Even in the midst of glorious modern civilization, our brains work the same way they always did, dragging us around on ad-hoc quests to achieve our countless goals — some big, some small, some very trivial, but all affecting how we feel. Achieve a goal, and you feel good for a while. That’s how we get through tough days, right?

And when we socialize, this desire for achievement pushes us towards certain people — those special individuals who always have your back and know just how to help out when you need some support. Because they make us feel accomplished, and correspond so strongly to meaningful progress, they have our lasting loyalty.

Are businesses so different, particularly in this digital era of corporations being represented online not by faceless bureaucrats but by whimsical social media profiles? We’re spoiled for choice as consumers (sometimes overwhelmingly so), which lets us be very picky in the decisions we make — and if a business doesn’t help us achieve our everyday goals, we’ll drop them like a hot potato.

Enter customer success, the secret behind every beguilingly-supportive brand you’ve ever come to view as something akin to a friend. Not familiar? No problem! In this piece, we’re going to cover everything you need to know, starting with what exactly customer success means and going all the way to why it’s not only important but actually essential for business. Let’s begin.