The silent treatment: What to do when a customer ghosts
Is there anything worse than the deafening silence of that one customer email that’s missing from your inbox? Isabel Ruiz, former Customer Education Manager and host of CSM Toolbox, shares her best tricks for dealing with the silent treatment.
*Crickets.* We’ve all been there. But don’t let panic set in.
Instead, take some time to reflect. Review the customer’s success plan. What happened in your last QBR? Were they on track? Are they enrolled in your digital-led program? If so, have the proper triggers and automations gone out? Did they hit their value milestones?
If not, what actions did you take? Don’t be afraid to ask yourself the tough questions: did you miss something?
Next, go back to where it all began: the sales cycle. Now, this doesn’t necessarily start with sales. For additional context, why not investigate. how the customer entered the sales cycle in the first place? Were they an inbound lead? If so, what did their journey as a prospect look like? Were they an outbound lead? If so, find the rep that brought them in.
Setting and managing expectations happen before a customer is handed over from sales to CS. Look at the data, and review the notes in your CRM. Team up with CS Ops or Finance and look at historical data pertaining to the account. Can they identify any trends? Are there customers with similar behavior patterns? This can help you put together an action plan at scale.
PRO TIP: Using surveys? Keep it short. No one has time for 21 questions.
Your support team will be able to provide you with insights into the
number of tickets that have been opened and resolved. When was the last time they contacted support?
Remember: a quiet customer doesn’t equal a happy customer. If your customers haven’t submitted any tickets during their customer journey, that’s a red flag.
Lastly, your Product team can provide you with plenty of intel, too. They may have carried out a customer interview or reviewed feature requests.
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3 subject lines to re-engage your customers:
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Whatever the case might be, the majority of CSMs will have been put through the silent treatment at some point. It’s not fun, but you’re not. alone in this – customer success is a team sport.
Want to learn more about customer health? Check out inSided’s Customer Health Magazine.
