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By now, you know the importance of listening to your customers. But when you talk about customer success stories, you should focus on something more than just listening to them; here you need to amplify their message and disseminate their achievements.
Readers want to listen to what customers are saying about your brand. The most superior customer success stories are written from the viewpoint and experiences of your customers.
Just remember one thing! The customer success stories are not about your products or services. The main protagonists of the stories are the customers who actually use your products.
People no longer are much interested in reading case studies. It is now important to construct stories that center on customers and also connect with the readers emotionally. So, stop looking at the success stories as just another piece of content, but as inspirational narrative stories.
For writing on this topic, I have read several inspirational articles, and customer success stories, and spoken to many professional connections of mine, and the final result is here. A great compilation of some of the most exceptional customer success stories across different industries.
The Art of Customer Success: 11 Best Success Stories from Leading Companies
Customer success stories are great ways to show the impact of your product offerings and how they helped customers succeed and build credibility amongst your target audience. When you share concrete instances of how your product or service has benefited others, you can instill trust and showcase the worth of what you provide.
Here, in this blog post let’s delve into some of the inspiring stories of companies that excel in achieving great customer success.
1. Salesforce
Salesforce is a customer engagement management software that aids companies in organizing their sales, marketing, and customer service. The Salesforce customer success stories illustrate how their software has benefited various businesses by enhancing customer relationships and assisting them in accomplishing their objectives.
One of their clients, Unilever, wanted to simplify and streamline their sales process. They implemented Salesforce’s Sales Cloud, which allowed them to consolidate their data and get real-time insights into their sales pipeline.
With the help of Salesforce, Unilever was able to increase its sales productivity by 30% and improve its forecast accuracy by 20%. They also gained greater visibility into their sales pipeline, enabling them to make better-informed decisions and improve their customer relationships.
2. Adobe
Adobe is an American multinational software company that is best known for its creative software products, including Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, and Premiere Pro. These products are widely used by graphic designers, photographers, videographers, and other creative professionals.
Adobe also offers marketing software products, such as Adobe Experience Cloud and Adobe Marketing Cloud, which help businesses manage and optimize their marketing campaigns and customer experiences. Adobe also has some great customer success stories to tell!
We all know about Prada! The story is about how this luxury fashion brand improved the online shopping experience for its customers. They turned to Adobe’s Experience Cloud, a suite of tools for creating and delivering personalized content across different channels, to achieve their goal.
With Experience Cloud, Prada was able to enhance its website with dynamic, interactive features, such as 360-degree product views, that helped customers better visualize and evaluate products before making a purchase. Additionally, Prada was able to create personalized product recommendations and targeted marketing campaigns, based on customers’ browsing and purchase history, to deliver a more tailored and relevant experience.
The results were impressive. Prada saw a significant increase in online sales and revenue, as well as higher customer engagement and satisfaction. With Adobe’s help, Prada was able to transform its online presence and provide its customers with a truly exceptional shopping experience.
3. Oracle
We all know about Oracle. The Oracle Corporation is a global technology company that designs and promotes software solutions for businesses, particularly database management systems.
Oracle also has several customer success stories to tell. One of them is Nescafe, known worldwide for its delicious coffee. NESCAFÉ Dolce Gusto (NDG) is a brand recognized for its delectable hot beverages, including coffee, tea, and more, and is owned by Nestlé, the leading global consumer goods company. The brand’s modern machines dispense a single, freshly brewed cup at a time.
NDG uses email as its preferred marketing channel to reach out to its consumers and increase online revenues. But in 2007, it realized that it required one special application that can optimize the email campaigns to plan better, increase customer reach, and craft more beautiful email content.
NDG needed an email marketing tool that could function consistently across various markets where it operates and also seamlessly integrates with its third-party eCommerce platform.
Then NSG opted for Oracle, Eloqua, under Oracle’s marketing applications Oracle Cloud CX. It helped them to manage and refine their email campaigns to perfection. One of the key factors behind NDG’s decision to select Oracle was its ability to integrate smoothly with different third-party eCommerce platforms and run email campaigns across 60 markets, still continuing to expand.
And the result? It was out of this world. Oracle Eloqua leads now account for one-third of the brand’s eCommerce revenue, generating consumer traffic to 44 NDG websites. Over time, nearly 20% of their customers have shifted from in-store to online, all thanks to Oracle.
NDG’s email opt-in customer base has grown to 6 million, doubling its previous number, resulting in a higher frequency of purchases and facilitating the introduction of new flavors in countries where NDG tested its loyalty app. The number of email opt-in customers for NDG has reached 6 million, representing a twofold increase and helping sell new flavors in countries where NDG piloted a loyalty app.
