Difference between CS in small and large businesses
Comments
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I've found there is definitely a distinction- and this is largely influenced by the available resources of the business.
In the SMBs I've worked with, team members often wear many hats, leading to a more tactical focus for CS and CSMs. Due to limited resources and higher account loads, one person might handle everything from onboarding to renewals. This can leave less time for proactive relationship nurturing, resulting in more reactive customer support.
However, as a business grows, specialized roles become more necessary. Implementation teams, trainers, and support structures allows CSMs to shift towards more towards the strategic. They can concentrate on creating success plans, conducting Executive Business Reviews (EBRs), establishing executive sponsorships, etc.
On the other hand, Enterprise companies usually deal with more enterprise-level customers, leading to higher expectations in terms of service and more activities per account. In these relationships, CSMs must be ready to showcase ROI, conduct polished EBRs, and manage more specialized contacts within the customer's organization.
I'd be interested to know, what sorts of activities does your CSM team focus on the most?
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I think Ryan phrased this beautifully & is very similar to what I've experience in my CS career.
To me it very much depends on your business and your clients. Where are a majority of them? Of the SMB to Enterprise breakdown, how does each group impact your NDR and overall profitability?
Often, SMB clients require more hand-holding as your champions in these business are usually wearing multiple hats whereas in Enterprise, some companies will have dedicated roles for certain vendors & vendor relationships. Each of those scenarios carry very different expectations of what a CSM will do.
I've found that it usually takes longer to land an Enterprise client so keeping them not just happy but also not considering competition requires a high-level of CSM partnership. On the other hand, SMBs usually can be sold a little quicker, but can also leave more easily as they don't always engrain processes as deeply as Enterprise companies. However, SMBs are often amazing for word of mouth referrals and can be amazing in influencing more SMB logos so keeping them "happy" can be equally important.
If you're just looking for a place to start, I think just flat out asking your clients, SMB or Enterprise, their expectation of a CSM partnership and their communication preferences can help you build a framework that isn't SMB or Enterprise dependent.
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@kmcmullen @ryanhamill That was really insightful. I am currently building framework that isn't SMB or Enterprise dependent and at same time be also scalable by having conservations with my customers. Have you guys already build any framework like that? Any tips will be helpful?
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The most important question I would ask is their communication preference. I think every company thinks you need to have QBRs/EBRs, but some clients prefer a simple email of how they are measuring/benchmarking, utilization, any wins/ROI, any recommendations for improvement, etc. that they can use internally to look like a hero.
When you consider you're likely 1 of 15+ vendors in their tech stack, asking them this question then delivering amazing content for their preference can be a quick and easy homerun. It also tells your CSMs how to prioritize their time & engagements: who they need to have calls with, who they need to strategically draft digital comms for, etc.
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"The most important question I would ask is their communication preference. I think every company thinks you need to have QBRs/EBRs, but some clients prefer a simple email" @kmcmullen really nails an important facet right there.
Often people want to routinize things and create Henry Ford like repeatable processes, but that misses the essential value of Customer Success. Our function is one of connection through listening and responding with authenticity. Find out what a customer wants by asking them and by listening and observing them. When they see you have picked up what the they were laying down and are then delivering compelling value in the exchanges with their CSM, then you are getting things going.
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I think @Ryan HL above said it really well. The problem at the smaller end is that CS is really a jack-of-all-trades role that spans onboarding, services, customer success, and support. But the real issues on the early-stage end are 1) there is minimal awareness that they're doing lots more than just "CS," and 2) this early phase lasts way too long and specialization comes too late. On the enterprise size, things get overly segmented into implementation, services, customer success, customer support, renewals management, and account management -- so it's much harder to have solid account views and account plans to push customers along in maturity.
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