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How do we work with our Exec team to help narrow down what we focus on?

Customer success managers often get pulled in several directions and everything feels urgent.

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4 Answers
Influencing the C-Suite
  1. Nicole Alrubaiy
    Nicole Alrubaiy

    Jellyfish Senior Vice President, Customer Success • 2y

    Great question! I've fallen in this trap so I'm speaking from experience here. You need to lead the conversation here and find the right answer, and don't just take orders from the various departments on what they want CS to focus on. Being too responsive here (rather than proactive) is how we land in the camp of doing "all the things" and creating a ton of thrash on the CS team. My recommendation: Start by understanding what customers need. Talk to them-- customers of all shapes and sizes. Unde ...Read More

    729 Views
  2. John Brunkard
    John Brunkard

    Salamander Advisory Customer Success Advisor | Formerly Adobe, Sitecore, Red Hat, Symantec, Blue Coat, Intel, Dell, Dialogic • 9mo

    Here’s a concise approach: Clarify Strategic Goals: Meet with execs to confirm top company/customer objectives (e.g., 5% churn reduction, 10% upsell growth). Map CSM tasks to these goals (e.g., prioritize key account check-ins for retention). Use data to justify focus (e.g., “Monthly reviews cut churn by 15%”). Prioritize with a Framework: Agree on a scoring model (e.g., impact vs. effort) to rank tasks (e.g., renewals > ad-hoc requests). Set 2-3 focus areas (e.g., renewals, expansion, health ...Read More

    395 Views
  3. Michael Maday
    Michael Maday

    Payscale Vice President - Customer Success & Implementation • 3y

    To understand what initiatives are critical to focus on within your business, you need to take a data-driven approach. A quick strategy would be to understand the financial changes within your customer base (add-on dollars, churn dollars) and then review the activities that occurred with these customers. Analayze this data to understand trends, and how the CS team is driving outcomes and then eliminate non-crucial tasks.

    1,905 Views
  4. Meenal Shukla
    Meenal Shukla

    Zoom Head of Scaled Customer Success, Onboarding, Learning and Adoption • 2y

    Customer Success Managers (CSMs) indeed often find themselves pulled in multiple directions with everything feeling urgent. It’s important to work with the executive team to prioritize and focus on what’s most important for the business and the customers. Here are some steps to help narrow down focus: Step 1: Understand Strategic Goals: Make sure you have a clear understanding of the organization’s strategic goals and priorities. Understanding the company’s larger objectives will help you align ...Read More

    500 Views

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