Setting Priorities for Effective Resource Allocation Through Defensive CS
uSonar supports corporate CS and marketing activities by providing the customer integration platform uSonar, which is equipped with the corporate master database LBC. Mr. Yuasa of uSonar states, "For CS to maximize LTV, both 'defensive' strategies, such as improving usage and retention rates, and 'offensive' strategies, such as expanding sales, are necessary."
First, regarding 'defensive' strategies, ensuring that customers continue their contracts is a critical KPI. As uSonar provided uSonar to many companies, the company faced challenges such as 'wanting to increase post-implementation retention rates,' 'preventing churn among key accounts,' and 'increasing service utilization rates among client companies.' Consequently, the company began strengthening its CS structure around 2019 and implemented various measures.
The CS department structure consists of units for 'Customer Success Representatives' and 'Customer Support Representatives' under a manager. The former handles 'backup' functions, such as conducting regular check-in calls for each company and hosting periodic one-to-many seminars to introduce new features and encourage usage. In particular, these seminars serve as opportunities to identify customer pain points and requests, and are actively held with the goal of maintaining continuous engagement. Meanwhile, the latter, Customer Support Representatives, primarily handle inquiries, such as customer questions and troubleshooting.
"We regularly check in with customers who report no issues, providing follow-up at least once every three months to identify any emerging needs. Even if there are no issues immediately after implementation, customer challenges evolve over time—whether after a few months, one year, or two to three years. If we fail to notice these changes and neglect the account, customer satisfaction may decline, potentially leading to churn," says Mr. Yuasa.
However, resources are not infinite, even when attempting to address every challenge or concern. To respond efficiently, it is necessary to prioritize follow-up efforts. Therefore, at uSonar, we categorize accounts into a matrix based on company size and annual transaction value to determine the priority for our follow-up activities.
We provide top-priority support and follow-up to 'S-tier Customers' (Premium Customers), who have a broad scope of usage and scale, and are achieving business growth alongside our products. For 'A-tier Customers' (Potential Customers)—those with large company sizes but limited implementation departments or functions—we proactively approach them by sharing case studies and introducing new features, aiming to help them reach S-tier status.
For 'B-tier Customers' (Sub-premium Customers), who may have smaller company sizes but high transaction values, we provide follow-up with a focus on avoiding churn risk, while also keeping in mind the potential for increased transaction value, such as with high-potential startups. Furthermore, we do not neglect 'C-tier Customers' (Companies with both small company size and low transaction value); we continue to provide as much follow-up as possible based on their specific circumstances.
