Creating Urgency for Customer Success Throughout the Lifecycle
When you fall off a client's priority list, momentum stalls. Learn 3 ways CSMs create urgency — set deadlines, give a clear road map, and nurture the bond.
TL;DR
- In SaaS, clients can drop you off their priority list because their urgency centers on their own issues, not your lifecycle plan.
- Three tactics create urgency and keep customers progressing: setting deadlines, providing a clear road map, and encouraging the relationship.
- Encouraging the relationship means offering help and valuable recommendations when you connect rather than insisting on status updates, which increases the chance busy people take action.
When it comes to SaaS, keeping clients engaged and actively progressing through their “lifecycle” can sometimes be a challenge because calendars and to-dos are prone to abrupt change as the immediate often takes precedence over the milestone at hand. This means that even though your playbook may include best practices around relationship management and detailed methodologies for driving value throughout the lifecycle, you can fall off a client’s priority list. After all, their urgency centers around their issues, not yours.
Have you ever found yourself in a similar situation and wondered what your next step should be? This is an issue well-known in the world of customer success. Great Customer Success Managers (CSMs) address issues like “falling off a client’s priority list” head-on and immediately, establishing themselves as the customer advocate and problem-solver. Often referred to as the “quarterback of the customer relationship”, CSMs ensure that their clients move quickly through the lifecycle while maximizing customer value.
As a relatively recent newcomer to customer success, I’ve already found three things to be particularly useful in creating a solid game plan (and urgency) for success:
- setting deadlines
- providing a clear road map
- encouraging the relationship
I think it’s safe to say we all know we shouldn’t plan for an emergency in the middle of one, so why wait until we’re “falling off the priority list” to work through it? Winning companies plan ahead to foster teamwork, collaboration and chemistry with their clients. If a client understands the pace with which you’ll be moving throughout the lifecycle, the more likely they are to make you a priority.
Though speed limits are helpful, maps ultimately guide us to our final destinations. Same goes for customer success; in addition to the pace with which you'll be moving, providing a road map allows a client to see where they’re headed. This can help them move forward towards a desired outcome.
Lastly, to keep communication transparent... encourage the relationship. Instead of insisting on status updates, offer help or provide valuable recommendations to the table when you connect. This approach increases the likelihood of action from busy people who have multiple, varying priorities.
As we say at ClientSuccess, "Success is the new Sales™".
eBooks:
5 Ways to Surprise & Delight Your Customers
Customer Success as a Culture: Customer Success Leaders Edition
Blog Posts:
The Golden Rule of Customer Success: 8 Guiding Principles
6 Listening Techniques of Great Customer Success Leaders
Learn more about how ClientSuccess can help your company develop a strong Customer Success methodology and strategy with easy-to-use customer success software by requesting a 30-minute demo.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you create urgency for customer success?
Why do customers fall off a CSM's priority list?
What is the best way to follow up with a busy customer?
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