What's your framework to prioritizing needs/deliverables when you're the first customer success manager at a company establishing the function?

Been there, done that! IMO, it’s pretty simple – start with who is screaming the loudest and why. Take what they are frustrated about, ask them to prioritize their needs, and then see about knocking them off, one at a time. You can’t fix everything overnight, but get a win under your belt, and then another win, and so on. And then take those lessons from your loudest clients and see what you can apply for other clients. · Ask lots of questions of your internal teams to see if you can solve issue ...Read More

I’d answer this by showing a clear, ruthless prioritization framework and also signaling that you know when leadership support is needed. --- My framework has three lenses: revenue risk, revenue potential, and repeatability. 1. Start with revenue risk (protect the base) First priority: stop the bleeding and protect renewals. - Identify: - Upcoming renewals in the next 3–6 months. - At‑risk/high‑escalation accounts. - Focus deliverables: - Simple account review process for top accounts (who, when ...Read More

CS is always the growth driver for the company!When I was the first Customer Success Manager back in those days, establishing the function, prioritisation is key to creating impact quickly. Here’s a simple framework to focus on what matters most: 1. Understand the Business and Customers Align with leadership on company goals (retention, expansion, advocacy). Identify key customer segments and map their journey. Conduct customer conversations to uncover pain points and success drivers. 2. Build t ...Read More

Before I start, know this is a difficult question to answer. Here is how I approach it: Review the job description and make sure I understand it Review it with my manager to ensure we're aligned. The point of this is uncovering any gaps between you and your manager Note: if there are others involved, you should make sure they're aligned too! Establish a priority list. I prefer Google Sheets/Excel so they can be stack ranked with health status (red, yellow, green) Other fields Description (in 1-2 ...Read More

Here's a framework you can use to help prioritize: Assess the current state of customer success: Before you can prioritize needs and deliverables, you need to assess the current state of customer success at the company. What processes, tools, and resources are currently in place? What is working well, and what needs improvement? Identify critical stakeholders (internal and external): Who are the key stakeholders in the customer success function? This may include executives, sales, product, and s ...Read More

Having been the first EMEA customer success hire at a couple of high-growth companies, I recommend several steps to tackle the priorities ahead; Ask why the company requires a customer success manager and function, including how your experience can support that. This should be clarified in the interview process and help define your short-term focus areas. Understand the install base - How many customers, what they spend with the company, plus what segment and geography they fall into. Once that ...Read More