Maring Eberlein: Building Customer-Focused Solutions

Welcome to Escalations, a series where I’ll be sharing stories of some amazing careers that started in Customer Support. While many of these will be compiled into a book, I will also be regularly sharing stories here, too. If you like this content, please consider subscribing or sharing. 

Introduction: The Starting Point

Growing up in Alabama, Maring’s first taste of customer-facing work was in her family’s small retail shop. The personal connections and hands-on service left a strong impression:

After college, she moved to Chicago and joined Nordstrom’s service experience team, balancing retail with writing classes. Her foray into frontline tech support came when she landed a support role at a fast-paced, medium-sized “startup” environment. Early on, she realized that support could be both challenging and full of potential: she had the chance to learn everything about the product, the users, and the inner workings of the company.

A key moment that shaped her perspective was noticing how disorganized and inconsistent many of the team’s macros, templates, and processes were. Rather than staying frustrated, she jumped in to make them better—learning that improving broken or neglected areas often opens doors.

The Growth Path: Moving from Frontline to Content

Like many others, Maring didn’t enter support thinking she would stay there forever. Yet, she found herself drawn in by the ability to solve problems, create structure, and improve the user experience. Over time, her passion for writing and communication merged with her support skills. Small content projects—rewriting docs, building internal manuals, and fixing chat templates—kept landing on her plate.

Her “aha” moment came when a new initiative for self-service content surfaced. Management wanted to reduce ticket volume, but lacked a polished knowledge base. Maring had worked with a product designer on a similar project before, but publishing fell through. But she had continued quietly working on the FAQ and content strategy for months, knowing it would come back around—and when the time was right, she was the go-to person.

However, she faced significant hurdles along the way: balancing “in-the-queue” responsibilities with side projects, overcoming the perception that support is merely a cost center, and securing buy-in from product and leadership teams who initially did not see the value of investing in content. She navigated these obstacles by excelling in her day-to-day metrics and building trust across the company—making it far easier to say “yes” when big opportunities arose.

Implementing This in Your Own Career

• Excel First, Then Expand: Nail core support responsibilities before positioning yourself to take on side projects so you have the credibility to branch out.

• Spot Problem Areas: Notice inefficiencies that impact your day-to-day—outdated macros or messy FAQs—and jump in to fix them. Small wins can spark broader recognition.

• Demonstrate Impact: Measure how updated resources reduce tickets or streamline training. Concrete data reframes support as a value driver.

• Collaborate Strategically: Build relationships beyond your team. Aligning with product or marketing helps you gain allies for new initiatives.

• State Your Ambitions: Let leadership know your interests in other areas early, from content to data to marketing. One-on-ones or annual reviews are a great opportunity to talk about these interests with your manager! And when an opportunity appears, they’ll think of you first.

Breaking Through: Lessons & Key Decisions

1. Seize the Small Wins

Maring’s willingness to make quick improvements—like updating macro templates or refining a messy knowledge base—led to much bigger opportunities down the line. Each small fix proved her initiative, showcased her attention to detail, and demonstrated that she genuinely cared about improving the user experience. Over time, these incremental wins created a reputation that earned her the trust and freedom to tackle high-impact work.

How You Can Apply It:

• Start Small: Look for easy fixes in your current workflow—outdated macros, unclear FAQs, or repetitive processes.

• Track Improvements: Show how each “small win” reduces ticket volume, saves time, or improves customer satisfaction.

• Build Momentum: Use these successes to position yourself for more substantial projects. Keep a ‘kudos folder’ on your desktop for easy reference when the time comes.

2. Build Relationships Across Departments

Early in her career, Maring reached out to product teams, legal staff, and even paralegals to understand their perspectives. By asking genuine questions and respecting their processes, she developed a broad network of advocates. This cross-functional goodwill elevated her visibility and led to unplanned collaborations—such as contributing to product documentation or launching FAQ initiatives with marketing.

How You Can Apply It:

• Initiate Intro Meetings: Volunteer to sit in on cross-team calls, schedule casual “coffee chats,” or commit to 15 minutes of a happy hour. 

• Be authentic (and kind!): People often enjoy learning about colleagues' interests and what they do. And they like working with people that they like. 

• Offer Solutions, Not Just Requests: When you flag an issue, propose a fix that benefits everyone.

• Follow Up on Results: Circle back to let colleagues know how their help made an impact.

3. Own Your Expertise

Whether it was configuring a new support platform or rewriting entire sections of user-facing content, Maring recognized that support agents have a unique window into user pain points. She leaned into this deep knowledge of both product and customer needs, becoming the company’s go-to resource for support-driven insights. Her expertise proved invaluable when collaborating on self-service initiatives, migrations, or new product features.

How You Can Apply It:

• Speak Up About Patterns: If you see repeated user issues, share them with relevant teams—along with potential fixes.

• Document Your Insights: Keep a running log of common user questions or product misunderstandings.

• Position Yourself as a Resource: If other teams need to understand the customer journey, volunteer to explain.

4. Say “Yes” (But Know Your Priorities)

When new projects popped up—like migrating the entire team from Salesforce to Zendesk—Maring didn’t jump in blindly. She first evaluated whether the project would help her grow or highlight her strengths. If she was at capacity, she framed that issue as a request for priority-setting rather than an outright refusal. This balanced approach allowed her to be seen as a team player without sacrificing the quality of her core responsibilities.

How You Can Apply It:

• Assess the Fit: Ask yourself (or even your manager) whether a project aligns with your career goals or expands your skill set.

• Be Honest About Capacity: If you’re stretched thin, let your manager decide which tasks to shift or delay. If you take on too much without communicating your capacity, dropping a plate is often perceived as your fault. 

• Maintain Quality: Keep your main support duties at a high standard, even as you branch out.

5. Master the Fundamentals First

One of Maring’s strongest insights is the importance of excelling at your day-to-day responsibilities before taking on side projects. If you haven’t proven your reliability in the queue, leadership won’t entrust you with bigger opportunities. By nailing the basics first, you lay a solid foundation for long-term growth.

How You Can Apply It:

• Focus on Core Metrics: Consistently meet or exceed response times, resolution rates, and customer satisfaction goals.

• Build Manager Trust: Keep your supervisor informed about any challenges or wins, so they see your dedication.

• Plan Your Next Steps: Once you’re hitting your targets, identify specific areas—like content or analytics—to explore further.

Actionable Takeaways

1. Master Your Core Role First

• Consistently meet volume and quality metrics before taking on side projects.

• Earn credibility by excelling under the daily pressures of frontline support.

2. Spot and Solve Problems

• Identify repetitive issues—like outdated macros or missing FAQs—and fix them.

• Demonstrate tangible improvements (fewer tickets, faster resolution) to highlight your impact.

3. Build Internal Relationships

• Find opportunities to casually learn from other teams.

• Collaborate on cross-functional tasks to become a go-to partner beyond support.

4. Communicate Your Goals

• Let your manager and peers know you’re interested in areas like content or UX.

• Advocate for projects that align with both your strengths and the company’s needs.

5. Keep the User in Focus

• Always tie your work back to real customer challenges.

• Gather user feedback and use it to inform updates or suggest product improvements.

Where They Are Now

After leading a support team, managing content, and taking on multiple cross-functional projects, Maring pivoted fully into freelance support content consulting. She helps companies structure, refine, and scale their knowledge bases while continuing to leverage her deep frontline support experience. She also recently published a course about support content, attempting to give others the resources and guidance that she was looking for when first pivoting her career.

Her final encouragement to anyone starting in support and eyeing a new path:

Do you have a story to tell or insights to share? Consider having a conversation with me so I can share something like this about you!