Customer Success Associate

The Company:Our mission is to make education affordable by helping institutions increase alumni giving. The idea started from our founders' own struggle with the lack of scholarships when they were students. Watch this TEDx talk from Kalyan to learn more.We are a bootstrapped company that has grown to be a leader in the alumni software space in the US. We're slated for even faster growth on the path to becoming market leaders through a unique strategic partnership with Blackbaud (read more here & here)Our customers are universities and high schools and in most cases, we're working with staff in the alumni relations and fundraising office at these institutions. The value prop for them at a high level is simple - "Engage more alumni and raise more money from them". 90%+ of our customers are from the US currently but we're starting sales in UK and Canada this year so we'll start to see some more customer regions this year. Our team is based in India and the USA. The India team is based in Bangalore and the US team is fully remote.The OpportunityAlmabase is looking to hire a "Customer Success Associate" who will work directly with customers to help them use and understand the product, provide effective resolutions, and proactively take steps to improve product knowledge. In this role, you must be highly empathetic, understand customers' problems accurately, and build deep product knowledge to resolve them effectively.The advantages of this role are —You get to understand our complete product. Very few people get to have it, and the ones with complete knowledge are extremely valuable to our customers.You get to deal with various customers (tech-savvy and non-tech-savvy), increasing your versatility in managing different situations.It can be a stepping stone to transition to other multifaceted roles within Almabase. You will be part of the Customer Services team. This role requires interaction with the Product, Engineering, and Customer Success teams. The Customer Services team plays a critical role in a growing startup. The team acts as the voice of the customer internally and the face of the company to our customers.Our product provides many features, and this team is responsible for helping the customer understand how to use them to the best of their needs. We're looking for self-driven individuals who are precise communicators and well-prepared to thrive in a fast-growing company.Almabase is the world's most loved alumni management software because we pride ourselves on providing an excellent and second-to-none customer experience. We encourage you to take a look at what our partner schools have to say about the customer experience we provide (our reviews)Work Timings:You will primarily support US educational institutions, so you are expected to work from 6:30 PM to 3:30 AM IST.You will also be part of the "Critical Support" squad, which provides customers with 24/7 support on critical issues one week a month. In addition to CTC, additional incentives are provided for this.Key ResponsibilitiesAccurately identifying the problem and providing solutionsTaking complete ownership of the customer's issue. You're accountable for researching, reproducing, troubleshooting, and resolving concerns/issues raised by our customers via in-app chat or email.Have a deep understanding of the product to provide optimal resolutions to the customer.You must understand the customers' needs and provide resolutions using specific product features.When responding to the customer, you're expected to be proactive (anticipating what can be asked and providing suggestions) and reactive(answering what the customer has asked for).You're expected to analyze the technical issues reported by the customer and collaborate with the engineers to provide a resolution.Gathering information from the customer about features requested and communicating the information with the Product team.Enhancing Customer ExperienceFollow the set SOP to handle support requests diligently.Resolving complex issues/queries for customers and implementing resolutions within set KPIs and SLAs (extremely critical)Collaborating with the product team to suggest finer workflows or changes within the product that enhance customer experience with using the productConsult optimum next steps that help the customer reap the maximum benefits from the product.Going above and beyond than providing just resolutions - creating short videos, suggesting best practices, workarounds, next steps, etc.,Check in and follow up with the customer regularly until the issue is resolved.Assisting the Customer Success Manager with customer requirements, queries, or issues to improve the customer experience.Other ResponsibilitiesUpdating help articles based on any changes or improvements made to the product.Writing new help articles for the new features added to the product.Participating in the onboarding process for new team members by helping them understand our product and how the Customer Support team provides value to the customer.RequirementsMust-Haves1 to 2 years of experience with top-notch customer service.Self-motivated, ready to thrive in a fast-growing startup. Strong problem-solving skills.Excellent writing skills — precise, clear, and well-articulated responses to customers.Ownership mentality — volunteers for challenges and takes responsibility.Fast learner — able to quickly understand SaaS/technical products like Almabase.Good-to-HavesThese are beneficial but not strictly required:Technical/Tool Proficiency - Comfortable using tools like Google Suite, Intercom, Slack, Loom, Notion, etc.Adaptability to new challenges beyond day-to-day responsibilities and Interest in contributing to process improvements or scaling initiatives.Prior SaaS / B2B ExperienceWhat does your 1st year look like at Almabase?First MonthHave some context of the industry we are operating in and how our product helps the customers.Have a complete understanding of how the Customer Support teams contribute to Almabase.Have a complete understanding of the Support KPIs and the KPIs for CSAs.Fair understanding of different functions/teams at Almabase and meeting (in person or online) with team members of every function.Responding to basic customer queries with assistance.Playing around with the Almabase products to build product knowledge.Getting the hang of using internal tools such as Slack, Intercom, and AsanaBy the 3rd MonthYou have a good idea of how every team functions and the timelines to follow when contacting those functions.You have a good understanding of at least one of our product features and basic knowledge of the rest.You can resolve customer queries on the product feature you understand well with little to no assistance within the SLAYou have shadowed 8-10 support calls with customers.By the 6th MonthCapable of independently taking up customer requests and internal team requestsHave a great understanding of the product and resolve customer issues/concerns without any assistance within SLA.Contribute to updating the existing help documents to enhance customer experience.Taking up/suggesting initiatives that help the Customer Services team.You should be able to own some key results set for the team and develop initiatives to achieve them.You should take complete ownership of the customer experience for the conversations you handle (CSAT, CES, etc.).Able to partake in conversations that help with product improvement.The 1-year markLead the support initiatives for the following year completely.Set up strategies to achieve the set SLAs and CSAT scores for support.Effectively communicate the roadblocks in achieving the targets to the Director of Customer Services and work with them to address them.Helped the CSMs resolve product-related queries and assisted new team members with product knowledge.Should be able to help the team in the recruitment and hiring process (for customer support)Benefits:This is what our team members enjoy the most at Almabase:Strong Culture: We have a culture that we're proud of. Read more on how our team feels about the company on Glassdoor (here). When you work at Almabase you get to work with amazing people that will help you grow to become the best version of yourself.Transparency & Trust: An environment that trusts each individuals' ability and creativity to achieve the best outcome for the team. High levels of transparency to help you get exposure to what's happening across the business.Great Salary & Equity: Along with competitive salaries, our top performers and leaders get stock options. As Almabase continues to grow, you'll have a real opportunity to create wealth for yourself and your family.More than just work: One big secret to our success (shhh… this is just between us) is finding the balance between work and play. We have plenty of activities throughout the year that help build esprit de corps – whether they are intense cricket/football/basketball matches, or fun-filled music/dance/trivia/game nights.