There are a variety of ways to characterize the function and role of Solution Engineering – from product specialist, to subject-matter expert, to sales and customer support engineer. We see it actually as all those things (and more), but in a broader context.
That context is customer-focused, and for companies that sell solutions or products that customers use to solve problems, the context is commonly referred to as Customer Success. All the things that convert prospects into customers, retain them and keep them happy (not always the same thing), to provide a steady and hopefully increasing revenue stream for your company far into the future – that is Customer Success.
So if Customer Success is the what, Solution Engineering is the how (and the SE is the who).
A Solution Engineer is the foot-soldier of Customer Success.
Best Technical provides Solutions Engineering services along a Strategic track and a Tactical track.
Strategic Track
A thorough and detailed engagement that addresses all aspects of the Customer Success framework both conceptually and practically. This results in a custom implementation of systems and tools to conform precisely to your business. The process looks like this:
Strategy and Alignment
A thorough business review to determine if a CS/SE model fits and which pieces of that landscape provide value
Tool Assessment and Review
Review existing practices to determine where new tooling might be needed along with process integration
CS Process Planning
Codify all Customer Success processes into defined steps using selected tools and determine proper metrics
Implementation and Operation
Setup tools and integrations across organization, instantiate defaults, create proper templates, begin engaging customers
Tactical Track
Any discrete activities from a Strategic implementation that make sense given the needs and current state of the business. The following are just a few examples of these tactical activities in the Customer Success framework:
- Demo creation
- Demo delivery
- Customer Discovery design
- Customer Discovery engagement
- Intranet setup
- Sales asset template creation
- POC / Trial Design
- POC Setup and Management
- Ticketing system setup
- Documentation setup
- KPI Dashboard setup
- Data integrations for KPIs
If you’re ready to get started – let’s go!