Essential Customer Success

The SaaS Secret No One Wants to Talk About Preview 05:50

Introduction Preview 00:35

Everything as a Service Preview 02:26

Customer Success, as a role, has existed for well over a decade but demand has exploded over the last few years. This lecture is part 1 of 3 that explains where customer success began and why it is set for continued growth.

Customer Loyalty Preview 03:17

Customer Success, as a role, has existed for well over a decade but demand has exploded over the last few years. This lecture is part 2 of 3 that explains where customer success began and why it is set for continued growth.

The End of Never Ending Software Preview 04:23

Customer Success, as a role, has existed for well over a decade but demand has exploded over the last few years. This lecture is part 3 of 3 that explains where customer success began and why it is set for continued growth.

The Customer Success Market Wrap-Up Preview 01:16

Let’s wrap up what we have just learned about XaaS, the move from product to subscription and changing customer loyalty.

Foundations Introduction Preview 00:35

Customer Cohorts Preview 06:03

How you organise your customers matters. This lecture outlines the common ways that the SaaS industry classifies customers.

Leading and Lagging Measurement Preview 03:40

The lecture might sound like it’s semantics. It’s not. Understand leading and lagging indicators is the key to getting ahead of what you need to do as a Customer Success Manager well ahead of retention or churn at the next renewal event.

The Role, The Function, The Principle of Customer Success Preview 02:08

Understanding the difference between Customer Success Managers, Customer Success Management and Customer Success will put your role, the function and the principles into perspective.

The Purpose of CSM Preview 02:19

Market and Foundations Quiz

This will ensure you understand the foundational principles before progressing on to practical measurement and management.

Introduction to Measuring Health Preview 02:55

A CSM should always know the health of all of their customers. This lecture will introduce you to how to measure health routinely.

The Proactive CSM Preview 04:03

This is a reflective lecture. It examines how you asses customer health today and how you prioritise which customer or customers gets your focus.

Proactive Health Perspectives Preview 06:10

This lecture outlines the dimensions of health measurement. The perspectives that will accurately assess the long term health of your customers.

Traffic Lighting Introduction Preview 01:17

Wrap-up on customer health perspectives so far and setting the scene for traffic lighting.

Traffic Light Laws Preview 02:00

Defining traffic light indicators in a way that is clear and unambiguous.

Traffic Lighting Determination Criteria Preview 11:25

Defining traffic light indicators in a way that is clear and unambiguous.

Customer Health Quiz

Measuring customer health should be assessed monthly and updated weekly. Health will be one of the primary drivers of activity daily, weekly and monthly. So how much do you know about measuring customer health?

A Tour Around The Framework Preview 09:25

At the heart of this course is a comprehensive Customer Success Framework. This is a tour around the The OR(A)EO framework.

Introduction to the Outcome Perspective Preview 01:03

The OR(A)EO framework, the OUTCOME perspective, activities and tools.

Value Drivers Preview 04:24

Value articulation, lecture 1 of 3, value drivers.

Service Outcomes Preview 04:10

This lecture will help you distinguish features, benefits and outcomes because it is important to focus on your service outcomes. These are what you will ultimately connect to value.

Connecting Outcomes Preview 03:52

Value articulation. Connecting Service Outcomes to Value Drivers.

Outcome Quality Preview 03:23

Value articulation. This lecture outlines the six qualities of a Service Outcome. Is it identified, connected, quantified, operational, socialised and aligned.

Outcome Quiz

Understanding customer outcomes and connecting them to value drivers is not an academic exercise. It's critical in understanding customer success, making it happen and ensuring that it is at the front and centre of the customer's renewal decisions. This quiz will help you understand some of the principles of outcome and value we have discovered so far.

Connecting Outcomes to Value Drivers

What is the outcome your service delivers and let’s connect it to value

Relationship Perspective Preview 01:32

The OR(A)EO framework, the RELATIONSHIP perspective, activities and tools.

Relationship Mapping Preview 09:01

Creating a relationship map to unambiguously document customer relationships and identify areas that need your attention as a CSM

Adoption Perspective Introduction Preview 01:18

The OR(A)EO framework, the Adoption perspective, activities and tools.

