Situational CSM - I Bet You're Already Doing It!
The NFL Playoff games are underway and viewers are bound to hear broadcasters talk about “situational football”. In short, situational football is when you are hyper-aware of the impact of a single or a set of plays and you manage them with more care or differently than you normally would have. For example, a team running out of time and needing to score will design plays which end with the player possessing the ball running out of bounds. They do this because running out of bounds stops the play clock and preserves time for the team.
Now that I’ve lost my audience that doesn’t care for football, how relevant is situational football to Customer Success Management? [Insert deep breath followed by slight pause] May I offer you a dash of, “Very relevant”?
Situational football is all about awareness and awareness is at the core of stellar Customer Success Management. As a CSM, you will inevitably have to manage seemingly minor issues with more care than usual as a result of their broader context.
In the following paragraphs, I’ll share an example of Situational Customer Success Management through a common scenario that SaaS CSMs experience.
Typical Situation
It’s Tuesday morning and you’re a CSM supporting a reporting and analytics software. Your customer notices that some numbers in their reports are inaccurate and they bring it to your attention via email. You know from experience that these issues are typically resolved in 2 days, Thursday in this situation.
Typical Approach
You gather information from the customer regarding the expected numbers. You ask them when they would need the correct numbers and share with them that these issues are typically resolved in 2 days, Thursday in this situation. (Let’s assume that they confirm that a 2-day resolution works for them.)
If possible, you perform a short investigation on your own.
You relay the customer’s information and your findings to the engineering team.
You ask the engineering team if the issue will be resolved on Thursday. They respond, “Yeah, dude!”
On Thursday, when the issue is resolved, you spot-check the numbers and tell the customer that all is well.
The customer confirms that all is well and inserts emojis in their response email.
Remixed Situation
It’s Tuesday morning and you’re still a CSM supporting a reporting and analytics software. Your customer notices that some numbers in their reports are inaccurate and they bring it to your attention via email. Additionally, they call you and tell you that they need to present the numbers at a major meeting at the end of next week. You know from experience that these issues are typically resolved in 2 days.
Remixed Approach
You talk to the customer—over the phone, if possible and based on their communication style—and gather information regarding the expected numbers AND their presentation. You ask them when they would need the correct numbers and share with them that these issues are typically resolved in 2 days, Thursday in this situation. (Let’s assume that they confirm that a two-day resolution works for them.)
You set their expectations of when they should hear back from you. It’s 1pm. You tell them that you will update them at the end of the day and tomorrow afternoon.
If possible, you perform a short investigation on your own.
You relay the customer’s information and your findings to the engineering team. You also add the urgency context for the engineering team AND ask them to give you a heads up if they think the resolution will take more than two days.
You ask the engineering team if the issue will be resolved on Thursday. They respond, “Yeah, dude!”
As promised, you email at the end of the day letting your customer know that the issue has been filed and affirm that it is on schedule to be resolved in two days.
You check in with the engineering team on Wednesday morning to see if they have any updates. They respond, “All is well. We’re still on track for Thursday!”
You email the customer on Wednesday afternoon and let them know that you are still on track for Thursday. If possible, you add information from your investigation to validate their initial findings or to shed more light on the issue.
On Thursday, when the issue is resolved, you spot-check the numbers and tell the customer that all is well and you wish them well with their presentation.
The customer confirms that all is well and inserts gifs in their response email.
The main takeaway from the remixed situation is that you understood what the reports meant for the customer while also understanding that the resolution did not need to be expedited. As a result, you added communication checkpoints to let the customer know that their resolution was still on track. You essentially became the Domino’s Pizza Tracker of the situation even though the timing of the resolution, the effort needed, and the people involved were no different than the resolution of the typical situation.
My example above is one approach a CSM could take in the remixed situation. There are infinite approaches and they will vary based on your relationship with the customer and their personality. How would you go about it?
Photos by Hollie Santos and Glenn Carstens-Peters