As the name suggests, Customer Success is responsible for customer success. But what exactly does that mean? And what are the other tasks of this division at Hyperlex?
To find out, we asked Justine Guine, our Head of Customer Success, a few questions.
Interview with Justine Guine, Head of Customer Success at Hyperlex, the enterprise-wide contract management solution
How did you join a legaltech like Hyperlex?
I studied law. For me, it has always been a business tool.
During my first professional years, law was a tool to enable the opening of the energy market to competition. Then, I co-founded a company, which I left operationally, because it did not go well with my partners.
As I have always liked entrepreneurship, I started to look at what was happening in the Parisian legaltech sector.
And when I found Hyperlex, a hyper early stage startup, that needed someone with my background... I thought I wanted to join the adventure! I joined the team in 2018.
Originally, you were heading for a career in law, how did you discover the Customer Success business and what motivated you to join this division?
I have to admit that when I arrived, I didn't know the job of Customer Success in detail, depending on the company, this position can take on different realities. At the time, my job title was: Legal Expert for Customer Success. At that stage of Hyperlex, it was very important that it was someone who knew the law.
I found that Customer Success was a good match for my character traits: this job is halfway between business focus and the desire to help customers.
But by the way, Customer Success... What does it mean?
The Customer Success department is made up of the Head of Customer Success and the Customer Success Manager, also known as CSM. The Customer Success Manager is responsible for the success of the customer and his or her main mission is to assist customers in the implementation of the software and the adoption of the tech solution (at Hyperlex, this is our Contract Management solution). CSMs have to develop their client portfolio while focusing on the satisfaction of each client, to build loyalty, but also to advise and support them in case of difficulties.
If you had to define the Customer Success philosophy in a few words?
"Alone we go faster, together we go further".
Why? Because we coordinate with almost every team in-house every day. We have common topics with the product division, tech, data analytics, marketing, sales, etc.
We need all the teams to make the division shine! The success of the customer relationship starts with the first contact with Hyperlex via the sales staff and ends with the customer interview with the marketing department, for example.
In the CS team, we need people who are rigorous, who show empathy, who want to bring value to the client and who are interested in the legal field (without necessarily being a lawyer).
How is your team organised?
Today, each CS manages its customers, from onboarding until the project is 'live' - i.e. when the solution has been set up the way the customer wants it and he is ready to use it by himself.
In addition: two members of the team also manage customer support, one person is dedicated to CS Operations, i.e. she helps the Customer Success Manager team by streamlining our work processes, optimising the use of our internal tools, but also takes care of updating internal and external documentation, manages customer communication and in particular the sending of release notes with all the latest features to facilitate adoption.
But we are in the middle of a transition phase, and we are thinking about a new organisation of the team, because Hyperlex is growing fast!
Our main concern is to welcome more customers with an optimal level of quality.
Can you describe a typical day?
As Head of Customer Success, I am responsible for a number of issues.
1) Reduce the famous "Time to Value": the time needed for a new user to become aware of the added value of a solution. So that customers perceive the value of the tool more quickly.
2) To follow up the different projects by coordinating with the different internal and external teams, especially for major accounts.
3) Managing my team.
4) Monitor support. In particular, track how many tickets are opened and why.
5) Contribute with the sales team to the growth of our client accounts.
6) Recruitment - especially at the moment!
And all this is very stimulating!
How does the onboarding of clients at Hyperlex work?
Depending on the size of the client and their needs, the support may vary, but the method always remains the same: framing, parameterisation, training.
Our team is there to implement the functionalities and manage the tool's configuration. But beyond that, we need to understand the client's objectives and needs, and help them prioritise their issues.
The success plan is a roadmap defined with the client and marked by milestones. The idea is to create a success plan at the beginning and end of the project and then to monitor it regularly during business reviews with the client. Internally, it allows us to know whether we have met the challenges. On the customer side, it ensures customer satisfaction and that the expected value of the tool is always kept in mind.
Can you name 1 soft skill and 1 hard skill needed to be a good CS?
- Soft skill: enjoy being in contact with customers
- Hard skill: there are two, rigour and reactivity!
What are you most proud of in your daily life?
My team, because we have made a lot of progress, despite the fact that we are in a strong growth phase, and that our daily life is dense!
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