Since 2007, Oracle Eloqua has been instrumental in aiding NDG’s marketing team to expand the brand’s email database from a few thousand to over 12 million. The cloud-based application is capable of supporting 200 automated CRM programs and manages over 350 million emails each year.
4. Netsuite
NetSuite is a cloud-based business management software suite that provides a variety of tools and functionalities to help businesses manage their financials, operations, customer relationships, and commerce.
NetSuite offers a range of features such as accounting, financial planning, inventory management, order and billing management, CRM, e-commerce, and more. It is designed to streamline business processes and improve overall efficiency by providing real-time visibility into various aspects of a company’s operations.
One of the best Netsuite customer success stories is about the brand ‘ Deliciously Ella.’ Founder, Ella Mills, first started the business with a recipe website. However, at the age of 19, she was diagnosed with a condition that had an impact on her autonomic nervous system and conventional medication failed to provide relief.
This prompted her to delve into the potential benefits of a plant-based diet and a wellness-oriented lifestyle. So, she started deliciouslyella.com to share all her healthy recipes and she has been using them for her diet and getting benefits.
When Deliciously Ella expanded its sales beyond the U.K. into European countries, the team encountered a challenge with its financial system, Xero. They realized that the system was not equipped to handle all the requirements of international growth, specifically, it could not combine financial statements from different markets with varying currencies.
Ella wanted a system that would facilitate its global expansion instead of impeding it. NetSuite met this requirement as it enabled the company to merge data from both its retail and eCommerce sales in a single report. In addition, it allowed for integration with customer systems, real-time access to stock data, accelerated invoice generation, and the creation of a forecasting model, the latest addition to its functionality.
The result? Over the following years, the website garnered an impressive 130 million hits, which was followed by the release of a popular wellness app that secured the top spot. In addition, the company produced a range of highly successful cookbooks, opened a restaurant in central London, and established a thriving food products business.
5. Puma
PUMA is a multinational corporation that specializes in the design, development, and manufacturing of footwear, apparel, and accessories for a variety of sports and casual activities. PUMA has collaborated with many high-profile athletes, celebrities, and fashion brands over the years, including Usain Bolt, Rihanna, Selena Gomez, and BMW.
PUMA has a long-standing partnership with Usain Bolt, an eight-time Olympic gold medalist and world record holder in the 100-meter and 200-meter sprints. Bolt wore PUMA shoes and apparel during his record-breaking performances and has collaborated with the brand on several product launches.
PUMA’s innovative designs and high-performance products have helped Bolt achieve incredible success on the track and become one of the most iconic athletes of all time.
This is just one example of PUMA’s customer success stories. The brand has a long history of partnering with high-profile athletes, models, and advocates to achieve success in various fields and inspire people around the world.
6. The Ritz-Carlton
The Ritz-Carlton is a luxury hotel and resort chain that has gained a reputation for exceptional customer service. The company’s mission is to provide its guests with “the finest personal service and facilities for their comfort and pleasure.”
One of the ways that The Ritz-Carlton stands out in the hospitality industry is through its focus on creating memorable experiences for its guests. The company has a set of service values called “The Gold Standards” that all employees are trained to follow. These standards include things like using guests’ names, anticipating their needs, and responding to requests promptly and with a sense of urgency.
Now let me tell you their story!
While staying at the Ritz-Carlton, Bali, a family arranged some special eggs and milk for their son who had multiple allergies issues. However, upon their arrival, they discovered that the eggs had been broken and the milk had gone bad.
Despite searching the nearby town, the hotel’s manager and dining staff were unable to locate the required items. However, the executive chef at the resort had a stroke of luck and remembered a store in Singapore that stocked them. He contacted his mother-in-law and requested that she purchase the necessary products and travel to Bali to deliver them. She agreed to do so, highlighting the level of autonomy granted to Ritz-Carlton staff in delivering an extraordinary customer experience.
The objective here is to develop a powerful emotional connection between the hotel staff and guests, to the extent that the guests will not think of staying in other hotels except Ritz-Carlton.
7. Disney
Last but not least, let’s talk about Disney and it’s beautiful world that creates so many beautiful memories every day. Disney is a multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate known for its iconic characters, films, theme parks, and merchandise. The company was founded in 1923 by Walt Disney and his brother Roy Disney.
Disney is also known for its theme parks, which include Walt Disney World in Florida, Disneyland in California, and various international locations. These parks offer guests immersive experiences based on Disney’s many intellectual properties, from rides and attractions to shows and character meet-and-greets.
Disney has various customer service stories to tell. Providing an exceptional customer experience to guests requires significant effort. The young women who portrayed Disney princesses at Disneyland have shared the extensive journey of becoming Disney characters.
