Structuring for Success
Congratulations. Your organization finally understands the value of a Customer Success team, and now you’re in charge of setting it up. Just one problem: there’s no plug-and-play formula on how to best structure your Customer Success team.
Don’t worry, the truth is that there’s no one “right” structure for a CSM organization. Your team’s structure needs to be tailored for what best fits your product and company. Finding that isn’t always easy, but I’ll share some of the right questions you must answer to identify the ideal fit for your team.
The Wild West of Customer Success
In 2011, I decided to try my hand in supporting customers who were using a different type of technology than what I had done previously. This was after more than seven years of Customer Success leadership, and I was looking for that special mix of ass-kicking technology and inspiring leadership.
As I started to reach out and speak with potential employers, I was surprised to learn that that no company structured Customer Success the same way. This led to a bit of a personal experiment: I applied to as many companies as possible in order to talk to C-level hiring managers about finding THE definitive strategic approach and organizational structure for Customer Success.
After talking to about 60 companies, I came to one clear conclusion: Customer Success is like the Wild West! No one is doing it the same way, and there isn’t one simple formula for the “right” CSM structure.
While there’s no silver bullet, this experience did give me an irreplaceable education and insight into how to attack this problem.
Taming the Wild West
The best way to determine the right structure for your team is to look at the following:
1. What is the level of complexity of your product or platform?
- Is there a heavy admin requirement? Are there robust and complex theories and practices? Could your mother use your platform with minimal support?
2. What is the investment of time in using your product?
- Do you need to commit a significant portion of your day in using the application? Or is it quick and easy use with little muss and fuss?
3. What is the customer experience and journey you want your customers to have?
- Self service? Call me only in an emergency? Or do you want to be on a first name basis with your entire family.
Now that you’ve answered these questions, consider the following:
1. Heavy admin requirement and product or platform complexity equals technical demands on your success and support teams.
- Consider implementing a Technical Success Manager to join forces with your Customer Success Managers on your larger or more strategic customers (think of these guys as the best of breed of your technical staff and couple that with domain expertise.) The relationship between TSM and CSM should be similar to that of a Sales person and a Sales Engineer.
- Consider having a lower CSM to account ratio for better coverage.
2. Easier/speedier platforms require less long-term technical investment.
- Consider higher account to CSM ratios.
- Look into having technical support become part of the success group for wider coverage to your accounts.
3. The greater the customer experience, the more CSMs and the lower the ratios you’ll need.
- Look for areas to create a low/no touch model and lean on your marketing automation tool, webinars, symposiums, etc. to maintain that nurturing relationship with your accounts.
Structuring your Customer Success organization can be challenging, if not maddening, to define. The questions I have highlighted are not an exhaustive list, but these are things to consider as you develop your own way to structuring your team and customer journey.
