Customer Success team for a Managed Services Provider (MSP)

Hi @Tandiss --I spent 2 years as VP Client Success at an MSSP (InteliSecure, acquired by ProofPoint), and I've worked with several MSPs in my consulting practice, so perhaps I can be of assistance.

Some MSP aspects are very similar to SaaS while others are very different. The desired business results are the same (lower churn and increase NRR), but the services vs. technology focus is notably different. Tech providers are much more product-centric, they can usually see online behaviors and can use them to predict customer renewals, and can do much more at scale than service providers. In contrast, MSPs tend to be more customer-centric, are more tech-agnostic, services delivered are more tailored, CSMs act more as ongoing service managers (@Jay Nathan's SLA comments are spot on) and they generally have fewer but deeper client relationships.

Other things are very similar. Like with SaaS, you must facilitate the customer's journey, ensuring value promises made to each member of the customer's decision making unit are kept, especially during the early stages. Value planning and realization is extremely important in order to build a shared belief about your brand, and those shared beliefs are predictive of future behaviors. After customers are in their "happy place," CSMs must sustain the shared belief, responding to any fundamental changes and critical moments (such as major escalations) along the way. In my view, CSMs should also be trained to identify emerging needs, handing off leads to AMs and doing an assumptive close for regular renewals. And like in SaaS, the Customer Success function must partner with the CEO to cross-functionally improve upstream services and processes that drive downstream churn/retention.

I hope that helps.

Ed Powers

Congratulations on starting a CS division in your MSP! Here are some metrics you can use to measure success:

• Customer satisfaction score (CSAT): This is a survey that asks customers how satisfied they are with your services. A high CSAT score indicates that customers are happy with your service and are likely to renew their contracts.
• Net promoter score (NPS): This is a survey that asks customers how likely they are to recommend your services to others. A high NPS score indicates that customers are promoters of your brand and are likely to stay with you for the long term.
• First contact resolution rate (FCRR): This is the percentage of tickets that are resolved on the first contact. A high FCRR indicates that your team is resolving issues quickly and efficiently.
• Average resolution time: This is the average time it takes to resolve a ticket. A low average resolution time indicates that your team is resolving issues quickly.
• Customer churn rate: This is the percentage of customers who cancel their contracts with you each year. A low churn rate indicates that your customers are happy with your services and are likely to stay with you.

The biggest difference between CS at an MSP and CS at a SaaS firm is that MSPs typically have a more hands-on approach to customer service. MSPs are responsible for managing the entire IT infrastructure of their customers, which means that they need to be able to resolve a wide range of issues. SaaS firms, on the other hand, typically only provide a single product or service, so their CS team can focus on that specific area.

Here are some other key differences between CS at an MSP and CS at a SaaS firm:

• Relationship-building: MSPs typically build stronger relationships with their customers than SaaS firms. This is because MSPs are more involved in the day-to-day operations of their customers' businesses.
• Proactiveness: MSPs are more proactive in identifying and resolving potential problems than SaaS firms. This is because MSPs want to prevent problems from occurring in the first place.
• Cost: MSPs typically charge more for their services than SaaS firms. This is because MSPs provide a wider range of services and have a more hands-on approach to customer service.

I hope this helps!

@ARdravid, the organizational structure depends on a lot of factors. My favorite question to ask my consulting clients is "How does your organizational structure facilitate the accomplishment of work?" All too often leaders start with the org chart, then change the process, rather than the other way around. As @Guy Galon mentioned, nailing the customer journey is tremendously helpful as a first step.

That said, in my MSSP experience our CSMs were primarily service managers reporting to Operations. They were responsible for value planning, realization and retention, and they helped generate and received a modest incentive for each Sales-accepted CSQL. They partnered very closely with a Strategic Account Manager on the larger, high-potential accounts and hunter AMs that managed the rest. SAM and AE were responsible for expansion, and they all reported to Sales. The SAM had a typical high base salary plus commission sales structure, whereas the CSMs were salaried, had no quotas, and the CSQLs were simply additional income. That arrangement worked remarkably well in that case, both internally and with clients.

Your mileage, of course, may vary. Happy to talk more any time.