In today’s article, I’m happy to present you a new member of skeeled’s team, our Customer Success Specialist, Pénélope Figueira.
Before joining skeeled, Pénélope spent her academic years in the UK, studying Marketing and Fashion. According to her, this was an amazing experience, as it allowed her to meet a lot of people and become more independent.
She has been part of the team for just over a year now, and she holds the big responsibility of making sure that all of skeeled’s customers are having a good experience using our software.
Like some other colleagues at our Luxembourg office, Pénélope lives in France, close to the border. In her free time, she likes to travel, going to the gym and having dinner with her friends.
We had a lovely chat regarding her background and her experience at skeeled so far. Here’s what she had to say:
1. What is Your Background and How Did You Get Into Customer Success?
I studied Global Marketing at Coventry University and then went on to take an MSc International in Fashion Marketing at GCU London. After my diploma, I realised fashion companies were not looking for graduates with a fashion diploma but with experience, no matter the industry. That’s when I realised I needed to get experience and that it would be hard to work in Fashion in Luxembourg.
I started looking for companies without really knowing for which positions I should apply. I had no experience because for internships in the UK it is not mandatory, unlike in France or Luxembourg.
However, during my master’s in London, I worked as a consultant for a blogger. I did some market research and at that moment I understood that I really loved to advise, support and help clients achieve their objectives. That’s why I started looking for customer relationship roles, as well as customer success roles.
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2. In Your Opinion, Why is Customer Success Important?
Customer Success Management is really important! Our customers need a lot of help at the beginning to start a big and new project. So, establishing a good relationship is mandatory, and in order to successfully put it in place, the customer success manager needs to be aware of the clients’ needs and objectives to be able to help them achieve their target.
3. Do You Feel That Clients Value Your Role?
Yes! I am the main point of contact between skeeled and all our clients - based in Luxembourg, Netherlands or even France. They often call me when they have some doubts or need some tips about the HR strategy - on which job board they should publish campaigns, what are the main trends in HR - or if they have questions about the candidate experience at skeeled.
When there are big projects, I am also always in touch with many departments within their company, like marketing for their employer branding, HR for recruitment or IT for specific aspects and integrations.
4. How Would You Describe Your Day at Work?
In a typical day at work, I start by answering my emails. Then, I check the accounts of all my clients - check that everything is working well and if all my clients are using the tool correctly. After this, I define which company needs training, which company needs a quarterly business review and plan meetings with them. During these business reviews, I analyse their KPI’s and advise them on their usage or strategy. Also, when there are new clients, I’m in charge of the set-up and the onboarding. Every day is different. Sometimes I’m at the office, sometimes I’m on the road all day visiting my clients!
5. What Are Your Biggest Challenges as a Customer Success Specialist?
The main challenge is to make them understand how IT works. Sometimes clients want to do small changes which can have a big impact on our algorithm. So I need to explain to them how it works exactly and what can be done on our end to attend their needs. Then, the challenge is also to manage all of my responsibilities: a mix between consultant, customer support, and account manager, as I also take care of the upselling and the renewals.
6. What do You Like Most About Your Job?
The fact that I’m able to develop and maintain a good relationship with the clients, to help them when they need, and to help them achieve their goals. I also like the fact that I’m involved in a lot of different projects and industries.
7. What Advice do You Have for Someone First Getting Into This Field?
Don’t forget: everybody is human. Listen to your client, analyse the impact, check with your team what is realisable, and then answer by providing a solution.
Here are the links to the other articles of our "Meet the team" series:
- The Founders: Mike & Nicolas
- Head of Engineering: Artur
- Psychology Expert: António
- UI/UX Designer: Michael
- Head of Marketing: Brice
- Data Scientist: Joana
Skeeled offers you the perfect opportunity to bring innovation and digitalisation to your hiring. Check our website or our LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook pages for further information.
Thanks for reading and see you next time!
Your team here at skeeled
