You’re Gonna Need a Bigger Boat featuring Charlotte Ward

For nearly 50 years, a mere two musical notes have evoked suspense for those who have seen the 1975 film, Jaws. The movie launched the career of composer, John Williams, and the movie became the prototype of the summer blockbuster. Roy Schneider’s character, police chief Martin Brody, leads a small team of two experts to go after the beach town’s biggest problem – a man-eating great white shark. But when he realizes the scope and size of the problem, he decides that his small team and their small boat may not be up to the task. Supporting customers when the customer-base is growing can feel a little like being on a sinking ship as well. But instead of one shark, there are dozens. Even when you manage to take care of one, there are more lurking in the water. You need a bigger boat and a bigger team. But building a bigger team is a balancing act. You need to consider tools, team chemistry, team structure, and how to ensure growth of support isn’t linear with the growth of customers. Charlotte Ward has navigated these waters before and is navigating them again with her support team at Snowplow. We discuss: • How highly technical customers impact the support approach • Single level vs. tiered support structures • How processes, tooling, hiring, and retention are impacted when scaling • How time tracking can identify areas for improvement • The role of AI in support • Breaking linear growth and evolving support Connect with Charlotte on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlottecward/ Customer Support Leaders – https://customersupportleaders.com/ Music courtesy of Big Red Horse – https://bigredhorseband.com/ Brought to you by Happitu – https://happitu.com/