Hello fellow experts! We are in the midst of taking a deep dive into how we scale as we grow larger. Currently we have 3 CSMs who manage 350ish accounts. Largely, they operate under a higher touch model as we want every customer to "know" who their CSM is and what value they can add, etc (this doesn't mean they are on the phone with every single customer, however lower ARR could potentially get the same amount of attention as a higher ARR. I realize that is a different topic but providing context) . As we grow we can't afford to add resources in parallel so we really need to put energy into a digital led journey (s) (thanks @Alex Tran for the terminology).
Questions for the group
- As you made this transition, what expectations did you set with leadership about the anticipated churn for customers in the digital journey? Is it safe to assume that those customers in a digital journey may churn out at a higher rate? What mechanisms do you have in place to prevent churn (i.e. having a "human" intervene, etc)
- What are the most important items you need in place before you press go? I.E an incredible customer portal, Hollywood style training videos, drip customer marketing campaigns, etc?
- How did you handle current customers who may have been used to having a CSM at their disposal in transitioning them away from that model? I.E. Hey customer, Bob is still here but since you fall into our digital segment you will no longer have him on speed dial. (being a bit facetious but hopefully this makes my point
). - How much were other departments involved? I.E. Marketing providing air cover from an email/customer portal standpoint?
- What tools did you find helpful, outside of your CSP (we use ChurnZero)?
EDIT: I should have also mentioned that our onboarding would still require a bit of lift from us, all things considered, as SSO and other integration points would need our help.
I realize there are going to be a lot of great input. If it is easier to connect offline, I am up for that too!
