Be Sure Your CSM Team Has These 5 Playbooks

Playbook Vectors by Vecteezy
For customer success teams, playbooks are invaluable tools to help them save time and be more efficient in their customer interactions. Playbooks consist of a series of actions, next steps, and tactical items that can be used to help customers achieve their goals or objectives in a scalable manner. Creating these playbooks allows CSMs to build repeatable processes that can help them to do more for their customers. In this blog, we’ll be exploring the five playbooks every CSM team should have in order to ensure success and consistency across the team.

1. Onboarding Playbook: The onboarding playbook is essential for any CSM team, as it outlines the steps and processes that need to be followed when engaging with a new customer. This playbook should include information on how to introduce the product/service, educate customers on key features, set expectations around timelines and communication, and develop action plans to ensure a successful onboarding process.

2. Troubleshooting Playbook: CSMs are often called upon to troubleshoot customer issues and having an easily-accessible playbook can help them quickly identify solutions or next steps. This playbook should include tips on how to diagnose problems, define troubleshooting processes, and provide resources that can be used to help solve customer issues.

3. Training & Education Playbook: CSMs need to be able to provide customers with information and resources on a variety of topics, from product features to best practices. Having a training & education playbook can help ensure that CSMs are prepared and equipped to give customers the information they need to get the most out of their products. This playbook should include information on how to provide product demonstrations, provide resources to customers for self-help, and connect customers with experts in the company when necessary.

4. Upselling & Cross-Selling Playbook: CSMs are responsible for ensuring that customer relationships remain strong and can be leveraged for additional sales opportunities. An upselling & cross-selling playbook can help CSMs identify the right timing, products, and messaging that can help them successfully close additional deals.

5. Escalation Playbook: The escalation playbook is essential for any customer service team as it outlines how to handle customer escalations in a timely and effective manner. This playbook should include information on how to manage customer complaints, identify points of escalation in the company, and create a process for resolving customer issues quickly and efficiently.

Having these five playbooks in place can help any CSM team be more successful in their customer engagements and ensure that customers receive consistent support from the team. Playbooks can save time and help CSMs provide customers with the best experience possible.

Ready to learn more? Check out these related ClientSuccess resources:

Webinar: Designing the Playbooks to Power Your Customer Journey
eBook: CSM from the Trenches: Implementing Customer Success
Toolkit: Customer Onboarding Toolkit