OPERATORS GUIDE TO CUSTOMER SUCCESS€¦ · 6 Operators Guide to Customer Success Introduction from Sales Prompting Action: Contract signature Objective: Maintain momentum for you

A GUIDE FOR B2B SAAS STARTUPS THAT WANT TO BETTER ENGAGE, GROW, AND RETAIN THEIR CUSTOMERS

OPERATORS GUIDE TO CUSTOMER SUCCESS

In startups, it’s commonto “build as you fly.” Your customers already have a customer journey(even if you don’t know it!).

TABLE OF CONTENTS • ABOUT THIS GUIDE 04

• MAP THE CUSTOMER’S JOURNEY 05

• INTRODUCTION FROM SALES 06

• KICKOFF WITH THE CUSTOMER 08

• MAP THE CUSTOMER’S ORGANIZATION 10

• MANAGE EXECUTIVE SPONSORSHIP 11

• PREPARE FOR AND LEAD PLANNED INTERACTIONS 12

• PREPARE FOR AND DE-ESCALATE UNPLANNED INTERACTIONS 15

• RUN A QUARTERLY BUSINESS REVIEW (QBR) 17

• UPSELL A CUSTOMER TO A NEW SERVICE 19

• RENEWING A CUSTOMER 21

• BEYOND THIS GUIDE 22

4 Operators Guide to Customer Success

About this guideThis guide was created for B2B startups that have heard of Customer Success, but don’t know what it means; how to get started; or how to measure its success.

We’ve successfully used this approach in multiple companies with thousands of customers, from giants like Amazon and Facebook to small businesses across the country. It has produced well north of 10’s of Millions in ARR for growing tech businesses and reduced churn to net 0, or even net negative numbers.

Although each business is inherently different, the Customer Success principles outlined in this guide will serve as a great jumping-off point to meet your clients’ needs and, ultimately, help them retain and grow their businesses. That said, the approach to CS in your company should be adapted to meet your company’s unique position in the market.

After you read this guide, you’ll understand and have the resources to:

• Map the customer’s journey• Design an introduction from the sales team• Kick off with the customer• Map the customer’s organization • Prepare for and lead planned interactions• Prepare for and de-escalate unplanned interactions• Run a Quarterly Business Review (QBR)• Upsell a customer to a new service• Renew a customer• Manage Executive sponsorship

Looking for tailored Customer Success advice or programs?Visit: stevefreund.ioReach out to: [email protected]

http://www.stevefreund.io

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Map the customer’s journeyIn the startup life, it’s common to “build as you fly,” so you likely already have a customer journey (even if you don’t know it!).

Before you make sweeping changes, you should map the current process to find out more about what’s right, what could be better, and what isn’t working. Once that’s done, it will be easier to determine how things should be and where to concentrate first.

What is a customer journey?

Your customer’s journey is the entirety of experiences that customers go through when interacting with your company, brand, and (specifically for this book) SaaS Product. This includes everything from every time a customer sees your logo, to invoicing, to quarterly business reviews, and so on.

Pro-Tip: Mapping the Customer Journey seems like a BIG undertaking and one where you could go way too deep, get all mixed up, and get frustrated. Here are 3 tips to keep you sane:

1. High-level reviews are powerful. Before you get in the weeds, look for large, strategic gaps (Ex. no “official” end to onboarding).2. Think about inputs and outputs. Ask yourself “what is causing this output?” Sometimes the answer is 2-3 steps back in your process.3. ICE score everything and don’t boil the ocean. For every tweak you can make, think about the Impact on the customer, the Confidence you have the change will work, and the Effort that change requires. Start with high impact / low effort. Over time, you’ll move on to high impact / medium effort, etc.

Example Customer Journey

Contract SignatureCustomer has officially signed the contract, and they’re excited to start with your product!

Month 2

Month 2

Month 3

Month 4

Month 5

Month 5

Month 6

Month 7

Month 7

Month 9

Month 10

Month 1

HappyUnhappy So-So

Month 1

Month 1

Month 1

Month 0

Month 0 Introduction EmailCustomer is introduced to the training and onboarding contact, and has to schedule a kickoff call.

Training & OnboardingCustomer has to reset some expectations during training and onboarding, but power users are starting to see some lift.

Support InteractionA power user has a tough use-case that isn’t exactly a fit in the product. A workaround is found, but it’s not ideal.

