In an era where technology often seems to distance us from genuine human interaction, Gainsight is charting a different course. SurveyMonkey recently hosted a discussion with Seth Wiley, a veteran in the customer success (CS) space and current director of operations and program management at Gainsight. Wiley shared innovative strategies for using AI to enhance human connections and build authentic community engagement.
This conversation was part of our annual SurveyMonkey Curiosity Con. Watch all sessions on demand here.
Below, we’ll explore how Gainsight is reimagining customer success through this unique lens.
AI as a tool for deeper human understanding
While many view AI as a means to automate and streamline processes, Gainsight sees it as a tool to bring the best out of genuine human connections. "I think the greatest power in ChatGPT and tools like it is not to craft an email, but to craft the smartest email for the situation," Wiley said.
This approach leverages AI for customer success, enhancing human interactions in several ways:
- Contextual synthesis: AI can help customer success professionals consider the full history of customer interactions. As Wiley explained, "It's harder to keep in mind, 'Wait, what were the next steps from last time? And then I had a different conversation with a different customer contact from the same company...'" AI can synthesize this complex context, allowing for more informed and personalized communications.
- Emotional intelligence: AI can analyze customer feedback to uncover underlying emotions and needs. Wiley suggested asking AI, "If these were the comments the customers made, what seemed to be the emotions behind those comments? Or if this thing is true that customers are commenting on, what else might be true?"
- Uncovering hidden insights: AI can help identify what customers might not be explicitly stating. Wiley proposed using AI to consider, "What might be several options of things that the customers didn't mention because they were just quickly filling out a survey response?"
Related: How SurveyMonkey users are leveraging AI for surveys.
By using AI in this way, Gainsight aims to make its team "incredible askers of discovery questions, incredible intuiters of what might be most important to this person," ultimately leading to more meaningful customer interactions.
Building a multi-faceted community for genuine engagement
Gainsight has developed a comprehensive community strategy that goes beyond traditional user groups, fostering authentic connections at various levels. Wiley outlined just a few of Gainsight’s initiatives:
- Pulse conference: An annual event that has grown to thousands of CS professionals. Wiley emphasized the impact: "Every year, the main thing that people come away with is a sense of, wow, now I don't feel so much like I'm the only person that has the challenges that I have."
- Product feedback platform: This allows customers to directly influence Gainsight's development roadmap. Wiley noted, "Another major arm of Gainsight's community is our product feedback area," highlighting how this platform enables authentic customer input.
- CS product council: A select group of customers who provide in-depth feedback on early-stage product ideas. Wiley stressed the importance of finding customers who can provide constructive feedback: "That's the group you want. People that are going to do it in a collaborative and curious way."
- CXO summit: An opportunity for senior leaders to connect in small groups. Wiley shared, "The shining stars of those experiences are the small groups where these leaders can meet two or three times over the course of the summit."
This multi-faceted approach ensures that Gainsight can foster genuine connections with customers at various levels, from individual users to C-suite executives, creating a rich engagement system.
Balancing structured and unstructured interactions for authentic feedback
While AI and structured feedback processes are crucial, Wiley emphasized the importance of also capturing informal, human-to-human insights.
"I think it's easy to over-focus on the structured things. But you don't want to balance so far off that you don't have the opportunity for employees to have that personal connection with other folks."
Gainsight leverages AI for customer success across a mix of feedback channels. For example, they might use it to summarize comments from an NPS survey, or for more unstructured interactions like one-on-one customer conversations at events. This balanced approach ensures that Gainsight captures both data-driven insights and genuine human perspectives, leading to a more holistic understanding of customer needs and experiences.
Gainsight's approach to customer success demonstrates that AI and human connection are not mutually exclusive. By leveraging AI to enhance human understanding and building genuine engagement, they're fostering stronger customer relationships.
As Wiley put it, "We're not trying to give you tools to firefight faster. We are trying to help you to implement a system of working with your customers that's dependable and resilient.”
In a time when digital interactions often feel impersonal, Gainsight's strategies offer a roadmap for using technology to deepen human connections and enrich customer experiences.
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