A Customer Success Manager, or CSM, is one of the most important – and often underutilized – partners for marketing technology practitioners. They play a crucial role in shaping the supplier-customer relationship and ensuring its long-term success.
The value of customer success managers
Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) vendors typically assign CSMs to customers for larger products and contracts. CSMs are intended to help customers use their product or platform effectively so they succeed. They play a key role in ensuring customers innovate, which is ideally a win-win situation.
They help customers overcome challenges, enable users, explain product updates, integrate the product or platform with other systems, find new use cases, assist with the renewal process (and explain contract items), determine return on investment (ROI), and so on.
There are several ways CSMs can help martech practitioners.
Partnerships
Martech stack components rarely function alone. They are usually integrated with other systems. Sometimes one stack component essentially defines the other. For example, the main component may have only one native integration in a category of supporting solutions (for example, content management systems and website accessibility compliance monitoring). That integration is maintained through a partnership.
A CSM can play a key role in informing martech professionals about how integration is evolving, making the innovation process more transparent. They can also help eliminate confusion, as the supporting supplier has a strong incentive to maintain the broader relationship and thus remain a partner of choice.
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Proactive support
CSMs only succeed if their customers are satisfied and perform with the product or service. This gives them sufficient incentives to proactively support their customers.
As product specialists, CSMs must monitor product usage, performance, and KPI metrics. Ideally, they identify problems and troubling trends before they become problems. They are also well positioned to spot signals that customers may not realize are worth noticing.
For any martech professional, it’s better to solve a problem before a senior executive notices and starts asking questions. CSMs should help prevent these situations. Discussing proactive support topics should occur during regularly scheduled customer calls.
Product roadmaps
Martech platforms and products are rarely static. In fact, they must evolve to meet new technology, trends and consumer behavior patterns.
CSMs are valuable resources for martech practitioners to stay informed about how a product or platform is developing. This includes product updates as they are rolled out and updates that become available in the future.
This can help an organization plan for these product updates. This may include customizing integrations, updating terms and conditions and other public disclosures, training power users, and related activities.
From the supplier’s perspective, this is critical for identifying upselling opportunities.
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Preparing for renewal
In addition to justifying product updates from a technical and operational perspective, product updates are also part of how suppliers justify price increases during the renewal process.
By keeping customers informed about product updates, CSMs ideally help them understand the additional value the supplier adds. When it comes time to work with account managers to renew, that work can help explain any price changes.
Granted, product updates vary in value. However, CSMs can help avoid unnecessary drama during overtime. This also gives martech professionals time to assess whether product updates truly justify price increases, allowing them to negotiate more effectively.
Product use
Martech tools are easy to buy, but harder to use effectively. CSMs can ensure that organizations get sufficient value for their money.
It’s not unusual for organizations (and people too) to pay for features they don’t use. There are several reasons for this, including insufficient user support, integration dependencies, and simple ignorance.
One of the main objectives of CSMs is to ensure customer satisfaction. A crucial tactic to achieve that is to help customers understand how to fully utilize the product or platform. Martech professionals are obvious counterparts in this effort, and working together to achieve that goal is a win-win for both vendor and customer.
Client’s attorney
CSMs can also serve as customer advocates. This is especially useful under different circumstances.
When a customer is a small player in the broader customer base, he/she may have specific needs but lack the clout to effectively advocate for them. A CSM can help explain to the employer why a seemingly minor customer deserves attention.
As with any relationship, misunderstandings sometimes arise between supplier and customer. Ideally, a CSM has worked closely with the customer, and when other supplier stakeholders raise concerns, the CSM can help contextualize the situation. Even though the CSM is loyal to the supplier, they can still help the customer in these cases.
CSMs with productive customer relationships can promote these customers as candidates for beta testing positions. Gaining early access to new features and helping shape them can provide meaningful benefits.
When a customer project involves multiple suppliers, CSMs can support the customer’s perspective with other suppliers. It cannot be the case that multiple competing suppliers get their way, but their relative importance varies by circumstance. It may be useful to engage a CSM for the central product to convince other suppliers.
CSMs can identify opportunities to market to the customer. For example, they can help secure a case study in exchange for a discount or other benefits. They can also help position a client as a leader in a given space. CSMs can certainly be strong advocates.
Dig deeper: Customer engagement: Moving from value creation to value enhancement
CSMs are turning into strategic partners
CSMs often become trusted allies who help smooth over issues, advocate internally, and protect long-term relationships. Although their primary responsibility is to the supplier, that does not stop them from supporting the customer’s needs along the way. When martech professionals work closely with CSMs, both parties are likely to gain real, lasting value from the partnership.
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Contributing authors are invited to create content for MarTech and are chosen for their expertise and contribution to the martech community. Our contributors work under the supervision of the editors and contributions are checked for quality and relevance to our readers. MarTech is owned by Semrush. The contributor was not asked to make any direct or indirect mentions of it Semrush. The opinions they express are their own.
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