Magic MomentOne user has a ‘Magic Moment’, where their use case is perfectly aligned with a value delivery mechanism in the product.

Support InteractionCustomer runs in to a bug that hits a pretty important part of the product - It’s resolved in 30 minutes and the customer is notified.

Conference MeetingCustomer’s buyers and their CSM get together at a conference CSM educates and relationship builds - things go well!

Quarterly Business Review #1CMS now deeply understands customer business, can point to value delivered even in the first QBR - customer is re-motivated

Quarterly Business Review #2CMS is able to really drive value to the customer, showing them metrics and analytics they’ve never seen.

Quarterly Business Review #3QBR goes well, and they’re excited that the new feature they wanted is released, but CSM pushes a little too hard on renewal

Executive Check in & RenewalFinally, the executive and CSM are able to connect. This time, the CSM presents the business case effectively, and the executive signs the renewal early. A big win for everyone involved!

Product update emailCustomer gets a Product Release update email, reminding them that your company is constantly investing in their success.

Support InteractionA power user writes in to support and connects with someone they spoke to before, gets a quick response and moves on.

Support Interaction (self-serve)A power user is able to find a help article about their question. It’s a little out of date. but it’s close enough to meet their need.

Executive Check inCSM and customer executive check in over lunch. The executive learns about what his peers do in similar situation(s)

Product Manager InterviewThe CSM pulls some strings and gets product to sit down with a user to understand use cases. PM confirms it’s on the roadmap!

Kickoff CallYour team is on the call and gets the customer excited, despite some time passing. Customer is ready to get going!


Introduction from SalesPrompting Action: Contract signature

Objective: Maintain momentum for you and the customer

What you should know: When a customer signs, they are at the highest point of excitement and intent - something you may not see again for a good bit of time. You want to capitalize on that excitement by moving quickly and keeping momentum on your side

Internally: Your Customer Success team member should meet with the salesperson to get a detailed breakdown of the deal specifics. They’ll want to know:

• Customer company name & “demographics”• Buyer name and role• Power-user(s) name and role(s)• Internal champions• What the customer is excited about• What the customer may need expectation setting on• Product(s) that the customer purchased


Externally: Your salesperson should send an introduction email to the person in customer success who will be shepherding them through the implementation and onboarding process. If your product is lightweight enough to not have an onboarding process, the salesperson will hand off directly to the CSM.

To: Buyer and buyer’s team (if applicable)

From: Salesperson

Subject: Welcome to [Your Company Name] - Next Steps Included!

Body:

Hi [Customer],

I just saw your signature come through, and I am so excited to introduce you to [CSM Name]. [CSM Name] is a rockstar on our team and is excited to work with you and the rest of the [Customer Company] team to make sure you’re getting value quickly.

I’ve filled [her/him] in with the details of our conversations, but [s/he] will specifically focus on:

• Key value point #1 (via X feature)• Key value point #2 (via Y feature)

Our next step is to schedule a kickoff call for you and the team. Since you’re our champion, we will work around your schedule, to be sure you’re on the call. Can you send over a few times that work for you in the next 3-4 days?

Thanks again for your business,

[Sales person]


Kickoff with the CustomerPrompting Action: Introduction from Sales

Objective: Position your team as experts and uncover any hidden use cases or objections/deal breakers before you start implementation

What you should know: This first interaction with the client is an opportunity for your CS team to show up big and set the tone for the entirety of the relationship. If your team asks the right questions and gives the right responses in the kickoff meeting, it instills with the customer that your employees are really experts in your business and people to be relied on.

Internally: You should have a templated kickoff deck already prepared for this meeting. That deck should be branded and clean - just like your sales decks are. The CSM or implementation manager should be editing key pieces of information, but generally, they’ll be following a script. What they should change in the kickoff deck:

• Date• Company name• Background information about the company• CSM/Implementation manager name• Any industry/vertical/company-specific details


Externally: The calendar invite that you send for this meeting should include a link to a screen sharing tool. This will allow your customers to follow along with your presentation.

Sample script:

Introduction:

“Hi [company] team! This is [name] from [your company] I have [name] and [name] in the room with me. Who is on the line on your end?

Positioning statement:

The purpose of today’s call is to get you kicked off and make sure we’re all aligned. I heard from [Name of salesperson] at a high level what your goals are, but before we start [Executive’s Name], can you get us started and tell you why you decided to partner with us?

