Strategies for Building Strong Relationships and Driving Innovation

Carson Del Campo is a Customer Success Manager at Wise Platform, Wise's global payments solutions for financial institutions and partners. With a background in compliance operations and customer success, Carson supports strong partner relationships, ensuring they leverage Wise's cutting-edge payment infrastructure for optimal performance and satisfaction.

Journey at Wise: From Compliance to Customer Success

I’ve been with Wise for nearly four years, initially joining the company in a compliance operations role. In that capacity, I ensured the integrity of large transfers by maintaining compliance standards. While I greatly appreciated working with a talented team in compliance, I recognized that my strengths and interests lay elsewhere. In the summer of 2022, I transitioned to the Wise Platform team as a Customer Success Manager. In this role, I collaborate with a highly skilled group from the payments industry, working closely with our partners using Wise’s global payments infrastructure. We leverage our API to power banks, financial institutions, and online platforms, providing them access to our payment infrastructure, strong liquidity, and comprehensive fincrime and KYC controls. I feel incredibly lucky to be part of such an innovative and dynamic team.

Enhancing Customer Retention Through Partner and End-User Insights

Key strategies for enhancing customer retention and minimizing churn in the cross-border sector involve a deep understanding of how both our partners and their end users interact with Wise. Some of our partners are the end customers, such as employees of record and contractor payout platforms. In other instances, like neobanks utilizing Wise Platform to power their customers' international wire transfers, the end customers are Wise users. By comprehensively understanding the needs and behaviors of both partners and their customers, we can identify and address friction points effectively. This dual insight allows us to reduce churn and maximize client satisfaction by ensuring our solutions meet the requirements of all stakeholders involved.

Collaborative Strategies for a Diverse Global Customer Base

Tailoring success strategies to accommodate different customer segments across various regions requires a team effort. No single individual from any team (product, operations, sales, and more) can fully navigate the complexities of the global payments landscape alone. At Wise, we have a team of well-connected and dedicated colleagues who support client strategies and roadmaps. This includes understanding product fit, gathering and integrating product feedback, and addressing region-specific needs and preferences. By leveraging the collective expertise of our team, we ensure that our strategies are tailored to meet the diverse requirements of our global customer base.

Global Consistency through Localized Expertise

Delivering consistent support across multiple regions presents challenges, particularly as Wise strives to meet and exceed many standards. In my role in customer success at a global fintech, managing clients requires navigating different regulatory environments, cultural expectations, and service standards. To overcome these challenges, it takes a "village" – a network of regional experts located around the world who provide localized support and insights. This approach ensures that we can address the unique needs of our partners and their end users, maintaining high standards of service regardless of location.

Bridging Customer Feedback with Product Strategy in B2B

In the B2B landscape, feedback is crucial for developing and refining our roadmap and building new products. While a CSM is not directly involved in product development or delivery, the frontline nature of the role allows me to identify and address issues, process feedback, and present these insights during regular touchpoints or quarterly business reviews. I leverage data to quantify the impact of specific challenges. For instance, if a partner is struggling with payouts to a particular country, I can assess the impact and prioritize necessary improvements. This process requires nuance, as not all requests can be immediately addressed. CSMs help partners adjust their plans accordingly while doing everything possible to mitigate the impact until our product and delivery teams can implement a solution. This collaborative approach ensures that our partners' needs are met while balancing product priorities.

To stay ahead of emerging trends and evolving customer expectations in the financial tech space, our team adopts a proactive and agile approach. We continuously monitor industry developments, attend and host conferences, and engage with leaders to stay informed about the latest innovations and regulatory changes. Additionally, we prioritize ongoing education and professional development within our team to ensure we possess the necessary skills and knowledge. By fostering a culture of innovation and encouraging collaboration, we can quickly adapt to new trends and integrate cutting-edge solutions into our offerings. We analyze customer feedback to anticipate their needs, ensuring that Wise remains at the forefront of the fintech landscape.

Embrace the Entrepreneurial Spirit in Customer Success

My advice to peers and aspiring professionals in the industry is to deeply understand the operations of your organization. Grasping how things work from the ground up enables you to excel in a customer success role by setting clear expectations with both internal teams and external clients. Actively participate in sales calls, speak up, and advocate for your business and partners or clients. Customer success is a unique opportunity to champion the needs of those around you and to embrace the entrepreneurial spirit inherent in the role. By being proactive and engaged, you can drive meaningful outcomes and foster strong, lasting relationships.

Key Principles for Thriving in a Customer Success Role

I’ve enjoyed working at Wise Platform, Wise’s B2B global payments infrastructure. Every day offers something new to learn and opportunities to showcase our skills. Here are a few key principles that have helped me thrive in my role:

1. Learn When, Why, and How to Say No: In customer success, you wear many hats, so you'll frequently receive various requests. Understanding what to prioritize and recognizing what may not align with the team's goals allows you to set realistic expectations for your partners. Being able to say "no" or "not right now" when needed helps you stay focused on the right tasks and prevents burnout.

2. Understand How Partners and Their Clients Use the Product: Building rapport is crucial. By comprehensively understanding how your partners and their clients utilize the products, you become a knowledgeable advocate with foresight. This not only maintains the integrity of your team and role but also ensures that your partners feel supported and valued.

3. Ask Questions: As a customer success manager, you’re not expected to be an engineer, data analyst, or product manager. It’s natural to encounter challenges that fall outside your expertise. Don’t overcomplicate things—instead, ask questions and rely on your colleagues’ expertise. Leveraging the skills of those around you will help you succeed and enhance your effectiveness in the role.

4. Organization and Independence: Effective organization is key to managing multiple responsibilities. This includes monitoring and following up on internal and shared Slack threads, utilizing tools like Jira to stay on track, leaning on AI where applicable (building custom formulas in Sheets or Excel to reduce reliance on analysts), and getting comfortable with languages like SQL or even learning how to navigate analytics platforms like Looker and Superset to enhance your independence.

By embracing these strategies, you can effectively support your partners, foster strong relationships, and excel in a customer success role. Embracing the entrepreneurial spirit of the role and being proactive in your approach will drive meaningful outcomes and help you grow professionally.