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3 Key Elements of a successful CSM

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Customer Success Management

CSM is an acronym standing for Customer Success Management and signifies the practice of managing and manifesting a successful relationship between your brand, your customers, and ultimately their customers.

In my experience, this definition is broadly applied to other closely titled roles such as “Strategic Customer Officer” or “Client Success Manager” all relating to the idea of customer success and growth.

CSM aims to maximize success and individual benefits to your customers through various performance metrics also known as KPI’s (Key Performance Indicators).

One of the crucial success metrics is the idea of CLTV or Customer Lifetime Value. This can be measured and accounted for in a number of ways including surveys that generate NPS (Net Promoter Score) rankings, and both proactive and automated customer engagement. This CLTV gives you a high-level view of a customer’s value and ranks their loyalty to your brand.

Your proactive outreach should foster an environment inclusive of ongoing changes in your corporate landscape. Effective communication is key. Your goal is to time the automated engagement(s) at the right intervals and not overdo the touch-points. We’ve all fallen victim to the three surveys in one-week syndrome and you should avoid over communication at all costs.

CSM Role

As a customer success manager, you are the primary point of contact to assist with opportunities for customer interaction. View yourself as a communication bridge between the customer and your brand ensuring synergy and trust by both parties. Prepare to actively advise internal stakeholders on customers concerns, technology or software issues, and aim to identify issues BEFORE THEY ARISE. The crux of a CSM’s job is to manage and proactively monitor the journey of your customer and always be on the lookout for improving implementation.

How can you become a successful CSM?

I’ve outlined the following key elements to fast track your path to success as a CSM.

ELEMENT 1 | Enhance your leadership skills

Leadership as a CSM is a mission-critical element. You will continuously have to lead internal discussions around launching new solutions and communicate across multiple departments with relevant information. Difficult conversations will arise and plenty of egos will flair as you push to navigate the customer journey map successfully. Effective leadership bridges the trust gap and gives you the stage to allocate company resources to achieve the end goal, customer success. I cannot stress patience and understanding enough! Throughout this collaboration, you must practice rationality and give objective feedback. You not only have to lead your client but also build a lasting relationship by gaining trust and expressing authentic interest in the well-being of your customers.

ELEMENT 2 | Get familiar with the analytics of your company

Familiarize yourself with the methods your company uses for the ongoing managing and measurement of customer success. You may utilize CRM analytic software such as Salesforce or Oracle, or perhaps have a proprietary CRM that will help in keeping an ongoing pulse of your customer base. Hence, you need to know the analytics inside and out. As a certified User Experience designer, I’ve made it a point of understanding how analytics for each social media platform work. This has allowed me to uncover what the customer’s want, what they actually NEED, and what they like and dislike. Through this data, you can begin to generate better success solutions and mitigate churn (those customers that decide to no longer do business with you).

ELEMENT 3 | Know how to build a VOC Program

Standing for Voice of Customer, a VOC Program refers to a system that generates ongoing feedback from your customers. This aids in building a better relationship with them by delivering a personalized experience and complying with both internal and external feedback.

A VOC Program must adhere to the specified success metrics of the vendor’s business. Below is a sample chart of the amount of revenue a sample company might generate through various mediums and highlights the magnitude of a CSM’s role.

To build an effective VOC Program, strive to follow the steps I’ve outlined below:

a.    Define the goals and objectives clearly

b.    Design your survey or feedback collecting system in a way which benefits your customers, incentivize

c.     Multi-channel feedback is essential

d.    Analysis to contrast, compare, and identify consistencies will assure translation across all required departments i.e. correct language etc.

e.    Get creative! Find fun ways to resolve the issues that were reported by your customers

The VOC program(s) I’ve created have helped a large number of businesses reach full potential because we’ve successfully communicated with them and assisted with their customers and audiences as well.

Get started!

Customer Success takes strategy and ongoing adjustment to work. Find ways to make your business stand out and become successful. I hope you’ve found my tips helpful on your journey.

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