(Prospect responds)

Awesome - perfect. Thanks for that. It’s always good to have context as we dive in. I think that’s a good transition to our Agenda slide.

(Begin slide deck)

Drive to key value propositions and uncover objections:

• As you know, we specialize in [Speciality]. Can you tell us how you do that today?• Where do you feel your biggest gaps are?• How do you perform [key use case] today? • What is going well that you don’t want to change?• How would we fail?• What would get you to renew at 2x the price a year from today?





Map the customer’s organizationPrompting Action: Customer boarding has begun

Objective: Have a visual map and/or org chart for people in the customer org along with their role, power, objectives, objections, and value drivers. Note: This action is ongoing

What you should know: This takes some time, but it’s well worth it. Having a visual map allows you to share information quickly with the rest of the team. It also allows managers to track how well their CSMs really understand their customers.

Internally: This step is internal only, and will help prepare for a myriad of activities in the future, like account planning, handoffs, and sponsor change events. Your map should look something like the one on the right. To map this correctly, your CSM will have to first know people in the organization that touch your product (and even if they don’t!) and their title. A great way to do this is through LinkedIn. The second step is to map the customer’s sentiment. Early on, you may not have a quantitative model for this, so you’ll likely have to rely on your CSM’s judgment. It can be helpful to have a relationship and product score (i.e. They love us, but the product isn’t a fit). Later on, you can really quantify this using usage data, CSAT scores, NPS scores, and CSM input.

Externally: Nothing for your customers to do on this one!

Jane Smith (VP Eng)

Mike Daily (Dir. Dev Ops)

Maggie May (Engineer) Jill Powers (Engineer)

Kelly McStem (Engineer) Arnold Strong (Engineer)

John Shaek (Engineer)

Joe Kim (Dir. Site Reliability)


Manage Executive SponsorshipPrompting Action: Any new customer or sponsor change

Objective(s): Deepen the relationship, understand priorities, driving business outcomes Note: These actions are all ongoing

What you should know: Managing sponsorship is one of the more difficult tasks to do at an organizational level because there are no hard “metrics” that prove whether or not CSMs have a good handle on their customers’ executives. That said, there are some things you can do to make sure each CSM is prepared, has the right perspective, and can develop a relationship with their executive(s).

Internally: This is a “medium” on the effort scale, but the impact is potentially the highest out of any other set of activities. A few key activities over the course of the customer lifecycle will help make the team successful:

1. Listen and take notes, especially in the beginning - During a kickoff call, it’s critical that the CSM takes copious notes. That way, they can think about, digest, and ask strategic questions about the notes they look later on in the relationship.

2. Break bread with customers - One of the best things to do with customers is take them out to lunch or dinner. It helps everyone loosen up, learn more about each other on a human level, and talk about company “current events.”

3. Deliver them value - The fact is, most buyers and executives won’t “live” in your SaaS product. That’s okay, and it’s the CSM’s job to make sure the exec is seeing the value the software is bringing to their team. it’s done with reporting, competitive insights (if you can share them), activity levels, ROI metrics, etc. Ideally, you’re giving them things they can use in their own meetings to show progress, success, and ROI.


Prepare for and Lead Planned InteractionsPrompting Action: New (time or project) milestone or new product announced

Objective(s): Underscore value proposition, drive to outcomes, and deepen the relationship Note: These actions are all ongoing

What you should know: Having clean, prepared materials is a great way to tell your customers that you care about them. You’ve taken the time to review their account, put together a summary, and present it to them. Now, you have to ask them for their buy-in and feedback.

Internally: These are a “low-to-medium” on the effort scale. Once you have the outlines prepared and the talking points covered, you want to make sure that you’ve pulled the data. You should note that the data will likely change your talking points, but a good CSM will have a sense of what the data says before you “officially” pull it for the conversation.

Externally: You’ll want to set up structured time with your customers. Although there are times when a cold call “Hey! Just checking in..” are appropriate, these are not those times. You’ll have three specific meetings (with different agendas) about which you reach out to customers. Below, you’ll find a reach out email with a proposed agenda.


Milestone hit - good engagement

Hi [buyer] and [key user],

I hope you’re both doing well! It’s already [date], which means we’re [%/time/etc]. I’d love to set up some time to get together in the next week or two where we can discuss your experience in [product name]. I’m really happy to see that [user 1] and [user 2] are getting in there and seeing some good results already.

