The Art of Keeping Tabs: Monitoring News and Media for Customer Success

This Article helps you understand The Power of Monitoring News and Media for Your Customer Base, Keeping Your CSMs One Step Ahead.

CUSTOMER SUCCESS STRATEGIES AND TACTICS

Hey there, fellow Customer Success enthusiasts! Today, we're diving deep into a crucial aspect of Customer Success that often gets overlooked: monitoring news and media related to your customer base. As a Customer Success professional, staying informed about your clients' activities can be the secret sauce to boosting retention rates, anticipating their needs, and ensuring they achieve their goals.


Objectives

By the end of this article, you will:

Why monitoring news and media of your customer base is vital.

► Common pitfalls to avoid when tracking media updates.

► Practical, budget-friendly methods to stay informed about your customers.

Why Is It Important?

Before we delve into the "how," let's clarify the "why." Monitoring news and media within your customer base is crucial for several reasons:

1. Proactive Relationship Management: Keeping abreast of your customers' news helps you anticipate their needs and challenges. It's the essence of proactive Customer Success.

2. Timely Engagement: Being aware of your customers' milestones and challenges allows you to engage with them at precisely the right moment. This strengthens your relationship and builds trust.

3. Risk Mitigation: Early detection of potential issues or negative press related to your customers allows you to address them before they escalate into full-blown problems.

4. Personalization: Armed with up-to-date information, you can tailor your interactions with customers, making them feel valued and understood.

Common Pitfalls to Avoid

Now that we understand why it's essential, let's steer clear of some common pitfalls:

1. Information Overload: Don't get overwhelmed by tracking too many sources. Focus on the most relevant ones for your customer base.

2. Neglecting Alerts: Setting up tracking mechanisms is one thing; paying attention to alerts and acting upon them is another. Don't let crucial updates slip through the cracks.

3. Overlooking Smaller Customers: Even small customers can have significant news and events. Don't discriminate based on the size of the account.

4. Manual Tracking: Scouring multiple news sources manually is time-consuming and not scalable for a large customer base.

Practical Steps for Enhancement

So, how can you efficiently monitor news and media updates without breaking the bank? Here are some practical strategies:

1. Social Media Monitoring

  • Utilize social media management tools like Hootsuite, Buffer, or TweetDeck to create custom streams for each customer.

  • Set up keyword alerts to track mentions of your customers or their industry keywords.

2. RSS Feeds and Aggregators

  • Subscribe to industry-specific RSS feeds and use feed aggregators like Feedly or Inoreader to consolidate updates.

  • Categorize feeds by customer or industry for easy organization.

3. Google Alerts with Precision

  • Refine your Google Alerts by using specific keywords, Boolean operators, and filters to reduce noise.

  • Limit alerts to high-priority customers to manage the volume.

4. News Monitoring Tools

  • Consider affordable news monitoring tools like Mention or Brand24, which offer real-time alerts and sentiment analysis.

  • Customize alerts based on your client list.

5. Google News Alerts on Steroids

  • Instead of using Google Alerts, try Talkwalker Alerts. It provides more precise and customizable monitoring.

6. LinkedIn Company Pages

  • Follow your customers' LinkedIn Company Pages to stay updated on their news and events.

Budget-Friendly Tools/Software

1. Mention: Provides real-time media monitoring with pricing tiers suitable for small to medium-sized businesses.

2. Google Alerts: Still valuable when used judiciously, and it's free!

3. Feedly: Offers a free plan with advanced features available at a reasonable cost.

4. Hootsuite and Buffer: Ideal for social media monitoring with free and affordable plans.

5. CRM Integrations: Check if your CRM has native or third-party integrations for news monitoring.

Our Personal Opinion

Monitoring news and media within your customer base is like having a crystal ball for Customer Success. It helps you anticipate, engage, and build stronger relationships.

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