 

Another thing that sets Customer Service and Customer Success apart is that success teams strive to fully understand any potential concerns, reservations, or hurdles a customer might have and proactively helps manage them. It also involves being attuned to our customers’ internal or external constraints that may hinder reaching success. For example, ASCs and non-acute providers that triValence serves face shrinking reimbursements and skyrocketing supply and staffing costs, making them resource constrained. 

“This is why we prioritize a very quick and easy onboarding process with minimal disruption to their daily work. We ensure that our customers can use our solution in two weeks or less, over which we’re asking very little of them,” Jada says. ” We focus on leveraging technology and smart connections to do the heavy lifting so that our customers can improve their processes with little to no disruption, which pays great dividends down the road.” 

Jada says it’s rewarding to hear that her customers can recoup several hours weekly because they use the triValence solution. It’s also gratifying to know that a nurse, who can wear multiple hats and is typically pulled into supply chain operations, says they can now spend more time with patients because the platform is automating tasks that would previously take them several hours to complete daily. 

“Customer Success is often referred to as a “farming” mentality. If we can truly understand our current customers’ needs and support them by making it as easy as possible to get there, they will bring us along with them as they grow. It’s a win-win situation, a partnership that will help us grow too!”