Trim Size: 6in x 9in  Mehta572763 c01.tex V1-04/03/2020 11:45pm Page 10 10 WhyCustomerSuccessBecameStandard But consider products today. If you want to buy marketing software for your ofoce, you have thousands of solutions to choose from. Looking for meal delivery? Choose from Grubhub, Doordash, UberEats—the list goes on. Trying out a new subscription clothing service? Google the concept andfind hundreds of alternatives. Want an intelligent speaker? Choose from Google,Amazon,Sonos,andmanymore.RememberwhenFitbitwasreally novel? Now tracking is built into everything. Then the economy shifted to “selling.” With lots of choices, the chal- lenge was finding what you wanted. One big innovation in this front was retail. Walmart made it so you could get the products you wanted in your neighborhood. Telesales allowed you to buy from a catalog through the magic of your phone (think about how dated that sounds now). Shipping companies like UPS and FedEx let you get packages to your door. And Amazon, of course, took all this to the next level. But think again about the choices you have in how to buy. The num- ber of options is almost intimidating. Amazon Prime Same Day? Instacart? Walmart delivery service? Maybe 3D print the object in your home? Do you want to buy via mobile or web, or maybe through your smart speaker?  Selling stuff is no longer differentiated.  With infinite choice in products and infinite ways to buy, the scarce commodityis now the customer. So making sure the customer is successful isn’t just a job or a strategy—it’s truly the economy. In this first chapter we’ll take a quick look at Customer Success just to establish the basics. ALittle History Lesson: Customer Success vs. Customer Service vs. Account Management Here’s where the shift from old business thinking to current-day practices really comes into focus. Customer Service has always been and continues to be an important part of business. When a customer needs assistance, how can you help them quickly, effectively, and empathetically? Similarly, Account Management in somebusinesses is required to help customers find more ways to do business with the vendor (“sell more stuff”). But Customer Service and Account Management aren’t sufocient. The missing link in the new economy is that the customer makes their