At Acclinate, signed contracts aren’t finish lines. They’re the starting point of successful partnerships. Our sales and customer success teams work hand-in-hand to create seamless experiences. While sales begins each relationship by establishing trust, customer success deepens it by ensuring that goals turn into outcomes.
Together, we engage on one continuum of creation and collaboration.
My role starts in that second half of the process, but it never truly ends. As a Customer Success Lead, I help carry health equity partnerships forward, making sure customers not only reach the goals they had at the start but also feel supported in ways that last well beyond any single project.
Here, I share what that process looks like in practice—how we define lasting wellbeing, the lessons we’ve learned from both successes and setbacks, and why empathy and storytelling are just as important as metrics when it comes to building true customer partnerships.
How Our Healthcare Customer Success Model Differs
Since our model is collaborative from day one, the handoff from sales to customer success is anything but “passing the baton.” By the time I meet a customer, the relationship already has a foundation of trust.
My responsibility is to expand on that base level by anticipating needs, guiding progress, and embedding myself as an extension of each customer’s team.
This approach connects directly to outcomes. Sure, milestones must be reached. But how much confidence, trust, and advocacy our partners develop over time is the true result we seek to achieve. The real marker of impact is when a customer feels comfortable championing Affective Trust—Acclinate’s novel method for forging long-term community partnerships based on emotional, deeply felt connection—inside their own organizations. And, often, that starts with proactive dialog and education.
Defining Lasting Wellbeing in Clinical Research Partnerships
For me, lasting wellbeing goes beyond project deliverables to equipping clinical research customers with tools, knowledge, and confidence that will serve them long after our formal engagement ends.
In short, effective customer success doesn’t mean checking boxes until the next meeting. I want to help shape approaches that continue to work months or years later. That entails spotting hurdles early, guiding teams through challenges, and leaving behind resources they can keep using. When a customer says, “We’re still building on what you taught us,” I know we’ve made an impact that will last.
Lessons from a Community Partnership That Didn’t Go as Planned
Partnership gets tested when plans go sideways. One project I led with a clinical site started with high hopes for a large community event. But between an extreme heat wave and limited prep time, the turnout was disappointing. Confidence dipped. Trust was damaged.
That disruption was the turning point. Instead of pulling back, we leaned in harder. We shifted to more frequent communication, shared detailed progress reports, and gave the site visibility into every step we were taking to make things better. What could have been the end of the relationship became the foundation for a stronger one. By showing accountability and doubling down on collaboration, we proved we were committed for the long haul.
That experience serves as a reminder for everyone in this line of work: customers don't only expect you to show up when things go smoothly. They want to know you’ll stand with them when things get tough, and provide transparency and follow-through in delivering solutions.
“...customers don't only expect you to show up when things go smoothly. They want to know you’ll stand with them when things get tough, and provide transparency and follow-through in delivering solutions.”
Why Storytelling Matters More Than Metrics in Customer Success
Another lesson I’ve learned is that metrics only take you so far. I once worked with a partner based outside the U.S. who had little exposure to the barriers underrepresented communities face in our nation’s healthcare system. Without a deep contextual knowledge, sharing numbers wasn’t enough to bridge that gap.
How did we address this barrier? We told stories. We shared quotes from people in the community, explained why representation matters (especially within the U.S.), and showed the human impact behind the data. A key customer stakeholder later told us she not only used our insights internally but also shared them with her family to spark conversations about equity.
That’s when I knew we had succeeded. We took a step back from the end results, and we invested our time in deepening understanding. Storytelling turned metrics into meaning and, in turn, meaning into action.
Measuring Customer Success: More Than Numbers
Yes, I track milestones and engagement numbers. But I often pay closer attention to the intangibles. Are customer stakeholders engaged on calls? Do they bring our insights to their leadership teams? Do they seem excited to talk with us?
To me, those elements are signals of a thriving partnership. We achieve success when the goals we set at the beginning are met—and when customers feel confident enough to carry the work forward on their own, knowing we have their backs.
None of those milestones can be reached without listening.
Building Customer Success on Empathy and Active Listening
Empathy lies at the heart of customer success. It means listening for what’s said and, on the other hand, for what isn’t. It means reading between the lines to uncover needs that may not be voiced directly.
I often remind myself: we have two ears and one mouth for a reason. My job is to listen more than I talk. That means staying curious, asking questions, and giving space for customers to share openly. When I do that well, I show customers that I’m not only interested in keeping a contract but primarily focused on solving their challenges.
Effective active listening is harder than it sounds. It requires turning off distractions, pausing before responding, and really digesting what’s being said. Over time, I’ve learned to view feedback—even plain critique—not as failure but as opportunity. And it’s exactly this proactive commitment to partnering with customers, even through tough conversations, that has set Acclinate apart.
The Future of Customer Success at Acclinate
As a team, we’re always improving. Each of us brings different strengths, which is a gift—and we remain committed to leveraging that diversity into better experiences for every customer. With strong leadership and a shared vision, I’m confident we’ll continue to evolve and reach new levels of customer success.
The truth is that healthcare is complex and often frustrating. But that’s what makes this work meaningful. Every time we help a customer break through barriers, build trust with communities, or simply feel supported in their mission, I’m reminded of why I do this.
Beyond the sale, beyond the deliverables, beyond the metrics—customer success means helping people. And when we commit to the wellbeing and success of others, we all move forward together.
Interested in Acclinate’s customer success model? Schedule a 1:1 with our team to learn more.
