In this article, we will look at a Customer Success Manager’s routine and determine what a typical day looks like. A CSM’s schedule might look slightly different depending on whether you are operating a high or low-touch SaaS model, but some activities are common across all.
Customer Success Managers are crucial for the business because they step in as soon as the hand-off from sales is complete. From onboarding to renewal, CSMs are responsible for customers’ success in using your software product and driving product adoption.
One of the CSMs’ responsibilities is to reach out to customers before they have questions and anticipate any challenges that may arise. CSMs know they have done their jobs well when customers are experiencing increased value from the product. When CSMs are performing effectively, this means customer retention will remain high.
Let’s go right into what a typical day looks like!
Team Huddle
The first thing CSMs may do is to come together in a huddle with their team to prepare themselves for the day. This is an important time to share any news and discuss the most pressing priorities. Any good CSM knows how to lean on their team to share tasks and get advice on difficult customers. They may want to delegate work to ensure that every member is working to full capacity.
Check Emails
While you’ve been away, your inbox has likely been filling up. You’ll want to check for any urgent messages and work out your daily priorities. Customers appreciate it when they receive a quick response from your team because it shows that they are valued. You may also have communications from your colleagues, so it’s best to get your responses sent to pave the way for a smoother day.
Check Your Customer Success Platform
Any successful CSM knows that you should be using a customer success platform to keep track of customers and any upcoming tasks. Your personalized dashboard can tell you about upcoming tasks, calendars, emails from their customers, and support tickets. When customers have reached certain stages in the customer journey, CSMs can be prompted to take follow-up actions.
With Churn360 for example, you can even use the platform to organize your customer emails and schedule action items or meetings with customers. As soon as you log in, you are presented with vital customer information that helps you stay on top of all priorities and tasks.
Onboarding New Customers
Customer Success Managers play a pivotal role in customer onboarding. After your sales team has successfully won a customer, they will hand them off to the customer success team. CSMs will want to familiarize themselves with new customers and ensure they are engaging with your product training materials.
CSMs may take it upon themselves to schedule phone calls with new customers to introduce themselves. Customers need to know they have direct contact in the business to come to with any questions, as customer success provides an important supplement to customer support.
Follow up with Customers
CSMs must regularly check in with new customers to ensure they are progressing nicely with learning the product. Your customer success tool can tell you which customers are getting stuck in the customer journey and show that you need to take action. Don’t wait for an email from your customers before offering your services.
Some CSMs might develop a plan for their new customers that helps them meet their objectives for the product and follow a strategy. CSMs may get an update on how customers are progressing with the plan and organize a phone call to go through it.
Check-in with the Manager
CSMs need to let their managers know how they are getting on and pick up any further tasks for the day. Managers can help their CSMs with tricky customers and help them to prioritize their workload.
Solve Customer Tickets
Customers may have open tickets with CSMs over various channels, which they need to take time to respond to. These tickets may be spread across email, social media, phone and live chat, so CSMs should take time to check every platform. CSMs spend a large portion of their day communicating with customers and helping them to use the product.
It could be as simple as firing off a message or may require scheduling a more in-depth call to work through issues. A CSM’s first priority should be their customers so the biggest portion of their day will be devoted to helping them.
Identify Cross-sells and Upsells
Many CSMs are responsible for cross-selling and upselling to customers, which is crucial in increasing revenue. They are best placed to identify opportunities for customers with unmet needs and therefore recommend additional products and services. Such customers may have reached their usage limit for their current plan or have enquired about a feature that isn’t supported on their pricing tier.
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Inter-departmental Meetings
Customer success teams must work closely with other departments to provide the best experience possible for customers. For example, they can work with customer support to look at tickets for customers experiencing ongoing problems and work with them to find a permanent solution.
CSMs can give feedback to the product team about which features are working well and pass on customer requests. They are so closely connected with customers actually using the product that they are best placed to give feedback to the teams that can make changes.
They must also have close contact with the sales team to gain insight into new customers coming into the business, helping them organize their schedules. The hand-off between sales and success should be seamless, providing a consistent experience from customers even after the sale.
Wrapping Up
The role of a CSM is varied and always exciting. It’s a job that primarily involves working with people but should be augmented by a passion for the technology you are responsible for supporting. It’s this combination of people and technical skills that makes it a career for well-rounded individuals who enjoy helping people.
Utilizing the right tools makes the job of a CSM so much easier. With a customer success platform like Churn360, you can eliminate many manual tasks and free up more time for helping customers. You can support a much larger customer base without expanding your headcount, making Churn360 a very cost-effective solution.
Customer Success Managers provide a better experience for customers and ensure they have no cause for regretting their investment in your SaaS product. They are a vital function of SaaS businesses that is only growing in importance.
