Value (and Relationships) Are Key Players
When we think of enabling Customer Success, the most important metric is renewals. There are several factors as to why a client chooses to renew – or not. Any software subscription license Customer Success team is invaluable to helping ensure the success of their customer base; putting in the right pieces to the puzzle from soup to nuts and avoiding the pitfalls of poor onboarding, lack of support, complex user experiences, and so on. Of course there are uncontrollable factors such as financial woes (bankruptcy), organizational restructuring, and mergers and acquisitions that have influence over a renewal. That’s why at DoControl we are hyper focused on the things we can control. Our customers’ success is our success. This is what helps drive our business, and any business.
There are key metrics that we zero in on to evaluate an account’s health score, which are critical and need to be implemented to identify risk. Ultimately, it comes down to value.Each CSM should ask themselves: Is my client getting the value they require to be successful?What else can I do to add more value? However, providing as much value as possible to the account is still not enough to keep retention rates above 90%.
In order to be a world-class Customer Success Manager (CSM) organization, you need to know how to establish, and foster strong relationships with your clients. This is the bread and butter of Customer Success. The CSM is solely in charge of building the relationship, maintaining it, and growing it. These relationships should be established as delicately as possible, paying extra attention to the details, feeling the clients’ sentiment, with constant communication with the decision-maker or the signatory.
Focus On What Your Clients Care About The Most
This is the cornerstone in both strategizing and executing a customer success plan.Identify when it's necessary to pull in the product and R&D teams to understand better what the client is missing. Aligning teams internally on their priorities, ensuring the client understands how they will achieve their goals with us (and not with other technology providers), and from there completing as many on site or zoom meetings as demanded by the client. So, even though the CSM is leading the relationship, there is cross-functional alignment behind the scenes that needs to take place in order to provide a “Customer Centric” approach and the Customer Success is the one to orchestrate.
Fundamentally, It’s more about understanding each client’s goals and knowing what moves them. Each client has his/her own style, sensitivities, and specialization – and as a result, we should be forward thinking and strategizing the next move in any situation. It requires versatility and quick maneuvering. The outcome would be managing different relationships with each client.
Drawing Parallels Between Motherhood and Customer Success
As a customer success leader and a mother to two little girls, I see many similarities between my profession and parenthood. I am not saying that every client is like dealing with unruly toddlers, although at times it might feel that way. What I am saying is that each child is different, they require different things and at different stages of their growth and development. This generalization can be applied to your customer base as well. When I think about my girls, some things work well for both of them, but despite being in the same environment, what works well for one may not work at all for the other.
I know that in order to be a better mother, I need to make adjustments, however big or small, to each one individually. The same approach should be taken in order to become a better CSM, the team needs to adjust differently to each client. No matter how much screaming and crying is involved.
As a female leader in the tech sector, I am very much looking forward to seeing more women in key roles, especially in the cybersecurity industry. Unfortunately, it’s still not enough that a mother wants to keep her focus on career growth. My aspirations to keep my career moving forward is just the first step. This would not be possible unless I have full backup from my home (i.e. my partner in crime and the father of my daughters) as well as a supportive employer and working environment. Female leaders should target companies that understand them and accepts them and their role as a mother. A company with a flexible mindset that allows for the ability to maneuver according to your specific needs. I am not talking about finding the balance between parenthood and a demanding career, which is a constant question all working parents are asking themselves, I am talking about the navigation through these two major parts of our lives, and understanding what your needs are and to make it work for you.
My family setup often changes and therefore my needs as a working mother change accordingly. DoControl stands behind me to accommodate my needs with maximum flexibility and support. The entire leadership team at DoControl are also parents to young children, and we all understand each other and agree that our families come first, which makes it much easier to be part of a team that is facing the same challenges as you do (in addition being a role model to the rest of team here!). Just last month DoControl hired four new women to the company, looking back to when I joined I was only the third woman in the entire company, and we have since doubled that number in only 6 months.
In my spare time, I manage an Instagram account and blog where I share my experiences and insights in navigating through career-motherhood life. In order to support the growth of other women in the industry, I lecture, run workshops and mentor younger women and mothers, to inspire them that indeed you can keep a career growth alongside parenthood. At DoControl, we are dedicated to finding the right balance of security and productivity for our clients. As an employer, DoControl strives to find the perfect balance between work and family life. Having this type of working environment enables Customer Success – and all other functional departments – to be successful, from both a professional and personal level. I am excited to take part in DoControl’s growth and see our women and clients grow. Onwards and upwards ladies.