Your End-of-Quarter Checklist to Set Customers Up for Success Next Quarter

If you’re like most CSMs, it can sometimes feel as though months – even years – of working with a customer account can go by in a flash. One minute it’s January, and in the blink of an eye, it’s October. While this kind of fast-paced work sometimes means that no significant issues have occurred (thank goodness!), it can also mean that extensive conversations and milestones can pass without pause. 

Setting up quarterly check-in’s with customers

As many customer success teams are looking to use 2021 as a reset for their processes and accounts, it may also be a good idea to use this year to revamp your planning workflows. While some CSMs manage their account reviews every year, it wise to set up a quarterly check-in. By breaking the review period into smaller, more manageable chunks, CSMs and customers alike can be timelier with feedback and ideas. They can be more proactive with new strategies for success. 

Your end-of-quarter checklist

First and foremost, make sure you put a quarterly review meeting on your customer’s calendar. This should be outside of your regularly scheduled check-ins or implementation meetings and should be dedicated to discussing the previous quarter and looking ahead towards what needs to happen in the next quarter. To determine these talking points, here are four things your team should add to your meeting prep checklist:

1. Take stock of the last three months. 

How is the current quarter going for your customer? What about your internal team? Now is the time to note where things may be going well, such as product usage rates and where things are veering into red flag territory.

2. Understand where your customer is looking to grow next quarter.

When you implement a new customer and start them on their customer journey with your organization, you (hopefully) made it a point to understand their goals, values, KPIs, and where they were looking to grow with your team. During your quarterly check-ins, revisit these goals to ensure the customer is growing in the right direction. 

3. Talk to your customer about where they are in their customer journey. 

Even though it can be comforting when a customer is calmly moving along through checkpoints without issue, it is your goal as a CSM to make sure they are growing in line with your planned customer journey map. This means talking to your customer stakeholders about growth opportunities, new features, and products, or renewals. 

4. Make sure your customer’s goals are in line with your internal KPIs. 

As a CSM, you also have goals and KPIs you’re trying to hit. Instead of waiting until the last minute to have an upsell conversation with a customer, put the bug in their ear at one of these quarterly conversations so they can prepare for when the more significant upsell meeting occurs later in the year. 

Stay on top of quarterly planning

The bottom line? Don’t wait until the ‘next quarter’ arrives to prepare your customers for success. Reviewing what worked and what didn’t is helpful, but CSMs should proactively look ahead to the next quarter now to be able to put new plans into place. 

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