AMA: Gainsight Director of Customer Success, Meenal Shukla on Customer Success Soft and Hard Skills

Transitioning to a career in customer success can be a rewarding choice, as it is a field centered around building and maintaining strong relationships with customers, ensuring their satisfaction, and contributing to the growth and success of the business. Here is a step-by-step guide to transition from a different field to customer success: 1. Understand the Role: The first step is understanding the role of a customer success manager (CSM). CSMs typically ensure that customers are satisfied with the products or services they've purchased, handle any issues that arise, and work to improve the customer's experience. They also help the company understand customer needs, contribute to product development and improvement, and often have a role in upselling or expanding the company's relationship with the customer. 2. Acquire Necessary Skills: While the skills needed can vary, there are several key skills that most customer success roles require: * Problem-solving: Ability to effectively identify, analyze, and solve customer issues. * Communication: Both written and verbal communication skills are essential for explaining and simplifying complex information. * Empathy and Active Listening: These skills are essential to understand customer needs and problems and to show them that you genuinely care about their issues. * Project Management: You will often be juggling multiple accounts or issues at once, so strong organizational skills and the ability to prioritize are crucial. 3. Leverage Transferable Skills: Consider what transferable skills you have from your current role. For example, if you work in sales, you already have experience building relationships with customers. If you work in product development, you have knowledge that could help you better address customer issues related to the product. 4. Get Certified: There are various certifications and short courses available online that can help you understand the role of customer success manager more in-depth and gain a formal recognition of your knowledge and skills. For example, the Customer Success Manager Certification from Gainsight, or courses available on LinkedIn Learning and Udemy. 5. Network: Start networking with people in the field. LinkedIn can be a great tool for this. Reach out to current customer success managers and see if they'd be willing to talk with you about their role. You might also consider attending industry events or joining professional organizations to meet people in the field. 6. Gain Experience: Try to gain customer-facing experience in your current role, if possible. This could be through taking on customer service tasks, or working closely with a sales or customer success team. 7. Apply for Jobs: Once you've built up your skills and have a good understanding of the role, start applying for customer success jobs. In your application materials and during interviews, be sure to highlight your transferable skills, any relevant certifications, and your commitment to excellent customer service. Remember, a transition to a new career takes time and patience. Continuously learning and adapting will help you get there.

As a hiring manager, when evaluating candidates for a customer success role, there are several characteristics and traits I would ideally look for. The best customer success candidates often have these in common: 1. Operational Rigor: The idea that irrespective of how many customers one has, a CSM can’t afford to take their eyes off the ball at any point. On any given day, one must: follow that 24-hour service level agreement (SLA), write that stakeholder ghost email, reach out to the engineers for technology insight, track metrics, provide risk updates, read those product release notes, and create a documented path to success for all your customers. A CSM role includes bringing together both short-term and long-term goals to paint a complete picture of what is going on with their customer. That means we have a checklist running for every customer, the discipline to adhere to the checklist without fail, and a willingness to iterate this checklist for continuous improvement. To put it concisely, It is about bringing discipline, thoroughness, consistency, and conscientiousness in everything we do. It is also about taking the end-to-end ownership of your customer experience. 2. Problem-Solving Skills: The best customer success candidates can quickly understand a problem, think critically, and come up with effective solutions. 3. Customer-Centric Mindset: They genuinely care about customer satisfaction and are committed to providing the best customer experience possible. 4. Empathy and Active Listening: Top candidates are able to understand and empathize with customers' issues. They're great listeners, and they're adept at interpreting the needs and feelings of the customer, even when they're not explicitly stated. 5. Strong Interpersonal Skills: Building and maintaining relationships is a key aspect of customer success, so strong interpersonal skills are a must. They should be able to interact effectively with a variety of individuals and groups. 6. Resilience and Patience: Working in customer success can sometimes be challenging, with difficult customers or issues. The best candidates are resilient, patient, and able to maintain their composure in challenging situations. 7. Organizational Skills: Customer success managers often juggle multiple tasks, accounts, or issues at once. Excellent organizational skills, including the ability to prioritize tasks effectively, are crucial. 8. Product/Industry Knowledge: Understanding the product/service and the industry is important in order to solve customers' problems effectively and to provide insightful advice. 9. Proactive Attitude: The best candidates don't just wait for problems to arise, but actively work on preventing potential issues and looking for opportunities to improve the customer experience. Remember that not all great candidates will tick all these boxes, and it's also important to consider their potential to grow and develop in the role.

