B2B SaaS customer support is different. In B2B, it is important for support teams to analyze the issue at hand, discover the broader problem the customer is trying to solve, and keep the customer in the loop until the issue is resolved.

We sat down with PJ Ople, Head of support and solutions engineering at Sendbird, where we discussed customer experience in B2B SaaS space. PJ shared challenges, solutions, career growth, and CX tips from his extensive experience.

‍

‍

‍Transcript summary of the chat

‍

1. What are some challenges that are unique to supporting B2B SaaS customers?

Efficiency is important but doesn’t carry the same emphasis as B2C. Quality of the interaction, depth of conversations, can be more technical due to key personas.

Because the volume may not be there, really need to invest into:

• Analysis
• Discovery
• Communication

A support interaction is not necessarily a bad thing - a quiet customer can be more risky.

‍

2. What has been the most rewarding experience supporting a customer so far?

Some of the best opportunities are with the angriest customers/toughest situations. It doesn’t stop at just solving a problem. Recognize it, empathize with the customer, and deliver quickly. And solve the root cause and broader problems the customer is trying to solve.

‍

3. If you had a magic wand to change the world of customer experience, what changes would you make?

The holy grail is that the customer doesn’t need to reach out to you in the first place because everything is so clear and self-explanatory within the product itself.

What does it take to achieve that?

• Full feature set.
• Expertise, knowledge, and guidance.
• In product experience to not distract the customer.
• Validation to know how the customer is doing.

‍

4. Any career advice for upcoming CX professionals?

• Explore areas you don’t know early on. Even if you’re dead-set on something, try something new.
• Second, you will be better at your job if you work directly with customers, whether you want to later move on to product management or development.
• Build relationships and provide value.

‍

5. What are your top three support tips for a stellar CX?

Specifically within support Within a B2B world:

• Always strive for discovery
• Don’t lose sight of the business goals. Balance with the customer needs.
• Start documenting and organizing knowledge early.

More broadly for CX, it’s all about customer value:

• Busy-ness doesn’t matter
• Answering questions doesn't matter
• Even relationships aren’t good enough
• Every customer is paying money for your tool, and needs to justify it. Are you delivering the intended value?

‍

If you have any questions, comments, or thoughts, feel free to write an email to sri@rejoy.io, I'd love to hear from you!