Align metrics to business objectives
This is the top topic I work with Customer Success Leaders on, and there are two critical metrics to align:
Your customer’s success metrics to the buyer’s budget.
Your team’s success metrics to your company’s goals.
First, your customers must define what success looks like—and identify the higher level business objective those metrics align to.
This is their “why” for spending money on your solution year after year, so CSMs should explore it deeply, and expose it—higher and wider across their organization.
Connect the dots for all relevant stakeholders—especially those controlling the budget!
Second, your team members must see exactly how their work impacts your business—why their work matters.
What are the priorities being discussed at the highest levels of your organization? Each individual on your team needs a goal that ties directly to one of those.
Neither of these is as straightforward as it sounds, and if you’re not sure how to do this, you're not alone. There’s no one-size approach, and it’s definitely an iterative process.
If you’re navigating these and other Client Success challenges, I’d love to help!
Thanks for visiting, and welcome! This is step 1 of 10 Steps to a High Performing Client Success Team. I coach Client Success leaders and CSMs who are driven and passionate about their work—and want to partner with who’s been there. See details of my CS Leader Coaching.