As your startup grows, what your customers expect from you will change and the volume of their requests will change. You’ll shift from the reactive mode of supporting requests as they happen to the proactive mode of fixing issues before they ever become a problem.
Scaling Customer Service as Your Startup Grows
A stage-by-stage guide to supporting your customers.
September 11, 2017
Summary.
Startup founders have to change the way they think about customer success as their company scales. In fact, in the initial founding stage, with five or fewer employees, you’ll want every member of your team meeting with customers and responding to their requests. As your company grows, you can hire a dedicated customer service person, and even a small team. In later stages you’ll want people who think about how to scale through process, training, and systems. The author offers a stage-by-stage guide to move from reactively to proactively supporting your customers.
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Customer Focus Course
Accelerate your career with Harvard ManageMentor®. HBR Learning’s online leadership training helps you hone your skills with courses like Customer Focus. Earn badges to share on LinkedIn and your resume. Access more than 40 courses trusted by Fortune 500 companies.
Learn how to keep your customers—and their most important needs—front and center.
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New!
HBR Learning
Customer Focus Course
Accelerate your career with Harvard ManageMentor®. HBR Learning’s online leadership training helps you hone your skills with courses like Customer Focus. Earn badges to share on LinkedIn and your resume. Access more than 40 courses trusted by Fortune 500 companies.
Learn how to keep your customers—and their most important needs—front and center.