21 Feb Driving Innovation in Customer Success: Ricoh UK’s Award-Winning Approach

Our Customer Success Team’s journey has been transformative, exhilarating, and educational. As Strategy and Services Development Manager for Ricoh UK, I’m proud of the team’s vision, drive, and steadfast commitment to ongoing reflection and innovation. 

If you’re not familiar with our Customer Success Team, and what we do, allow me to explain. At its heart, our mission is to empower customers by working with them to ensure they get the maximum value from their products and software. 

Why is this important? Well, commercial digital print technology has undeniably advanced, and has far-reaching implications and benefits for customers. Additionally, integrated technology and software can enable many new processes and approaches, often far beyond the initial purchase reason. So we consider it our duty to give customers the tools and support they need to use their technology investments to their fullest! We strongly believe that the best way to go about this is by nurturing lifetime relationships built on mutual trust. 

Customer Satisfaction: The Cornerstone of Our Strategy

That’s why, for us, customer satisfaction isn’t just a metric or box-ticking exercise: it’s the very cornerstone of our strategy. A good day is one in which we’re able to share a spirit of collaboration, co-creation, and success with our customers. By imparting actionable insights and fostering continuous learning, we facilitate usage, adoption, and ongoing education around how customers can maximise the usage of their products and software. As a post-sales team, we work alongside and complement the work of account managers, sharing our many years of in-depth knowledge and experience to help customers best understand and deploy their purchased solutions. 

In essence, the Customer Success Team isn’t just a support function; we are strategic allies, driving innovation and forging lasting connections.

As such, I’m delighted to share that, over the last three years, we have been recognised for our achievements in customer experience, business transformation, and service delivery. 

Customer Experience: Digital Innovations with a Customer-Centric Approach

We’re always looking for ways to do more, and do better. In 2023, recognising the need to adapt and evolve continuously, we renewed and revitalised our commitment to customer experience, significantly improving the quality of our after-sales care. We transitioned from reactive to proactive support , embracing digital technologies with a customer-centric approach.

Essentially, By leveraging digital innovations, we successfully enhanced customer satisfaction and resolved any issues that arose more efficiently. Retention rates soared from 90.5% in 2021, to an impressive 99% in 2023, and conversion rates outpaced industry averages. Quarterly review meetings and detailed account plans strengthened customer relationships, leading to increased usage of their investments. The introduction of our customer Success Manager role, and a pilot project focusing on DocuWare as a document management software solution, are just two examples of our dedication to continuous reflection and innovation.

As a result, in November 2023, The Direct Commerce Awards (which have recognised the achievements of the best B2B and B2C direct and multichannel retailers for 25 years) recognised our Customer Success Team for our excellent customer experience solutions.

Business Transformation: A Data-Driven, Consultancy Approach for Customer Success

To stay relevant and add value for our customers, we must continually assess our strengths and opportunities for improvement. We must consider how we can evolve our approach to best serve the many wonderful organisations we work with. Throughout 2022, we transitioned from a traditional service model to customer success-led partnerships. The change involved developing a closed-loop process for customer feedback and utilising performance data to maximise the benefits of our assets for our customers, thus building strong relationships and creating an outcome-based consultancy approach.

Similarly, we responded to changing customer needs, such as the demand for shorter print runs, and hyper-personalisation in digital print.

This transformation didn’t go unnoticed. In October 2022, The Customer Success Team won the Business Transformation category at the More2 Direct Commerce Awards in London. The Direct Commerce Association (DCA) hold the award annually, created it to recognise excellence in the retail sector. An independent panel of experts judges the entries. 

Service Delivery and Development: Personalised, Proactive Support

As a team, we’re committed to delivering unparalleled service. Our desire to settle for nothing less than excellence drives us to understand each customer’s unique needs. By doing so, we ensure they can fully leverage their technology capabilities. Through personalised support, proactive outreach, and a consultancy approach, we deliver long-term value for customers. Evidently, we strive to exceed expectations and foster lasting partnerships. As such, in November 2022, Ricoh’s Customer Success Team scooped its second award in as many weeks. Consequently, we were delighted to win in the Service Development category at the Stationers’ Innovation Excellence Awards.

Looking Forward: Customer Success in 2024

Finally, our team has not just adapted to changing industry dynamics. It’s actively shaped them. We’re driving forward with innovations that enhance customer engagement and outcomes.  Our commitment to continuous improvement and strategic partnership makes every achievement a stepping stone to even greater success. We couldn’t be more excited to see what 2024 will bring.