Post on 28-Jan-2018
Confessions of a CSMHow a wrong turn made me responsible for your success
Thanks.
Los Angeles Customer Success
Professionals
Who is this guy? And why should we
listen to him?
Joseph PalumboCustomer Success Leader
I’m supposed to build a customer
success program?
How do I do that?
MARKETING FINANCE PROJECT MANAGEMENT
TECHNICAL SUPPORT OPERATIONS ENTREPRENEUR
UX/UI DESIGN PRODUCT MANAGER SALES
CUSTOMER SUCCESS
2 things…how to figure out problems
…how to teach others
Customer Success Laboratory
Specialist Creative Mac Genius
Consultation Onboarding Check-ins
People hate to feel dumb*
*Especially accomplished people
Vs
Vs
“We don’t repair computers. We repair relationships.”
Smart people don’t like to feel dumb.
Words matter.
Transformational. Not transactional.
Race to the cloud
Sh*t was breaking left and right!
When you’re first to market with a new technology, you’re responsible for teaching people how to use it.
Web Server Application Server
Database Email Server
Specialist Creative Mac Genius
Specialist Creative Mac Genius
Cloud Launch Team + Onboarding + Implementation + Training
Onboarding has the biggest ROI
If you can only invest in one thing, invest in onboarding
Don’t waste time solving the problems you want to solve, solve for the problems you have!
BUILD CUSTOMER PERSONAS
First Lesson Learned
Cloud-savvy Developer
60 DaysOnboarding Implementation Support
Revenue 26%
Churn 60%
Support 38%
Marketing/ Sales
Corporate Strategy
Product Manager
UX/UI Design
3 Years
We didn’t know what to call it, we just knew it worked
SaaS vs. IaaS
Jay Lafarr
“Can you write a quick playbook?”
22 page tome
Tl;dr - Top 10 Rules for Customer Success1. Engagement comes down to 2 things: right message + right time. Know
when to call, know what to say
2. Before you call/email a customer, ask yourself: “What’s in it for the customer?” If you can’t answer that, you’re wasting everybody’s time.
3. People love to learn, but hate to be taught. Good CSMs know the difference
4. Customers are like water, they follow the path of least resistance. Our job is to find where they want to go and provide them a clear path.
Tl;dr - Top 10 Rules for Customer Success5. “Too much work” is a symptom of “Not enough clear priorities”
6. Wherever your customers are, be there
7. Tech is a commodity, people want it for cheap. Expertise is a luxury for which people will always pay a premium
8. Think like a journalist when you research your customer. Don’t think in terms of numbers, think in terms of story, then help them write the end
9. Don’t ever let the customer feel dumb
Turn complexity into simplicity whenever possible
Technology is complex.
Business is complex.
Life is complex.
Simplify whenever possible.
We provide Simplicity-as-a-Service.
Simplicity-as-a-Service provides simple solutions, straightforward communication, and a clear vision of success for each customer.
Customer Success is Maturing!!!
Customer success has gone from a luxury to an essential piece of a profitable organization model for SaaS and other recurring-revenue
based businesses.
MFW when I see people making the same mistakes that I made
Questions + Contributions