Journey of a Customer Success Rep

A look into the diversified career growth of a mathematician

Please introduce yourself:

My name is Judith Azi Azong, I am from Plateau State and I’m a customer experience expert. I currently work with QuickBus as their Global Customer Success Manager, where I create a detailed customer study that outlines customers’ problems, prospects, and solutions. I’m also the co-founder of a customer experience consulting firm where we review companies and find ways to make their customer experience better. I am obsessed with customer service and ‘bad service irks me’ and takes me off balance.

I love to be in the space of giving customers the best experience cos I believe a good service makes even a bad product better. A lot of people need to understand the need for amazing customer service and that’s why we set up CX-Coeur.

What motivated you to become a customer success representative and what do you enjoy most about the role?

It’s funny cos I studied Mathematics and I wasn’t going to do anything related to communication or customer success, because then I didn’t know anything about customer success as a career, but just knew when you call MTN and the likes you get to speak to people and your issues get resolved. While waiting to get shortlisted, I got a job at a radio station to be a duty continuity announcer, after which I went to Ibadan for my service year. It was there I got my 1st gig in customer success at iSON Xperience thanks to a friend who told me about the opportunity, in a few months’ time, I was moved to the floor where I could pick up bank calls, telemarket, and later to prestigious customers. It was really fast-paced and I started asking myself if this is where I was meant to be.

I later transitioned to SafeBoda as a customer success associate, and after a year plus, I became a shift lead in charge of process improvement and team management. I truly understood what CX and customer service are as a service in startups. Funny my team lead '(Temilade) at Safeboda is now my cofounder at CX-Coeur.

Then I moved to Eden as a Customer Success Specialist and 3 months in I got a congratulatory message cos I had the best stat in upselling and retention. Before I knew it, I was moved to the growth team as the 1st onboarding specialist in Eden. (Onboarding Specialist is a part of customer experience where prompts are sent to trigger potential customers or outbound calls are placed to guide customers through their onboarding journey, better market your product, and then group the feedback to provide key insight to the product/appropriate teams for improvement/optimization).

Then I moved to QuickBus, where I currently work as a CS lead and optimize the processes rather than develop the processes. But I’d definitely love to explore fintech and I’m motivated by the work I do.

How has working in various industries shaped your understanding of customer’s needs and expectations?

It’s been great working in different spaces, and one important thing I realized is that customers are different and CX is versatile. But it’s always about the customers being the product or being a by-product of the numerous services.

What are the transferrable skills you’ve gained & how have they helped you succeed?

Your tone of communication is key and secondly Data. Data because even if you think something is right, you need data to validate that thought.

Will you say this skill has helped your leadership style?

Yes! My leadership style is greatly influenced by my previous leaders, from Faud who gave me autonomy and taught me a lot of things, to Temilade and Olumide. I’ve been blessed with a lot of amazing leaders, and I try to manage people in the best way possible so others can also have great things to say about me.

What are some of the common challenges you faced when transitioning between industries and how did you overcome them?

So I’ve gone from lifestyle, transportation, insurance and al, and one thing I’ve realized is that all customers are different. Some want to know you’re smart and can fix their issues, some don’t need you to show you’re smart, some want you to relate with them like they’re 5 years old.

You need to learn how to communicate based on the industry standard and that’s one challenge I faced. I had to adjust from informal to less formal to prestigious customers and that adjustment was a bit challenging, but I stayed motivated and that’s how I was able to overcome it.

How do you ensure you meet the expectations across the various industries?

Like I said, I’m a data person. So I look at the numbers, and the feedback,then group these complaints and service requests across board. KPIs are always different so I just align myself to the goal of the company and try to get fewer complaints.

What approach have you found most effective in building strong relationships with customers?

The ability to not say sorry. The regular norm is for cs reps to apologize and my lead taught me to break the norm and ensure to not say ‘I’m sorry’ cos you don’t always need to apologize to your customers, but instead make them feel correct and feel like you understand how they feel.

How do you stay motivated and enthusiastic when starting a new role?

Seeking the next big challenge and solving the next big problem is something I love. When you rely on people to push your buttons before moving, then you’re setting yourself up for failure. I don’t rely on anyone but always ask myself what I’m doing, why am I doing it and how will I do it?! I remind myself of why I started in the first place and stay self-motivated.

What key skills should people cultivate to excel in a diverse business environment?

Communication! Communication skills are very important because you can’t afford to be misinterpreted.

Another important skill is the relational skill, cos you’ll work with different departments, and working smoothly with them will enhance your work.

Lastly, data skills because you need data to back up whatever notion you’re trying to push.

What's your advice for people trying to build a career in customer service?

My advice is to self-evaluate!

Ask why you want to go into the customer success industry and understand how you can achieve your goals. If you’re good at data, harness that skill and if you’re good at speaking, harness it. Know the skills you require to excel, know the skills you already have, and up those skills to make you better across different industries.