Sustaining a high-performance team is critical for any company and industry. Macroeconomic headwinds continue to provide uncertainty for renewal teams and challenges to NRR. This challenge is going to continue for the foreseeable future.   

At the core of driving excellence and value-driven outcomes is the CSM function; a highly motivated person leads the customer experience to success, To be a successful CSM the role requires leadership to define expectations of what good looks like. And of course, as they say, you should be thriving from good to great!

To retain customers, revenue retention, and growth of subscriptions, setting clear expectations of the CSM is absolutely critical; this is the function that drives confidence, adoption, and value to your install base. 

This may sound uncomfortable. But, enforcing rigor, discipline, and best practices across your CS organization will help drive customer value and relationships and must be inspected regularly.  

Here are some tips and reminders to drive the Accountability, Ownership, and Inspection (AOI) of your business. 

So, everyone wins.

Re(enforce) Expectations:  Getting back to the basics of your role is key to success

• All ICs, management, and leaders, have expectations of their role/function and the value they deliver along the customer journey.
• Reinforce expectations from the top-down pillars and how it translates to their job function and what they are expected to deliver (quality and standards).

Be a brand ambassador: Everyone is a Brand for the company—Represent Your Positive Mojo!

• Employees need to build their brand to be trusted advisors to (internal and external) customers.
• Employees need to understand what “good” means. Understand what unacceptable means. Understand what it takes to get to the next career level.

Customer Re(engagement): Getting off track is easy. Getting back on Track takes more effort.

• Understanding the reasons for engaging early in the customer cycle is essential. Post 30 days of renewal and beyond.
• Frequency depends on the segment. But tech touches have to happen often. The “why” is getting to the customer value. Why do they purchase your product/services?
• What success means for the customer. It is documented, tracked, and reviewed frequently.
• What business solutions are we providing them, and what return are they expecting (efficiency/cost/improved customer experience etc).
• How you are measuring success for an account (growth of NRR).

Accountability:  Know what creates your Individual Success map.  Your accomplishments and have a plan to bridge your gaps.

• This is part of understanding their role—the basics of getting the job done.
• If you have a gap in your skills, recognize it and make it part of your individual plan to bridge the knowledge,  Make time for yourself to make that happen. It will boost your confidence.

Ownership: Execute 100% of what is expected of you in your swim lane.

• Once you understand what you’re accountable for—get the job done.
• It’s how you take ownership to track what you are doing and the quality of your work against your book of business.
• Know your swim lane, what you can accomplish, when you need help and have an execution plan. It’s not just a checkbox.
• Follow through on your (internal and customer) promises in a timely manner.

Inspection: Leaders and Individuals should sport check the quality of work to ensure we are where we want to be, or spark an idea to get things better.

• Every front-line manager needs to inspect the business. The health of their customers. Spot checking.
• Are the QBRs documented, how are we tracking progress towards the renewal/expansion opportunity; quality vs quantity?

Continuous Improvement: Challenge Yourself/Your team. What does good look like and why?

• What actions are being taken to improve the standard?
• Leaders need to move the team from good to great.
• What do good and great look like – share with the team.
• What differentiates you and your company from the competitors?

This infographic was provided to you by Vipul Samat, General Manager for technical and account management functions in the Customer Success organization at Veritas.  Vipul has over 25 years of experience in customer support, operations, and customer success. Leading global teams across all market segments and many industries.   He is also an active advisor and investor for many tech companies.