Adoption Assessment Introduction Preview 00:58

Adoption assessment part 1 of 3. Introduction.

Activity Assessment Preview 02:24

Adoption assessment part 2 of 3. Activity.

Feature Assessment Preview 02:34

Adoption assessment part 3 of 3. Feature assessment.

Adoption Assessment Wrap Up Preview 01:06

Adoption assessment wrap-up.

Expansion Process Preview 04:19

Expansions should be treated just like a sales process. This lecture explains how.

Organisation Perspective Preview 01:21

The OR(A)EO framework, the ORGANISATION perspective, activities and tools.

Red Flag Testing Preview 01:37

Red flag tests

Expansion Perspective Introduction Preview 01:18

The OR(A)EO framework, the EXPANSION perspective, activities and tools.

Practice Reviewing for Red Flags

Now that we have discussed a general list of red flags, this exercise will help you put it into practice. Try it for one of your key customers. As you work through it it may give you ideas about how you can customise the list of red flags to be an even better list for your setting.

Customer Portfolio Tracking Preview 00:35

Portfolio tracker downloadable resource.

The CSM Organiser Preview 00:16

Customer Meeting Template Preview 00:38

Standard customer meeting presentation template and downloadable resource.

Framework Quiz

This quiz will test your understanding of the Customer Success Framework.

Essential Metrics Introduction Preview 01:12

Essential metrics introductions.

Revenue Metrics Preview 04:15

Understanding revenue metrics.

Retention Metrics Preview 03:58

Understanding retention metrics.

Retention Benchmarks Preview 01:11

What are industry standard retention rates to help you assess your performance today.

Metrics quiz

Have you grasped the two most important metrics to you as a Customer Success Manager?

Metrics Wrap-Up Preview 01:06

Essential metrics wrap-up.

The Practical CSM Introduction Preview 00:41

Section introduction.

Segmentation Preview 04:32

In an ideal world every CSM would rigorously carry out every activity embodied within the OR(A)EO framework for every customer every time. However, in the real world, we will find that resources are limited. In a rapidly growing SaaS business, for example, customer need can often outstrip the resources we have even though the team is growing too. This is why we segment. To make pragmatic decisions about which activity is going to have the most impact. This lecture explores segmentation and recommends an approach that has been proven in practice.

Strategic Customer Success Planning Preview 06:46

Much of this course is about being proactive but, as a CSM, you need to be more than that. You need to plan for the long-term which will undoubtedly require support from others in your business. This lecture introduces you to the Strategic Customer Success Workshop, a quarterly (or half-yearly) assessment of each key customer, where you are with them, what are the risks and opportunities and what does everyone need to do to mitigate the risks and maximise the opportunity.

Wrap-Up Preview 04:26

Let’s wrap-up the section and the course with a summary of what we have learned and the new skills we can now put into practice

In a Nutshell Preview 00:00

The workbook summarised the materials taught in this course and is the only place where there is liberal use of bullet points to structure the key concepts and lessons.

Apropos of Comfort, Stretch and Panic Zones Preview 02:25

This is an 'apropos of something' lecture and entirely optional. These are professional workplaces tips to help you develop and grow. In this lecture I discuss comfort, panic and stretch zones.

Apropos of Role Evolution Preview 02:00

This is an 'apropos of something' lecture and entirely optional. These are professional workplaces tips to help you develop and grow. In this 'appropos' I discuss one of the reasons your role in any growing SaaS business will evolve quickly and encourage you to embrace and love the change.

Apropos of Interviewing CSMs Preview 01:28

I am often asked the question. What do you look for when you are hiring new CSMs?

Appropos of Free Stuff Preview 03:34

Customers will ask for free services from you. Perhaps because they are thinking long-term and don’t want the relationship to be simply quid pro quo, perhaps because it would be too difficult for them to access additional budget or perhaps because they are not aware that little is ‘free’. There is likely some cost, somewhere, for someone. Before you jump in with a yes or no, explore what it is the customer is looking for.