Breaking into customer success as a recent graduate can be an exciting journey that opens many doors. Here's some advice to help you get started: 1. Understand the Role: Start by thoroughly understanding what a career in customer success involves. Do some research on the role, responsibilities, and the skills required. 2. Acquire Relevant Skills: Focus on building the necessary skills for customer success. These could include problem-solving, communication, empathy, active listening, project management, and product knowledge. Many of these skills can be developed through various aspects of your college experience, like group projects, internships, or part-time jobs. 3. Gain Experience: While you're still in school, try to gain some relevant experience. This could be through internships or part-time jobs in customer service or sales, or even through volunteering roles that involve working with people. 4. Network: Networking is crucial in any job search. Connect with professionals in the industry through platforms like LinkedIn. Attend industry events, webinars, or job fairs to meet professionals in the field. 5. Get Certified: Consider getting a certification in customer success management. While this is not a requirement for all roles, it could give you a leg up in the job market. There are various online platforms that offer courses and certifications in customer success. 6. Show Your Passion for Helping People: Customer success is all about ensuring customer satisfaction and helping them succeed. Show potential employers that you genuinely enjoy helping people and that you're committed to providing excellent customer service. 7. Leverage Your School's Resources: Take advantage of the career resources your college or university offers. They can help you with everything from resume writing to job search strategies, and they may even have connections with employers who are hiring. 8. Tailor Your Resume and Cover Letter: When applying for jobs, tailor your resume and cover letter to each specific role. Highlight any relevant skills and experiences, and clearly express your interest in customer success. 9. Prepare for Interviews: Once you land an interview, prepare thoroughly. Research common interview questions for customer success roles, and be ready to give examples of how you've used relevant skills in the past. Remember, getting that first job in customer success might take some time, but with perseverance and a commitment to building your skills and gaining relevant experience, you can do it!

Here are a few key ones: 1. Customer-Centric Mindset: The ability to put yourself in the customer's shoes and truly understand their needs, expectations, and experiences is crucial. This perspective can improve decision-making across all roles by always prioritizing what's best for the customer. 2. Effective Communication: This is a critical skill in customer success and can also benefit anyone in an organization. Being able to clearly and effectively convey information, whether it's responding to a query, explaining a complex process, or presenting an idea, is vital for collaboration and productivity. 3. Active Listening: Customer success professionals are trained to really listen to the customer, beyond just what's being verbally communicated. This skill can help individuals in any role understand their colleagues, superiors, or subordinates better, leading to more effective collaborations. 4. Problem-Solving: In customer success, quick and effective problem-solving is key. This skill is also very beneficial in other roles, as it allows individuals to handle challenges more effectively and contribute to the organization's success. 5. Empathy: In customer success, empathy helps in understanding customers' frustrations and needs. This can also be a great skill for internal interactions within an organization, leading to better interpersonal relationships and a more positive work environment. 6. Relationship Building: The ability to build and maintain strong relationships, a core skill in customer success, can also help build internal relationships. This can lead to better teamwork and collaboration. 7. Product Knowledge: While specific product knowledge might not be transferable, the mindset of deeply understanding the tools, services, or products your organization offers can be helpful in any role. 8. Adaptability: Customer success professionals often have to adapt to changing customer needs or organizational changes. This skill is valuable for any employee, as it allows them to better handle change and uncertainty. 9. Data-Driven Decision Making: In customer success, data is often used to understand customer behavior, identify issues, and track success. The ability to use data to inform decisions can be valuable in many different roles.

