We’re excited to welcome Liza Champion to 15below as our new Head of Customer Success. With over 13 years of experience in tech and customer success, Liza brings a wealth of expertise in building strong customer relationships and driving operational excellence. This is a really important step for 15below, expanding our team and committing to doing even more for our customers, supporting them as much as possible, and getting the most from our solutions.

We sat down with Liza to hear more about her vision for customer success at 15below, what excites her about the role, and how she plans to help our customers get even more value from our solutions. Here's what she had to say:

What is your background and what drew you to join 15below?

Liza: The main reason I was drawn to 15below, is how the people I met talked about the team and customers. I saw (and still see), a huge amount of passion across the entire company, working together to help airlines deliver the best possible travel experiences for their passengers. There’s so much that can be done with the 15below platform, and I was excited to be a part of that mission to make sure our customers get the maximum value possible from our solutions.  With a background in communications technology and a strong track record of building customer success programmes, I’m looking forward to bringing my 13 years of experience and expertise to the role.

What does 'Customer Success' mean to you?

Liza: To me, 'customer success' exists to ensure customers get the most possible value out of their investment into our products and services. Each company we work with will define success/value differently, so our job is to understand what it means to them, help them achieve it, and help them celebrate their achievements within their organisation. It’s about building genuine partnerships that support long-term success, not just for our customers, but for their passengers too. 

What are your key priorities as Head of Customer Success at 15below?

Liza: Having a Customer Sucess team is very common in tech companies, but what those teams do can be very different. Since entering the role, my first job has been to work out which approach to customer success will benefit our customers the most.

Now, after a couple of months in the role, I have a better idea of how the Customer Success team will function at 15below and I’m already working on expanding my team to deliver on my strategy. And while I’m going through the process of building my team, I’ll be having a lot more conversations with customers to hear about their experiences, preferences and to get input on my ideas and plans. With all that, you could say that questioning, listening, and learning has been my priority, and it will remain that way.

What will the impact be on existing functions, including Account Management and Product Development?

Liza: Customer Success has always existed in spirit at 15below, if not by name. We have a lot of people around the business with deep understanding of our customers and that have really strong relationships with them, so my job is to preserve these and make sure that my team adds additional value to our customers in a complementary way.

Product development has always been led by our customers’ challenges and requirements, but now with more dedicated resource, we can really build on this approach, collaborating together to develop products and solutions, as we’ve seen with the updated IROPS Dashboard recently. 

How do you see 15below’s Customer Success team helping airlines get the most value from our platform?

Liza: One thing I’ve heard in every customer meeting is that people want more ideas for how to improve results through small changes to configuration, templates, and workflows. And also, there’s a lot of appetite for examples of how other airlines achieve similar goals. So, making proactive recommendations will be part of the Customer Success Manager (CSM) role. We can also help with change management (getting end users to adopt new technology is not always easy!), and with program management in terms of documentation and training.

I’m also working with our Training Manager on a plan to build a Help Centre with helpful platform guides and videos. Of course, this is just the start; The team and I will always be available for our customers, listening to their needs and supporting as best as possible to make sure they hit their goals.  

How will Customer Success work in partnership with our customers to understand and support their long-term goals?

Liza: Working alongside the rest of the team to talk about the bigger picture beyond the day-to-day of support tickets and platform developments is going to be key. By making time to understand each airline’s objectives and challenges beyond 15below, we can make tailored recommendations and be consultative. Ultimately, the dream is for our customers to consider their 15below Customer Success Manager as an extension of their own team.

What’s your vision for the Customer Success team in 6 months, 12 months and beyond?

Liza: I hope to have a CSM for every customer in 12 months or less, and ultimately for every partnership to have a documented vision and roadmap, with the value we bring to each organisation running through every element of it. It will give us a great sense of achievement to know we are making a meaningful difference to our customers’ businesses and the careers of those we’re working with day-to-day. I’m really excited to get started!

We’re thrilled to have Liza on board as we continue to invest in the success of our customers. If you’d like to learn more about how our Customer Success team can support you, don’t hesitate to reach out - [email protected].