In this engaging episode of Epochal Growth, Sarah Caminiti welcomes Elyse Mankin to discuss a crucial but often overlooked aspect of product development: customer support. Mankin, with her extensive background in customer service and product support, shares powerful insights on turning customer feedback into actionable data, fostering collaboration between support and product teams, and using this information to drive meaningful innovation.

Whether you’re in support, product development, or just looking to improve customer-centric strategies, this episode is packed with invaluable takeaways.

1. Introduction: Customer Support as a Game Changer for Product Development

The episode kicks off with Sarah Caminiti introducing the theme—how customer support can become a pivotal tool for product innovation. Elyse Mankin, with years of experience, brings real-life examples to the table on how support data can be leveraged to improve products.

“Our guest, Elyse Mankin, is an expert in turning customer feedback into actionable insights that drive real change.”
— Sarah Caminiti

Mankin’s journey from marketing to customer support highlights her passion for working closely with customers to identify problems and improve products.

2. The Shift from Marketing to Customer-Focused Roles

Elyse began her career in marketing, but she quickly realized that her passion was in working directly with customers. The disconnect she felt from not interacting with customers in her early marketing roles pushed her to transition into account management and eventually technical customer support.

"I like to be right in front of the customer... I wasn’t in a customer-facing role and it took me a couple of iterations of work to realize I wanted to be closer to the user."
— Elyse Mankin

This realization allowed her to work in customer support roles that emphasized understanding customer pain points, which later became invaluable for her product development insights.

3. The Bridge Between Customer Support and Product Teams

One of the standout moments in the episode is Mankin’s discussion about the importance of bridging the gap between customer support and product teams. In many companies, these departments are siloed, but Mankin emphasizes that collaboration between the two is key to creating products that truly meet customer needs.

“There was just this huge gap, a need to bridge the support and product teams together in a meaningful way... Creating a cool partnership to support customers better.”
— Elyse Mankin

Mankin’s work at Help Scout was instrumental in creating a partnership between support and product, showing how cross-functional collaboration can be a major value driver.

4. Leveraging AI for Smarter Support and Product Development

AI is a hot topic in support, and Mankin offers a balanced perspective on how to use AI effectively. While AI can automate certain processes and free up time for support teams, it’s important to ensure that automation doesn't compromise customer experience.

“AI isn’t something to be taken lightly... It can unlock capacity for your team to get more creative in supporting customers in a deeper, more robust way.”
— Elyse Mankin

By leveraging AI, Mankin encourages teams to focus on more complex customer issues and drive product improvements.

5. Building Relationships and Advocating for Product Changes

Mankin highlights the importance of relationship building within an organization, especially when trying to advocate for product changes based on customer feedback. Understanding how different teams, from leadership to product managers, like to receive information is critical.

“Relationship building is key... You have to be able to speak their language. If your revenue department has certain goals, align your ask with those goals.”
— Elyse Mankin

This approach ensures that product suggestions based on support data are heard and considered by leadership and other key stakeholders.

6. Analyzing Support Data: The Heart of Customer-Centric Innovation

For Mankin, the starting point of any product innovation is understanding customer data. She stresses the importance of analyzing support data to identify common trends and problems that customers face. By doing so, support teams can advocate for changes that have a real impact on customer satisfaction.

“It starts with really understanding what customers are saying, what problems they’re facing... and solving those in a scalable way.”
— Elyse Mankin

Analyzing trends within support tickets allows companies to address issues that go beyond just the individual customer, scaling solutions to improve overall user experience.

7. Closing the Feedback Loop with Customers

One of the best practices Mankin advocates is closing the feedback loop with customers. When customer suggestions or issues are addressed, it’s essential to communicate that back to the customer—even if it’s years later.

“We follow up on customer requests, even if it’s a five-year-old ticket... It’s a delight for the customer when they realize we’re still listening.”
— Elyse Mankin

This practice not only enhances customer loyalty but also shows that the company values long-term customer relationships.

8. Empowering Support Teams to Take Ownership

Mankin believes that empowering support teams to take ownership of their roles and contribute to product innovation is essential. By giving them the autonomy to experiment and fail in a safe environment, teams become more invested in the success of both the product and the company.

“Make it safe to fail... Let’s try different things and if they work, great! If not, we learn and move on.”
— Elyse Mankin

This type of leadership fosters creativity and innovation, allowing support teams to feel more connected to the larger goals of the organization.

9. Elyse Mankin’s New Era: "This is My Year"

Toward the end of the episode, Mankin reflects on her personal growth and transitions. She speaks about entering her "This is my year" era, where she feels grateful and excited for the opportunities ahead, both professionally and personally.

“I feel like I’m in my ‘This is my year’ era... I’m so excited for what’s next.”
— Elyse Mankin

Her optimism and energy are inspiring for anyone facing new challenges or opportunities, reminding us all to embrace change and growth.

Key Takeaways from the Episode:

1. Bridge the Gap Between Support and Product – Foster collaboration between these teams to better serve customers.

2. Leverage AI Thoughtfully – Use AI to free up time for creative and impactful customer support, without sacrificing the customer experience.

3. Understand and Analyze Your Data – Use support data to identify trends and advocate for product changes.

4. Build Relationships – Strong cross-functional relationships are key to successfully driving product innovation.

5. Close the Feedback Loop – Always follow up with customers when their suggestions or issues are addressed.

6. Empower Your Support Team – Give your team the autonomy to experiment and contribute to innovation.

Conclusion: Elyse Mankin’s experience shows how customer support, when integrated with product development, can be a powerful tool for innovation. By analyzing support data, building strong relationships across departments, and fostering a culture of curiosity and creativity, companies can create products that truly resonate with their customers.