At Betterview, we take customer satisfaction very seriously. While we are confident that our platform can solve for P&C insurance use cases, this is worth very little if our customers do not find it accessible and easy to use. That is why we have a dedicated Customer Experience team – led by VP of Customer Experience Kyle Pelecky – who make it their responsibility to keep our customers happy and successful.
We recently caught up with his team, including new hires Cory Malinowski (Director of Customer Support and Implementation) and Katie Mineck (Senior Director of Customer Success). We discussed how Betterview approaches Customer Experience in general, and how customer support differs from customer success. After talking with Kyle and his team, it was clear how important their role is to the success of Betterview and the insurers who use our platform.
Betterview: It’s great to talk to all of you today! Kyle, why did you decide to expand your team, and how has it made a difference?
Kyle Pelecky: Our customer base has greatly expanded over the last few years. This is great for Betterview, but it also presents challenges familiar to any startup. As the company grows, it is important not to lose sight of the importance of individual customer relationships. So, as we have more customers to onboard and collaborate with, it makes sense that we would expand our team as well. Bringing on Katie and Cory helps us to give each customer the attention they need. It has also helped to systematize our processes; now we have an entire team devoted to onboarding and support, and another that focuses on success for existing customers. Investing in customer experience today ensures that we can remain a consistent and reliable partner for our customers tomorrow.
Betterview: Cory, why don’t you tell me a little about your role?
Cory Malinowski: As Director of Customer Support and Implementation, I focus on two areas. The first is onboarding new customers after contract sign. This involves a lot of training sessions to make sure that platform users within the company are able to hit the ground running. We help them set up their workspaces, show them how to create relevant flags, and make sure that their experience is tailored to solve their specific use cases.
Then I also manage the customer support team. They are available during business hours to respond quickly to any bugs or issues that customers may encounter. That team is expanding as the company grows, and I am very happy with how our response time has improved. We also have a robust help center, where customers can find resources to solve a lot of problems on their own. This combination of onboarding and support gives me an inside look at how customers are interacting with our platform and helps me to ensure they remain happy and productive.
Betterview: Katie, what about your role? Why do you think Customer Success is important?
Katie Mineck: The Customer Success team serves as the internal advocate for customers within the company. Consequently, I work across multiple departments to promote a seamless customer journey. Our product is not one-size-fits-all: we want to make sure that it is solving for the unique needs of each customer. If we are successful in this, then customers become promoters, helping us to grow even more.
Right now, we are growing a team of Customer Success managers, each of whom works hand-in-hand with individual customers and users. We help them to understand their long-term roadmap and how the Betterview platform fits into it. These conversations are value-driven, but we also need them to be strategic. In other words, is your team making the most efficient use of our resources? The goal is to get all of our customers to a point where they have a strategic plan utilizing Betterview. In that way, we become true partners to our customers.
Betterview: Kyle, how would you describe Betterview’s overall approach to Customer Experience?
Kyle Pelecky: Proactivity is our watchword. We don’t want to wait until customers are having problems to start conversations; we want to get ahead of any potential issues at the beginning of the relationship. That is why we’ve created these different sub-departments under Customer Experience, so we can have as many touchpoints as possible. Cory and his team make sure that right out of the gate, the customers are set up for success, and know how to use the platform to accomplish their goals. Then Katie and the client success team remain in touch with the customers as the relationship progresses, making sure that feedback is always heard. I oversee the whole process, but I also work one-on-one with customers as a value consultant – basically ensuring that customers are getting the maximum ROI. Between those three divisions, the Customer Experience team helps our customers to thrive at every stage of their journey.