Get answers from customer success leaders
Stephen O'Keefe
Stephen O'Keefe
HubSpot Senior Director, Customer SuccessFebruary 22
I've found two KPIs to be difficult to commit to: 1. Customer Health. If you have a robust algorithm to measure customer health (influenced by a number of inputs ), it can be hard commit to a certain outcome. To frame this another way, I've often observed customer health scores as being a bit of a black box where it's hard to tie the actions you take to specific outcomes when there could be a number of variables outside of your control that influence the ultimate score. I much prefer to commit to lead measures that are directly within the control of the team. KPIs related to customer engagement are a good example of things that are more directly within the team's control. 2. Upgrade rate. Many CSM teams are measured on Net Revenue Retention. As part of this, your CSMs may be responsible for identifying growth opportunities within the install base of customers. I find it's effective to measure the team on how many growth opportunities the team identifies but not the close rate or upgrade rate, especially if the Sales or Account Management team owns the closing motion. 
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Georgia Glanville Harrison
Georgia Glanville Harrison
Braze VP Customer Success, EMEAJanuary 26
Unlike a lot of Customer Success departments, we’ve chosen to align our team to customer KPIs rather than commercial/upsell targets. As such, we have less overlap in goals between CS and Sales. Of course, we’re both targeting Gross Renewal Rate and ensuring we maintain the customer base, but we don’t extend that to upsell targets in the same way as commission-based CS teams. Currently, we’re focused on exploring how we can share “time spent” efficiency and reach KPIs to help keep us accountable for spending as much face time with our customers, tech, and agency partners as we can over the course of many key city hubs whilst being mindful of the cost of trips.
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8132 Views
Brett Milstein
Brett Milstein
Narvar Director, Customer SuccessFebruary 8
There are two questions I always like to ask during an initial interview with a candidate: 1. Tell me about a problem you have worked on and how you solved it? - In full transparency, I actually borrowed this question from an article I read about Elon Musk's interview questions. I found the reasoning behind this question to be extremely interesting. First, you gain insight into the types of challenges the candidate has come across and their thought process for overcoming those challenges. Second, Musk says that this question shows him if the candidate truly worked on resolving this problem. Someone who was integral in the solution of a problem will know all the details and be able to explain in length what they were thinking was during the process. I have found a lot of success in asking this question. 2. I ask candidates to share with me a time they had to articulate value of their product/solution to a customer. As I mentioned in another question, showcasing your company's value is one of the most important responsibilities of a CSM. If a candidate does not have experience with this, how can I expect them to articulate value to our customers?
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3280 Views
Rebecca Warren
Rebecca Warren
Eightfold Director, Customer SuccessApril 18
Our current path goes CSM - Sr. CSM - Principal CSM - Mgr, CSM - Dir, CSM - Sr Dir, CSM. I think there are options along the way as well to move into or come from pre-sales, sales, marketing, product, ops, or talent acquisition, depending on how your organization is set up.
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1463 Views
Meenal Shukla
Meenal Shukla
Gainsight Senior Director of Customer SuccessMarch 22
Here are some steps you can take to create a strong 30/60/90 plan: 1. Understand your role and goals: Before you start creating your plan, make sure you have a clear understanding of your role and the goals you're expected to achieve. This might involve reviewing your job description, learning the complexity of the product, talking to your manager or colleagues, or doing research on the company's customer success strategy. 2. Break down your goals: Once you know what you're expected to achieve, break down your goals into smaller, more manageable tasks that you can accomplish in the first 30, 60, and 90 days. This will help you stay focused and make steady progress towards your overall objectives. 3. Prioritize your tasks: Once you have a list of tasks, prioritize them based on their importance and urgency. This will help you focus on the most critical tasks first and ensure you're making the most of your time. 4. Identify key stakeholders: As a customer success professional, you'll need to work closely with a range of stakeholders, including customers, sales teams, and product managers. Identify who these stakeholders are and how you can work with them to achieve your goals. 5. Curate: Build your 30-60-90 plan with the following ingredients in mind: Product knowledge, Domain Knowledge and Customer knowledge. Understanding and putting time into learning your product is critical. Learning about the domain and getting relevant certifications can be a part of your first 90-day plans as well if you are working for a company that requires highly specific domain knowledge. Customer knowledge, knowing who your customers are, what are their pain points that they are trying to solve with the product is just as critical. 6. Create a timeline: Once you have your goals, tasks, and stakeholders identified, create a timeline that outlines when you plan to accomplish each task. Be realistic about how much time each task will take and build in some flexibility to account for unexpected obstacles. 7. Communicate your plan: Once you have your plan in place, communicate it to your manager and colleagues. This will help ensure everyone is on the same page and can support you in achieving your goals. Remember, your 30/60/90 plan is a living document that can be updated and revised as you learn more about your role and the company. Don't be afraid to adjust your plan as needed to stay aligned with your goals and priorities.
