Customer Success Innovations: Proactive Customer Task Management at the Right Time in Seconds
How CSMs can prioritize proactive work over firefighting using lifecycle planning, to-dos, and a single task view that shows what to do at the right time.
TL;DR
- CSMs constantly choose between reacting to inbound requests and doing proactive work; without careful task selection and timing, results for the customer suffer.
- ClientSuccess addresses this with SuccessCycles (templated, scalable account plans), to-dos, and a single Tasks view that surfaces daily priorities.
- Managers can view other team members' tasks to understand progress and step in where help is needed most.
Scenario
As a customer success manager, you probably sit down every day to a calendar full of scheduled meetings and a bursting inbox. You likely have some priorities in mind, but you also want to figure out where you need to focus your efforts in order to make the largest impact. All customer success managers (CSMs) fight a constant battle--go with the flow and get swept up in customer requests, questions, and fighting fires, or make a careful plan and do as much proactive work as you can fit into your day.
Problem
Most CSMs are nearly overwhelmed with the amount of work they have to do. Inbound requests from customers threaten to pull the CSM away from the most important tasks. Without careful selection and timing of work, CSMs may underachieve and not drive results for the customer. When the CSM doesn’t take control of the relationship, retention and growth can suffer.
Task Management Should Help You Answer these Questions
Customer Success Managers and leaders need answers to questions like these at their fingertips:
“What do I need to do today to make the largest impact?”
“What activities does my team have outstanding?”
“What have I accomplished in the past week?”
“What has my team accomplished in the past month?”
Our Innovation
In order to solve this challenge faced by most customer success managers, we decided that a straightforward solution was best. We’ve created customer lifecycle planning (SuccessCycles), To-dos, and a single task management window (Tasks) where your daily priorities are made visible.
SuccessCycles allow any CSM or CS team to build a proactive plan for each account. SuccessCycles are scalable and templated and can be automatically applied to the correct customer, thus saving time and extra work. SuccessCycle tasks, along with one-off to-dos are combined in a single view and allow a CSM to see exactly what needs to be done, whenever an opening appears in their schedule.
Additionally, team managers can view tasks that belong to another member of the team in order to better understand the progress being made. This allows the leader to jump-in and help where help is needed most.
How do I drive positive results today?
The Benefit
With the ability to know exactly what needs to be done today to move customers through the lifecycle and tackle tasks that will drive results, your entire customer success team will use SuccessCycles, To-dos, and Tasks in ClientSuccess to improve retention and customer growth.
ClientSuccess amplifies your capacity to impact customer growth through helping you stay on task with the right activities.
Ask Yourself These Questions
“How much more impact can we have on customer growth when my entire team stays on task and completes the right work at the right time?”
“How much will morale and performance increase when my team and I share accountability with each other?”
We’re Here to Help
At ClientSuccess our singular goal is to help you retain and grow your existing customers. Our SuccessCycles, To-dos and Tasks are only part of our customer success platform. If you are struggling with a CRM or another tool that doesn’t help you stay on task and prioritize your work, you’re definitely not alone and we are here to help. Schedule a platform product demo here.
Here are some more customer success resources
eBook:
Customer Success as a Culture: Customer Success Leaders Edition
Ultimate Guide to SaaS Customer Success Metrics
Blog Posts:
CSM From The Trenches: Why Product Usage Isn’t Always King & 3 Lessons Worth Learning Early
3 Keys to Restoring Customer Confidence
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 can CSMs prioritize proactive work over firefighting?
What is a SuccessCycle in customer success?
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