Competition is fierce and profit margins are tight, which prompts organizations to work diligently to attract new customers. A growing trend continues to surface in the technology industry with free offers of software, services, and support that is commonly referred to as a “freemium” offer. These offers are typically designed to give the customer “some” level of technology, services, and support that helps give them value; however, they may be designed to fall short of allowing them to achieve their desired outcomes.
The customer success organization’s role and responsibility to support freemium customers has not been well defined in the industry, and the technology industry, at large, is scampering to insert structure into a chaotic and relatively new, unstructured business model.
There are, however, a plethora of frameworks and best practices that already exist in customer success to make freemium offerings manageable for organizations. Customer success is the key department and organization that can play a vital role in providing those frameworks and best practices to help create a positive customer experience for freemium customers.