CSM Customer Rotation

Scott Hopper

Relationships are a big deal.  However, there are some who view that there is value in being successful with other customer sets especially in the enterprise where you might have a handful or less of accounts.  How long do you keep someone on an account?  

1 year 

2 years

5 years

As long as they want to be.  

Will Pagden

Interesting topic and I think one that may have many differing views. 

Having run an enterprise team, I found there wasn't a "one size fits all" when it came to account rotation. It requires having trust in your CSM Team leads or yourself to understand what is happening within your CSM accounts. Certain circumstances may mean a fresh pair of eyes works best, whereas other customers may stay with their CSM for 5+ years as they have a great relationship. As with all things relationship based, in my opinion we become powerful when we learn to react to the changing situations.

Scott Hopper

@Will Pagden first thanks for chiming in. Did you mean there isn't a  one size fits all.?     Do it as required?  But you favor some change over time?

Will Pagden

Hi @Scott Hopper! I need to get better at having coffee before posting clearly! I have update, there isn't a one size fits all. 

And yes I very much am in the "Do it if and when required camp". I wouldn't say I favour change over time as such, I favour change when there is a good reason too. For example, if an account has been steady for a few years but you need some traction to continue the growth, you may throw a new face into the mix to see if we can change the dynamics and create something more. Same with expertise, it may be you have a CSM who has previously worked with a product your customer has just bought which complements yours. Good opportunity to switch the CSM so they can demonstrate more value. 

Hope that makes sense!

Matt Myszkowski

Great question @Scott Hopper  - I will sit myself firmly on the fence and say "it depends".

I do believe the value of a good CSM to a customer comes from building long term, sustainable relationships and this cannot be done in a year, so changes to CSM assignments should be minimal. 

However, you have to understand two extreme ends to this - 1. Your CSM & customer may not be a good fit, and that is OK. A change is needed because that dynamic for whatever reason is preventing both parties being successful. 2. CSMs & customers can become "stale" & too comfortable with each other. A good CSM must challenge the customer, must always be looking  to continuously improve the customer and the adoption of your software/service. If that comfort and apathy exists, then this doesn't happen and a change is needed. Making that change can be challenging though as both the CSM and customer will struggle to see why that change is needed, and will resist it. This is where you earn your salt as a leader.

Generally I would say 3 years (or a contract term up to a successful renewal) would be a time to suitably review the engagement.

Scott Hopper

@Will Pagden  no worries I thought I was reading between the lines properly(8+ years in support).  But certainly wanted clarity for others.  

Travis Wheeler

Always a good topic. My 2cents that we've been working through is that yes, there are definitely times where you may see higher CSM turnover in accounts but we actively try to keep it as low as possible (Duh!). For example though, we are going through a growth period in our CSM team. So, we are looking at those clients that are the most active with their CSM, and we try to keep that CSM with them as long as possible. If customers are less active, it may be easier to move them first. Second, we are making sure that the transition isn't done "overnight". Instead, the existing CSM slowly introduces the new CSM over a time period of maybe say, 1-3 months, and then slowly transitions off. We've found this significantly helps. The final piece that we look at is the other relationships that the customer has with our organization or our SIs. If we had recently switched the AE, then we may wait longer to move CSMs. Same would go for if they are still heavily engaged with their SI partner, which may give us some wiggle room on transitioning. Nonetheless, to answer your core question, we aim for at least 1yr with a customer. 

Scott Hopper

@Travis Wheeler that's great feedback if I get your message right.  Look for stable and less active customers when changing out CSM's to newer team members.  Less abrupt transitions, to avoid an overnight turnover and keep an eye on other changes across the relationship as multiple changes might be disruptive and try to have relationships at least a year.  

Travis Wheeler

Correct- those are the key pillars we work off of, with flexibility in each situation! 

Scott Hopper

@Matt Myszkowsk, so similar to others.  Mega value delivered means a lasting relationship. try to make changes around renewals where relationships aren't growing. 

 I'm sure with SAP's customers there is definitely staleness that does occur which allows for change but also, some orgs that are willing to explore new value opportunities.  

I would say, coming from widely deployed products the "apathy" may be a result of the emphasis of other products in the line or use cases that your customer isn't interested in or a product roadmap that doesn't show new ROI opportunities for your customer which makes it difficult to expand the relationship further.