Discover how Customer Success Operations teams can help you get the most out of your CSM’s and scale your business for long term growth
TL; DR
- Customer Success Operations teams are responsible for ensuring that all CS initiatives are carried out as effectively and efficiently as possible.
- As CSM’s serve to be the face of the organization, Customer Success Operations teams arm CSM’s with the tools, processes, and data to establish brand loyalty, build trusting relationships, and ensure value attainment.
- Implementing Customer Success Operations teams allows organizations to scale their business which increases customer lifetime value and decreases cost of acquisition and cost of retention.
- Implementing Customer Success Operations opens capacity with the CSM’s, allowing them to concentrate more on the quality of engagements and building relationships.
- If your CSM’s are responsible for both client facing customer engagements and CS Operations tasks, and are struggling to keep up, consider adding a Customer Success Operations team, find margin, improve the CX, and grow your business.
Introduction: What is a Customer Success Operations Team and What Are Their Functions?
Customer Success Operations teams are responsible for driving customer success and satisfaction within an organization. They are responsible for ensuring that all CS initiatives are carried out as effectively and efficiently as possible. They work closely with CSM’s, sales, marketing, and product teams to ensure that customer needs are met in a timely manner. Most notably, the CS Operations team is responsible for providing a foundation upon which the CSM’s can operate at peak performance, in a repeatable way, with the most accurate information available to bring customers closer to their desired outcomes.
Primary functions include:
- Data and systems management
- Onboarding and implementation
- Customer training and enablement
- Customer communications
- Cross departmental alignment
- Industry and market research
- Create & maintain SOP’s, playbooks, & education content
- Analyze customer data & KPI’s to ID risk factors, areas for improvement, & opportunities for expansion
The Benefits of Having a Dedicated Customer Success Operations Team
Having a dedicated CS Operations team is an invaluable asset to any business. It not only helps to ensure that customers are getting the best possible experience, but it also allows the CS department scale. It does so by placing back-office operations functions with the CS Operations team, and front office, client facing CS initiatives with the CSM. Benefits of implementing a CS Operations team include:
- Open CSM capacity & scale your CSM’s account load
- Increase customer lifetime value
- Decrease customer acquisition cost
- Decrease cost of retention
- Improved employee engagement and morale
- Optimized resource allocation
With these benefits in mind, it’s easy to see why having a dedicated CS Operations team is essential for any business striving to scale and grow.
How Do You Know When to Add a Customer Success Operations Team
In today’s competitive business landscape, CS Operations teams are essential for any organization looking to scale and grow. A well-planned and managed CS Operations team can help an organization stay ahead of the competition by ensuring CSM’s have enough capacity to bring meaningful engagements to the customers, so they have a positive experience with their products or services. By setting up and managing an effective Customer Success Operations team, organizations can optimize their resources and ensure that they are providing the best possible service to their customers. If you’re struggling in any of the areas below, consider adding a CS Operations to support your CSM’s.
- CSM’s are unable to adequately prepare for meetings
- Tools and programs are not being used
- Measuring and reviewing KPI’s is no longer being prioritized
- SOP’s and playbooks are not being followed
- Consistently failure to measure and meet KPI’s
- Onboarding TAT’s are growing
- Low CSM morale
- Increasing churn rates
Shifting these back-office responsibilities to a Customer Success Operations team will open capacity with your CSM’s and give them the proper time to prepare for and obsess over client facing engagements.
Exploring Different Roles & Responsibilities Within A CS Operations Team
In today’s fast paced world, the CS Operations team plays a vital role in ensuring CRM systems are operating at peak performance, processes and procedures are being followed and maintained, and the latest and greatest data is available for the CSM’s to consume. They also track customer feedback and analyze data to identify areas of improvement in order to provide better experiences for customers.
As a result, it is important to understand the different
CS roles and responsibilities within a CS Operations team. Some of the more common roles are:
- Customer Success Operations Manager – Oversees and owns customer data and systems management, manages and nurtures interdepartmental synergies, and supports core CSM enablement programs
- Customer Success Onboarding and Implementation Specialist – Oversees and owns the customer onboarding and implementation experience
- Customer Success Education Specialist – oversees and owns the customer education program
CS Operations teams work closely with the CSM’s, Marketing, and Sales to get a deep understanding of customer needs, expectations, and motivations. This allows CS Operations teams and CSM’s to align goals that best serve the customer.
Conclusion: Implementing a Customer Success Operations Team is Your Key to Retention and Growth
An efficient and successful SaaS company will have a great CS Operations team in place that supports its CSM’s and its customers. The team helps develop a customer-centric culture and implement strategies for smooth workflows that the CSM’s can easily navigate. They are essential for driving positive experiences for the CSM’s and customers. The emphasis on customer experience is growing, making CS Operations a necessary component of any CS team of any business aiming to retain and grow its customers. This vital area of operations will become even more prominent in the future.
