You hay have heard these terms before, but what do they actually mean? How do we define them at Linode? What makes one of our customers “High Touch” and others “Low Touch”? I’ll give a brief overview here.
Segmentation
Customer Success can be delivered in different ways. Each segment of Linode’s customer base is approached differently, depending on several factors like their spend, potential, level of complexity, and desired experience:
- High Touch
- Low Touch
- Tech Touch
High Touch
Communication: Primarily one-to-one
High Touch customers are those that we proactively schedule hands-on touch points with. These customers are each valuable enough to “store inventory” for (educational resources, hands-on meeting preparation, personalized presentations), and deliver it in a one-to-one fashion. The High-Touch cohort tends to contain many of Linode’s oldest, largest, and best-known customers.
One of the primary mechanisms of our High-Touch process comes in the form of Executive Business Reviews. These are meetings held on a regular cadence where we set and work towards goals with our customers. We work closely with this cohort to plan and execute projects, collect feedback, and clear any roadblocks to retention and growth.
It’s important to note that not all high-spend customers warrant a High Touch relationship. Some are more hands-off and self-sufficient, and that’s perfectly fine. It’s all about delivering the appropriate experience to each customer.
Low Touch
Communication: Both one-to-one and one-to-many
The Low Touch approach can be considered “just-in-time” Customer Success. This means we reach out at critical points in the customer’s lifecycle to influence their success; spending just the right amount of effort to make one-to-one interactions valuable to both Linode and the customer. There are no proactively scheduled hands-on touch points with these customers. Unlike the High Touch cohort, we aren’t “storing inventory” but delivering it as needed.
One example of a Low Touch approach is our Variance Outreach play (more on this play in a future post). When a customer has a dramatic change in spend, we engage them to identify any opportunities to help.
Tech Touch
Communication: Only one-to-many
All customer interactions in this area are technology-driven with zero hands-on intervention. Touches are timely, relevant, and include useful information to influence a large segment of low-MRR customers. The one-to-many communication in the Tech Touch realm allows us to scale efforts efficiently, reaching across our customer base. Approaches here may include surveys, guides and documentation, or triggered, personalized emails to customers.