We ❤️ CSMs
CSMs are the heart of your SaaS business. Motivated, dedicated, and always ready to help, CSMs are revenue drivers, trusted advisors, product experts, problem-solvers, bridge-builders, and occasionally unlicensed therapists. In fact, we think CSM also stands for Cares So Much.
It’s time to give them back some love with #CSMAppreciationWeek.
How to enter CSM Appreciation Week
This year, we are giving CSMs a chance to showcase their expertise in five individual contests:
❤️ Best renewal communication
❤️ Best reengagement strategy
❤️ Best digital-first strategy
❤️ Best use of video
❤️ Best save story
You’ve won our hearts. Now win our prizes.
Appreciation has its rewards.
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The first 150 CSMs to enter will receive either a “We Love CSMs” or “Fight Churn” t-shirt. ❤️
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15 category finalists will receive a gift option of their choice (valued at $100). ❤️❤️
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Category winners will each receive $500! ❤️❤️❤️
We know you are an awesome CSM. It’s time to show the world. Submit your entry by May 1!
Best renewal communication
Recognizes a CSM who knows the value of written communication.
Why it matters: 80% of CSMs are responsible for closing renewals or directly influencing them. We have to be able to prove the value of our products, communicate effectively, and get deals closed.
Sponsored by ChurnZero
Winner
Winner: Matthew Weaver, Customer Success Manager, CoreView
CoreView CSM Matthew Weaver anticipated a challenge in renewing a contract with a large customer who hadn’t utilized much of the product. Moreover, the renewal required a sizable true-up to be positioned alongside the renewal.
Matthew leveraged his introduction call with the customer to provide a deep dive into their usage, and to highlight how further integration of CoreView’s product could help the customer’s IT operations. His effort secured a commitment on next steps to secure buy-in on implementation as well as the renewal.
Best reengagement strategy
Recognizes a CSM who knows how to keep customers engaged.
Why it matters: Our customers are busy, but it’s hard for CSMs to help them succeed when they’ve gone radio silent.
Sponsored by Northpass
Winner
Aleksandra Boruk, Senior Director, Strategic Customer Success, isolved
To reengage with customers and drive retention and expansion, Aleksandra launched in-person roadshows covering over 50 cities.
The roadshows presented trends in the industry and how to improve HR maturity using isolved. They also included included customer success stories showcasing improved automation and enhanced employee experience. With an average of 40-50 attendees per event, Aleksandra’s roadshow initiative improved retention rates, uncovered expansion opportunities, and expanded relationships with customers keen to learn more about isolved and its value.
Best digital-first strategy
Recognizes a CSM who does more with less.
Why it matters: Between renewals, expansion, admin work, training, strategy, and keeping customers engaged, CSMs are busy. With so much on our plates, smart use of CS technology is a must. Digital-first CS leverages automated interactions, processes, and data to scale and enhance the work we do.
Sponsored by The Success League
Winner
Yair Bortinger, Head of Customer Success Operations, ControlUp
ControlUp’s CS Ops team needed to improve the onboarding process for customers, reduce onboarding time, and streamline operations. Yair helped deploy a fully digital touch onboarding program based on customers’ progress in the product, utilizing around 20 different CTAs to guide them through the onboarding process.
The digital onboarding program reduced the average onboarding time from 51 to 37 days, and the average number of one-to-one engagements from five to three. ControlUp also extended the digital-first approach throughout the customer journey for other critical topics, including version upgrades, feature adoption, and promoting training courses, improving the customer experience while streamlining operations.
Best use of video
Recognizes a CSM who used video to improve the customer experience.
Why it matters: Video is a must-have for marketing teams and it’s increasingly popular in Customer Success too. Video humanizes us, builds connection with customers, and helps us show rather than tell.
Sponsored by ESG
Winner
Ellen Timmers, Senior Client Success Manager, Realync
As a video company, Realync use video a lot in their touch points with customers. In 2022, Ellen decided to use video in outreach to higher-performing customers teams, who don’t typically get hit with usage plays due to doing so well, but who instead deserved recognition for their hard work and performance.
While visiting clients, Ellen made a video of her travels in which she joked about traveling all this way to congratulate them, then sent them the video via email. The email got a 43 percent open rate – nearly double the average open rate – and a click through rate of 11 percent (the industry standard being 3-5 percent).
Best save story
Recognizes a CSM who knows how to save customers.
Why it matters: CSMs are responsible for a lot. Our customers rely on us to ensure they receive value from our products, and our organizations count on us to retain those customers.
Sponsored by SuccessCOACHING
Winner
Addie Batson, Enterprise Customer Success Manager, CXApp
Faced with the potential churn of a major client, Addie turned things around with a combination of curated best practice videos and content for the customer, the creation of a key contacts initiative highlighting their importance as champions, finding new customer champions within the customer’s business by researching contacts on the internet, and an expanded campaign of education content.
Addie’s efforts resulted in a 2x increase in program adoption and platform utility, a new two-year renewal… and more than doubled revenue.