Here’s what I’d like to talk about on our call:

• 10 min - Intro and catch up• 15 min - Product usage and feedback• 5 min - Prioritizing and next steps

Do you have 30 minutes? I’m happy to do it virtually or swing by your office. Whatever is easier for you!

Thanks and talk soon,

Steve

Milestone hit - poor engagement


I hope you’re both doing well! I’ve looked at some of the product usage from your team and I’d like to set up a call. It’s important to me that you’re getting the most out of [product name], and I want to make sure I can help. We talked about [topic 1] in our kickoff and I want to make sure you’re getting value there.

Here’s what I’d like to talk about on our call:

• 5 min - Intro and catch up• 15 min - Your feedback and prioritizing features• 10 min - Training, key people, and next steps

Do you have 30 minutes? I’m happy to do it virtually or swing by your office. Whatever is easier for you!


Steve


New product announced


I hope you’re both doing well! We have some really cool stuff coming down the pike, and I think you’re going to love it. This week, we plan to release [product feature name], which is something you alluded to in our kickoff call. I think it can touch on, if not solve [need].

If I can steal 15 from you, I’d love to connect this week before Thursday. Is there a good time?


Steve





Prepare for and de-escalate unplanned interactionsWhat you should know: Things (obviously) don’t go as planned. If you’re a leader in your company, it’s likely that you handle these types of interactions yourself right now. You probably call them something like “customer problems” and you’re likely pretty good at de-escalating them yourself. That’s because you have full decision making authority. As you grow your customer success team you should look for people who can do this without full decision making authority.

Internally: These situations are all reactive, so there’s little that you can do to actually prepare for them. That said, the more (lightweight) risk mitigation you can do to plan for these issues, the better. Things like creating help articles, understanding your contracts in-depth, and having strong notes in your CRM for each account help disperse information across your organization, which allows people to react quickly when they have to tend to a customer’s needs.


The idea that you can de-escalate an interaction implies that there is a scale for these experiences. Both the de-escalation and the scale itself are more art than science and are likely subject to your unique business situation. A sample “scale” is below:

Externally: Each of your external interactions must be tailored to the specific situation and needs of your customer. There are some signals from customers that require immediate action on your end, and others where a cooling-off 12-hour period is helpful. Regardless, you’ll want to follow a pattern of recognizing the issue, being accountable for what your team has contributed to it, and making a clear and direct action plan for moving forward.

Sample Escalation Scale


Run a Quarterly Business Review (QBR)What you should know: If done well, QBRs are the single biggest driver of value in all of your customer interactions. QBRs give customer executives proof that their investment was worthwhile through analytics, tailored discussion, and an insight into their business that they may not know. If not executed properly, they turn into hour-long feature request sessions that leave your customer frustrated and your team feeling shell-shocked.

Internally: These are “medium-to-high” on the effort scale. You should have a template deck already prepared, but your CSM will still have to pull the data. More than other planned interactions, it’s a good idea to do cohort analysis so you can show customer executives where they fit in their “pack.” This allows you to either convey that your company can be delivering more value (i.e. they have to use it more) or that you have become a true partner to your customer (i.e. they can tell their friends).

Externally: Generally, if you have enterprise customers, they’re used to holding QBRs/EBRs with their SaaS partners. If that’s the case, you’ll likely run into two bifurcated situations:

1. The first is that they’re excited to glean insights into their usage, their team’s performance, and where they stand in the pack.

2. The second is that they “don’t have time” for another meeting (read: “This isn’t useful to me and provides me no value.”). If this is the case, they may get on the phone (begrudgingly), but you’ll have one opportunity to make it a worth-while and valuable QBR. Remember: the QBR is for the customer, not just for you.

Pro tip: After a successful QBR, you should schedule your next meeting in the “next steps.” You’ll likely have to reschedule later, but having it on the calendar 3 months in advance is a good anchor for both you and the customer.


Example QBR Invitation

Hi [buyer],

I can’t believe it’s already been 3 months since our last QBR! I’m really excited to get together on [date] to connect, hear about how [important project] is going, and share some of the great things we’re working on.

If I can steal 15 from you, I’d love to connect this week before Thursday. Is there a good time?