For different Disney shows, during the audition, the actresses do not have the liberty to select the princess character they desire to portray. Irrespective of their preference, if they are deemed more suitable to depict Ariel or Belle, for instance, they will be cast in that role instead of Cinderella.
They undergo an extensive training program, during which they acquire comprehensive knowledge of their character. They must consistently embody the personality, mannerisms, and behavior of the princess they portray, in order to provide children with an authentic and immersive experience.
The actresses spend a period of time portraying a “fur character,” such as Mickey, Minnie, or Pluto. This serves as an opportunity for them to get accustomed to the park’s environment and its associated requirements.
While portraying princesses, they are expected to personally greet and entertain a minimum of 172 guests per hour and entertain children.
Disney is very detail oriented. It deals with a huge number of customers every day, so it’s really important for them to give customers proper attention. Disney believes in one thing, the well-engaged customers will be the happy customers and eventually, they can become your precious brand ambassadors.
8. Morton’s the SteakHouse
It is an American fine-dining restaurant chain specializing in steak and seafood dishes. It is also renowned for its exceptional service, providing guests with a sophisticated and elegant dining experience. The restaurant has won numerous awards for its food, service, and overall atmosphere, and is a popular destination for special occasions, business dinners, and fine dining enthusiasts.
Here is their customer success story!
Peter Shankman, a regular visitor at Morton’s, made a playful request to the restaurant on Twitter. He jokingly asked if they could meet him at Newark Airport with his favorite steak. And guess what! Alex, a representative from the closest Morton’s location, drove 23.5 miles to deliver a complete meal to Peter. One of Morton’s employees actually read his tweet, tracked his flight location and sent the meal with Alex for him.
Morton always places its customers at the forefront of everything they do. In fact, they went above and beyond to fulfill a customer’s seemingly humorous request.
9. LG
LG Corporation, formerly known as Lucky-Goldstar, is a multinational conglomerate based in South Korea. It was founded in 1947 and has since grown to become one of the largest electronics and consumer goods companies in the world.
LG’s primary business areas include electronics, appliances, and chemicals. It produces a wide range of products, including smartphones, TVs, home appliances, air conditioning systems, and computer monitors. LG is also a major player in the automotive industry, producing components for electric and hybrid vehicles.
And here’s their story!
It actually knows how to go above and beyond for their customers. A 10-year-old girl lost her LG E400 phone and wrote a public announcement requesting everyone for help in finding it. Her handwritten note got viral over social media and eventually reached LG as well. Now Imagine what they did.
LG sent her a brand-new phone, Swift L3II. The girl was happy and so was the company!
10. Zappos
It is an American online shoe and clothing store founded in 1999. The company is known for its wide selection of products, including shoes, clothing, handbags, and accessories for men, women, and children.
Zappos offers exceptional customer service and always prioritizes its customers over advertising. Why? Here’s a story.
A Zappos customer purchased a pair of shoes for her father who had recently passed away but later wanted to return them. Upon contacting Zappos, the representative offered condolences and said that she can keep the shoes. As a gesture, he also sent the customer a bouquet of flowers. Zappos also supports a variety of charitable causes and has donated millions of dollars to organizations that promote social justice, education, and environmental sustainability.
11. Chick-Fil-A
Chick-Fil-A, one of the largest food franchises in the world, has long been known for its delicious food. The restaurant chain is closed on Sundays to allow employees to rest and spend time with their families, which is a unique policy in the fast-food industry. Chick-fil-A is also known for its friendly and courteous service, with employees trained to provide a welcoming and positive experience for customers.
Now, they have a great customer success story worth sharing!
Once a homeless gentleman came into their shop in Tennessee and asked the manager for some food. The manager was kind enough. Instead of charging, he told the man to pray for his well-being and gave him food in return. Customers over there saw the great gesture and soon that incident went viral on Facebook.
In a world where people avoid poor and homeless individuals, the manager not only welcomed him but also showed kindness and humanity.
Over to You!
Yes, customer success stories offer a wealth of valuable information and inspiration for many companies looking to achieve success in today’s competitive marketplace. By analyzing the strategies and tactics that have worked for others, you can develop your own unique approach to customer success and stand out among your competitors.
But more than that, customer success stories remind us of the power of putting our customers first. By prioritizing their needs and providing exceptional customer experience you can build strong, lasting relationships with the customers and ultimately achieve all your business goals.
So, if you’re looking to take your business to the next level, don’t underestimate the value of studying customer success stories. You never know what insights, strategies, or inspiration you might uncover that can help you achieve your own success story.