Here are several strategies you can use to increase retention among your customer success teams: 1. Remove Hurdles and Be their Advocate: Removing hurdles to make CSM get insights into how to do their jobs better is key towards building a solid foundation for your team. Do you have a tool in place? Do you bring data and use that data to create meaningful action and insights? If you do not have a tool in place or you are unable to get the data your team needs in order to be successful, you are failing as a manager. 2. Competitive Compensation: Ensure that your compensation packages are competitive in your industry and location. This doesn't just include salary, but also benefits, bonuses, and equity, if applicable. 3. Career Development Opportunities: Provide clear paths for advancement within your organization. Regularly discuss career goals with your team members and provide opportunities for training and development that align with those goals. This can help them feel that they are growing and progressing in their careers, which is a key factor in job satisfaction and retention. 4. Recognition and Rewards: Regularly recognize and reward good performance. This doesn't always have to be a big bonus or promotion – small gestures like a public acknowledgement in a team meeting, a small gift, or an extra day off can go a long way in making employees feel valued. 5. Work-Life Balance: Promote a healthy work-life balance. Burnout is a real issue in high-demand, customer-facing roles, and it can lead to high turnover rates. Encourage employees to take breaks and time off, and consider flexible work options if possible. 6. Positive Work Environment: Foster a positive work culture that encourages collaboration, inclusivity, and mutual respect. Employees who enjoy their work environment are more likely to stay. 7. Supportive Management: Provide strong and supportive management. Managers should be accessible and open to feedback, and they should regularly check in with their team members to ensure they have the resources and support they need to do their jobs effectively. 8. Engagement and Feedback: Regularly solicit feedback from your team and take action based on that feedback. Employee engagement surveys can be a good tool for this. If your team members feel that their voice is heard and that they can impact their work environment, they're more likely to stick around. 9. Empowerment: Empower your customer success team to make decisions that benefit the customer. This helps them feel trusted and valued, which can increase job satisfaction and retention.

Customer Success Managers (CSMs) require a combination of soft and hard skills to be successful in their roles. As we move forward into a world that is becoming increasingly digital and customer-centric, these skills become even more crucial. Soft Skills 1. Communication: Exceptional verbal and written communication skills are crucial. A CSM needs to articulate solutions clearly, know how to write effective emails, and manage conversations with a variety of stakeholders. 2. Empathy: Understanding customer needs and feelings is key to building strong relationships. Empathy allows you to anticipate issues and address them proactively. 3. Problem-Solving: Customers will bring problems; it's the CSM's role to find solutions. Being able to think critically and creatively to navigate challenges is important. 4. Active Listening: Listening to what the customer is saying, and also picking up on what's left unsaid, is crucial for understanding their needs. 5. Relationship Building: Building and maintaining strong relationships with customers helps ensure their loyalty and satisfaction. 6. Adaptability: Customer needs and circumstances can change rapidly. Being flexible and adaptable is key to navigating these changes effectively. 7. Patience: Dealing with frustrated customers or complex problems requires a high level of patience. Hard Skills 1. Product Knowledge: Thorough understanding of the product or service is essential to troubleshoot issues and educate customers effectively. 2. Technical Skills: Depending on the product or service, some level of technical knowledge might be necessary. This could range from understanding software platforms to having knowledge of specific technical products. 3. Data Analysis: The ability to analyze and interpret customer data can help you understand customer behavior, identify trends or issues, and make data-driven decisions. 4. Project Management: Managing multiple accounts or projects, prioritizing tasks, and keeping track of deadlines is important for a CSM role. 5. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Software: Proficiency in using CRM software, like Salesforce or HubSpot, is often a requirement in customer success roles. These tools help manage customer relationships and track interactions over time. 6. Sales and Marketing Knowledge: Understanding the principles of sales and marketing can help CSMs identify opportunities for upselling or cross-selling, as well as better understand the customer journey. Remember, being a CSM is about more than just having the right skills; it's also about having the right mindset. A customer-centric approach and a genuine desire to help customers succeed are what truly set the best CSMs apart.

Personally, I love the AHA moments when customers achieve value and get to see the magic happen! 1. Building Long-Term Relationships: A Customer Success Manager (CSM) typically works with customers over the long term, helping them get the most out of a product or service after they've made a purchase. This can be appealing if you enjoy building and maintaining long-term relationships instead of the often shorter-term relationships in sales. 2. Problem-Solving: Customer success involves helping customers solve problems, understand features, and generally succeed with the product or service. If you're drawn to problem-solving and enjoy supporting others in achieving their goals, you might prefer customer success. If you love getting your hands dirty with Product, CS could be a place for you. 3. Customer Advocacy: As a CSM, you're often the voice of the customer within your company. If you're interested in understanding customer needs, advocating for them, and influencing product or service development to better meet those needs, customer success could be a good fit. 4. Predictability: While both roles face pressure, sales roles often have very clear, number-driven targets and can involve more unpredictability in terms of income (due to commission-based pay). Customer success roles can provide more predictability. 5. Post-Sale Focus: If you're interested in the post-sale part of the customer journey, including onboarding, product adoption, and renewal, you might find a career in customer success fulfilling.