Steve


Upsell a customer to a new serviceWhat you should know: This is the culmination of all previous activities and depends on the strength of the other product that you’re offering. There is a big debate among Customer Success professionals about who should do this upsell.

Here are the two schools of thought at a high level:

• CSM handles upsell

• Pro: Nobody is closer to the customer than the CSM, and they are able to sell based on relationship and educating the customer.

• Con: You’re likely leaving money on the table. Salespeople are trained to get the most money possible and lock in the deal.

• Sales handles upsell

• Pro: Salespeople are trained to get the most money possible and lock in the deal, and they can pitch features/benefits better than anyone else in the company.

• Con: Your sales team inherently cares less about the relationship than your CSM does, and they’re coming in solely for the sale. So, they may provide less value and context to the customer than your Customer Success team members.

Internally: You’ll likely already have an ideal customer for your new product, so you should already have the appropriate customer segment in mind. In the beginning, as you’re testing your messaging, you should be testing out ideal customers in each segment. You should note that his is 100% a sales process, and should follow your internal sales operations/mechanics.


Externally: Your customers will likely be excited to learn about new products. It’s best to have your CSM run the interactions with the customer, even if a salesperson is in the mix. Specifically, they should be coordinating the meetings, opening the first call, and making the introduction to the salesperson (if that’s the route you decide to pursue). See a sample email below:

Example Upsell Opening Email

Hi [buyer] and [power user],

Hope you’re well! I had the opportunity to catch up with [user] a few weeks ago, and it seems like she’s really getting a lot of use out of the [feature name], which is really exciting. It looks like that saves her quite a bit of time during her day.

When we last spoke, [name] mentioned [customer need]. I’m really excited to share that our product team just wrapped up our [Feature Name]. Can [Salesperson Name] (on CC), and I walk you through how it works?

Do you have 15-20 minutes that I can steal on your calendar this Thursday?


Steve


Renewing a customerWhat you should know: Similar to upselling (but certainly more important), renewals are the culmination of all previous activities and experiences with your product and company. Again, there the debate about Sales vs CS rages on.

Internally: Your entire software business should revolve around capturing and locking down customer renewals. This is your single most important metric because it will both drive up gross revenue and drive down the cost per revenue dollar. Customer renewals (and upsells) are where CSMs make 10x their money for your company. Think of it like this:

Externally: Renewals can be tricky in any SaaS business, especially with your most important customers. As mentioned above, sometimes it can come really naturally out of a QBR, but other times it requires negotiations, multiple stakeholders, and even some time working through a procurement organization (gross).

Ideally, you should start working on the renewal process at least 3 to 4 months in advance. Working ahead of time, even though it can sometimes be uncomfortable for the customer (“wait, isn’t my renewal in 3 months?”) allows you to underscore success, highlight issues and objections early, and overcome anything that may stand in the way. An experienced buyer will likely not be caught off guard that you’re starting early. Inexperienced buyers, those that throw the most curveballs, will likely be surprised, but that’s okay because you have time to handle what you have to in order to meet their needs.

Cost

Year 1

15

40

20

25

75

70

20

10

5-7

30

Sales & Commissions

Customer Success

Customer Success

LeadGen & Marketing

Prod.Marketing

Possible Upsell

Cost

Year 2

RevenueRevenue


Beyond this guide In our experience, many early customer success efforts don’t work because they’re not focused enough on

proactive outreach. Every day, your CS organization should be performing more customer discovery, driving customer value, demonstrating return on investment, serving as a strategic partner to customers, and providing great use cases to buyers and end users alike.

Instead, many teams get wrapped up in reactive activities, putting out “fires” as they arise in the business, and giving customers “great support.” While these are important and must happen in every business, they should not be the core activities of your Customer Success team.

We created this guide to help give you information that you need to set up a scalable, revenue-generating structure for customer success. If you think your business would benefit from learning more, and you’re looking to build a world class CS function, don’t hesitate to contact [email protected] for more information.

mailto:steve%40stevefreund.io?subject=

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A GUIDE FOR B2B SAAS STARTUPS THAT WANT TO BETTER ENGAGE, GROW, AND RETAIN THEIR CUSTOMERS

OPERATORS GUIDE TO CUSTOMER SUCCESS

Documents

OPERATORS GUIDE TO CUSTOMER SUCCESS€¦ · 6 Operators Guide to Customer Success Introduction from Sales Prompting Action: Contract signature Objective: Maintain momentum for you