Journey of a Customer Success Representative

A look into the career growth of a support executive

Please introduce yourself:

My name is Chimunaya Dike and I'm a customer support executive and manager at Fronesyz.

What motivated you to become a customer success representative?

I didn't envision myself being a customer support personnel, and my first role was with a software engineering organization, like a mini web hosting reseller company. I was there and my role was to attend to customers and people there. I was managing the website, creating content, and talking to customers which was quite engaging. I love engaging people, and creating connections.

How do you prepare yourself for a typical day on the job and what does your daily routine look like? 

With about six years of experience, I've seen good and bad days. All you need to do is wake up, exercise, and maybe plug some music into your head, and say it's gonna be a great day. 

To be a customer service person you have to be calm, be informed, and understand your products. Whatever the size of your team, ensure you communicate and share updates about certain things. Before starting your day, ask yourself these questions; Are there things I need to know? Is there something my team lead has said that I don’t understand and need clarity on? Be proactive!

Ensure that you are mentally ok and in a good mood, as this can also affect your output. If music helps, play some. For me, I just take it as it comes, because I know any which way it goes, I'm ready and willing to take it on. 💪

How has working in the customer success field for 6years shaped your understanding of customer’s needs and expectations?

It’s been enlightening, because I always remember I'm also a customer to a business. With that realization, I can easily see where the customers are coming from and react accordingly. The key is understanding! 

Being in this role has made me understand certain things I need to do myself; like communicating better and building a better relationship with customers.

You seem to have carved out a niche in community management and customer service. How have you built that?

While I was serving in Kaduna, I noticed I love engaging people, being around people, vibing, and all those things. I decided to give back and just support communities and I’d like to say that I became vibrant in the tech ecosystem.

I started as a community engagement person in a non-profit, and that experience gave me the ginger to do more. I’m currently the Regional Coordinator for Youth Opportunities, where I share opportunities and mentor ambassadors. 

So having that community background is one of the things that helped boost my career.  I always just want to add value, because it doesn't really cost me anything to do so. I just want to be known as a volunteer, a community person that helps people grow.

I work from 9 to 5, but I let people know this is what I do. I can bring the knowledge I have from various communities and join some communities, maybe women's communities, non-techies communities, and just add value there.

So that’s what I did. I just joined some communities, branded myself online, kept on engaging, and just helped with people's needs. Maybe they want to transition, they want to join a community, or they want to talk about customer service, I love that I can guide them. I was also part of a boot camp for about 2/3 months for a customer success track that wanted to transition. In this niche, I'm pretty much able to build that community and thrive with them.

That's just been what I've been doing, helping people through communities. I want them to see me as somebody that they could reach out to if they want to make the transition to the customer success field.

What strategies do you use to maintain a positive and professional demeanor when dealing with customers even in challenging situations?

Firstly, empathy and then good communication skills are very important strategies. I remind myself that I need to always be professional. The goal is to get a great remark and once I see the customers are happy, it’s a win for me. I remind myself of the need to be professional even if the customer shouts, I will not get angry but remain calm because I know its not personal.

Once you have that mindset and you put these strategies in place, it's going to be easy.

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

First and foremost be yourself, be a bit selfless. Once you're selfless, you're not trying to compete with anyone, you’ll only see every opportunity as a means to add value. I just want to see that opportunity to add value because when customers go back home, they think of that interaction and will feel happy with the service they received. It’s a win-win situation and it create stronger relationships.

What will you say is the most rewarding parts of your job?

The most rewarding part is honestly the feeling of being a superhero; like Wonder Woman :). That feeling you get when you saved the day, that you made someone happy, and increase retention. That feeling helps me stay motivated. 

What skills and qualities do you think a customer success representative should have?

Problems solving skills, good communication skills, research skills, listening, and again, problem solving skills.

Working in this field you get to find out how you relate to people outside of your job is also linked internally. You get to communicate well, you respond to people in the right manner, you have empathy, and you now understand how people are feeling. 

Remember, good communication and problem-solving skills are the key ingredients. 

What advice would you give to someone interested in pursuing a career in customer success?

I’d just tell them to believe. Yes, you can always transition to somewhere, but if you love giving value and helping people, customer success is the right field for you. Just don't come here thinking it's easy, cos it’s not.  You are a problem solver in this field, you're a happiness engineer. 

You’re very powerful as a customer success representative. You are the face of the brand!