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911 Views
Nicole Alrubaiy
Nicole Alrubaiy
Jellyfish Senior Vice President, Customer SuccessMarch 1
Working from personal experience here (I can't speak for everyone), what I've seen in small Customer Success teams is that they're scrappy. They've started as the "do anything to help" team and have had success in that. So much success, the org wants much more Customer Success. The downside, there's very little consistency or boundaries in their role. I recommend you start with taking an audit of the various roles/responsibilities that the CS team is owning or getting involved in. Chances are, you will find some opportunities to standardize and get the CSMs out of certain tasks/workflows through better internal partnerships and tooling. A great way to plan for what CSMs should be doing is to seek tons of feedback (internally and from customers) and build a Customer Journey from it. Clearly spell out the CSM role and expectations through that journey, and add tools where required. Also- consider the segments of your business. Should all customers be treated the same? Or would you want different CS motions for large vs. small customers, customers in different regions, industries, product lines or other? With very small teams it may not make sense to segment immediately, but having some thoughts on this early on can make the growing process smoother. All of the above helps you grow the team thoughtfully. As we're learning in today's market, we can't afford to overinflate headcount.
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1165 Views
Christine Vienna Knific
Christine Vienna Knific
mParticle Senior Director, Customer Success - North AmericaMay 3
* Show that you're a team player! It's a huge red flag when a candidate demonstrates a lack of willingness to work as a team. The ability to work cross-functionally to drive customer results is critical. If a candidate conveys the message "that's not my job," they aren't a good fit for our team. * Not understanding support vs success. There are a lot of definitions of Customer Success, but I need CSMs who work proactively to drive results. Using "support" and "success" interchangeably in a resume or interview discussion raises a concern. * Lack of metrics. Customer Success is often more difficult to measure than, say, a sales role because our metrics are not all quantitative, but that doesn't mean we aren't focused on showing results. Demonstrating a combination of qualitative and quantitative results in your experience set is important.
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1537 Views
Jessica Broderick
Jessica Broderick
Asana Head of Vertical Solutions EngineeringApril 13
The first step to knowing if a client is at risk of churning is to identify the potential warning signs: * Lack of Engagement * Client Turnover * Service/Support Issues * Economic Climate * Poor Performance * Low CSAT/NPS Scores Once you understand what to look for you can better assess risk within any given account and create an action plan to get things back on track. I've found the most impactful element to avoiding churn from the onset is to create strong executive relationships with clients. This allows for a feedback loop to prevent frustrations and address issues quickly.
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1126 Views
Ben Terrill
Ben Terrill
Brex Senior Director, Customer SuccessOctober 10
I love that you’re looking to break into tech as a CSM, here are a few strategies I would recommend: 1. Internal Promotion - Some of the best CSMs I have worked with have moved up internally from other roles in the company. Customer Support and Sales Development are two internal roles that I frequently recruit from. If you’re early in your career, look for entry-level roles in Customer Success-adjacent roles at a company that prioritizes internal mobility. A benefit to both you and your employer is you’ll already have a good understanding of the product. 2. Adjacent Industries - If you have experience elsewhere and are looking to make the switch, I recommend being strategic: Focus on companies where your previous experience would give you a unique advantage in understanding the customer. (eg: if you’re an accountant today, look at companies that make software for accountants). Don’t “spray and pray” - you’re better off focusing on a smaller set of companies that you think will be a great fit. 3. Entry Level CS Roles - I think this will be the hardest path for you, but it’s possible. I frequently receive hundreds or even thousands of applicants for entry level CS positions, so it’s important to stand out from the crowd. Network and attend CS meetups or events (meetup.org is a great resource) where you can. You’ll learn a lot and you’ll also start to meet people in your local CS community who can help you.
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439 Views
Caoimhe Carlos
Caoimhe Carlos
Udemy Vice President Global Customer SuccessFebruary 14
One of my favourite CS interview questions is some variation of "Can you share a time when you received constructive feedback from a peer, manager, or cross-functional partner in your previous role as a Customer Success Manager? How did you deal with it, and how did it impact your actions after the fact?" The reason I like this question is that the way the candidate answers it tells me a lot about their self awareness, intelligence, their ability to handle difficult situations with maturity, humility and professionalism, their communication skills and their growth mindset, all of which are skills that are valuable in your role as a CSM and also make someone a great colleague and team member. The best answers I have heard to this question have been thoughtful, honest, clear and have all resulted in genuine impact for the person in terms of how they have grown and developed.
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926 Views