You’re feeling pretty good about your customer engagement metrics. The data shows that users are logging in daily, clicking around, and seemingly making the most of your platform. But hold on. Your churn numbers are still concerning. Contraction at renewal is creeping up. And expansion is way lower than it should be. Something doesn’t add […]
Scaling Your Customer Success Team Without Losing Control
Article by Lincoln Murphy
You’ve built your Customer Success team from the ground up, and you’re rightfully proud of it. You’ve always had your hands on the steering wheel, ensuring smooth rides for your clients. But now your team is growing. The very thought of scaling conjures up fears of losing that intimate control you’ve had—over your team and […]
The Art and Science of Continuous Goal Alignment in Customer Success
Article by Lincoln Murphy
Every Customer Success Manager (CSM) and Head of Customer Success has felt it at some point: the nagging sense that although Goal Discovery is essential, something is missing in the process of keeping those goals continually aligned. You know it’s important, but somehow staying in-sync with your customer’s evolving goals seems elusive. Perhaps it’s the […]
Goal Discovery: The Essential Task You Never Had Time for (Until Now!)
Article by Lincoln Murphy
You get it; Goal Discovery is essential. It’s not just another buzzword or a fleeting trend in Customer Success. It’s the foundation of everything we aim to accomplish with our clients. But here’s where the frustration mounts: you have clients to manage, meetings to attend, fires to put out, and an inbox that never seems […]
Aligning Customer Success and Sales: Bridging the Great Divide
Article by Lincoln Murphy
You know the feeling – it’s a shared frustration among many in Customer Success. Another seemingly ‘bad fit’ customer is passed to us, and we’re left questioning the Sales team’s understanding of what a good fit really is. It’s easy to think: “Why can’t they just get it right?”. But perhaps we’re addressing this from […]
Motivating Action: The Hard Truth of Driving Customer Engagement
Article by Lincoln Murphy
Every Customer Success Manager (CSM) knows the struggle: you have an incredible product that can truly enhance the work of your customers, but they resist. They feel overwhelmed, underprepared, or simply unwilling to take on the new responsibilities that come with implementing your product. Sound familiar? Then buckle up. We’re going to unpack the challenges […]
Customer Retention: Proactive, Reactive, and At-Risk Analysis
Article by Lincoln Murphy
How often have you found yourself scrambling at the last minute to save an at-risk account, pouring time and resources into what could often be a losing battle? You’re not alone. Many Customer Success Managers (CSMs) fall into the trap of reactive retention. It feels like part of the job, right? The truth is, there’s […]
Navigating Partner Success in a Multi-Channel World
Article by Lincoln Murphy
Customer Success Management (CSM) is challenging enough when you’re dealing with direct customer relationships. But when partners are brought into the picture, it adds a whole new layer of complexity to the process. As CSMs, how can we navigate the intricacies of partner success in a multi-channel landscape? That’s the question we will answer today, […]
Unlocking Potential: How to Allocate Customers to CSMs
Article by Lincoln Murphy
Any seasoned leader in Customer Success knows that balancing the right resources and setting the proper groundwork is crucial to effective customer management. As a newly appointed head of Customer Success, you might be asking yourself, “What should I consider when allocating customers to my CSMs?” While seemingly straightforward, there are many layers to this […]
AX-Based Coverage Segments: Customer Success Evolved
Article by Lincoln Murphy
The only universal truth in Customer Success is that it’s always evolving. If you’re using the strategies and tactics popular even 3 years ago, you’re being left behind. The more contact our ideas, frameworks, and methodologies have with customers, the more we learn, and the more things need to evolve. And over the past few […]
RevOps Evolved: The Key to Rapid, Exponential Revenue Growth (2023)
Article by Lincoln Murphy
The essence of successful business lies in the ability to unlock consistent, efficient growth. But amidst the pressures of targets, competition, and shifting market dynamics, the struggle to optimize revenue operations and foster seamless alignment between Sales, Customer Success, and Marketing can feel like an uphill battle. If you’ve been juggling these challenges, feeling the […]
Redefining Email Engagement: New Metrics for a New Era (2023)
Article by Lincoln Murphy
Are you tired of sending emails that are lost in the void, never to be seen or acted upon? Emails meant to drive essential action from your customers or prospects – only to receive nothing but silence in return. You’re not alone. For Customer Success Managers (CSMs), Sales Development Reps (SDRs), and those in Enablement […]
5 Outdated Email Tactics You Need to Abandon in 2023
Article by Lincoln Murphy
Whether you’re a Customer Success Manager (CSM), Sales Development Rep (SDR), or anyone tasked with engaging prospects or customers via email, you know all too well that sinking feeling. You craft an email, inject it with what you think are carefully tailored insights, and hit “send” with high hopes, only to be met with silence. […]
Understand, Classify, and Effectively Analyze Churn
Article by Lincoln Murphy
Understanding customer churn can be one of the most challenging, yet essential elements for the success of any SaaS business. Knowing why customers leave, how to anticipate these departures, and ultimately, how to prevent them, can make the difference between a business that thrives and one that merely survives. In this blog post, we delve […]
Customer Negotiation: Discounts, Retention, and Value
Article by Lincoln Murphy
Are your customers frequently requesting discounts? Are you left wondering if reducing your prices is the only way to retain their business? If you’re a Customer Success Manager (CSM) or a Head of Customer Success, you’ve undoubtedly encountered these dilemmas. Fear not; there’s much more to customer negotiations than yielding to price reduction demands. This […]
The Art of Objection Handling in Customer Success
Article by Lincoln Murphy
Imagine this: You’re all set for a critical meeting with a customer, the agenda is clear, and you’re brimming with solutions. But the customer postpones. Or worse, they decline the meeting altogether. It’s not an uncommon scenario in the world of customer success. But what if we told you that this roadblock could be transformed […]
Driving Exponential Growth: The Art of Selling to Existing Customers
Article by Lincoln Murphy
In the rapidly evolving business world, the focus is often skewed towards acquiring new customers. However, the real magic happens when we tap into the potential of our existing customer base. Welcome to the realm of ‘Selling to Existing Customers,’ an arena that has the power to catapult your business towards exponential growth, if maneuvered […]
NRR Panic: The Rollercoaster Ride You Never Saw Coming
Article by Lincoln Murphy
NRR is tanking. The “North Star” is falling! Time to panic? Yes. Unless you understand what’s really going on. NRR Defined Net Revenue Retention – NRR – is the percentage of revenue retained from existing customers in a defined time period, including Expansion, Contraction, and Churn. Also called Net Dollar Retention or NDR. When NRR […]
Motivation vs. Discipline: How Knowing the Difference Skyrockets Customer Engagement
Article by Lincoln Murphy
When you’re working with customers, whatever your role (CSM, Sales, Account Management, Consultant, etc.), you may find yourself acting as a coach. To be an effective coach, you need to strike the right balance between motivation and discipline. Which means we need to explore the differences between motivation and discipline, and how to apply them […]
Why CSM Positioning is so Important (and How to Fix it)
Article by Lincoln Murphy
The customer’s perception of why the Customer Success Manager (CSM) exists in their world, and how the CSM is distinguished from other Individual Contributors (ICs) and Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) the customer will work with, is called Positioning. Think of it as the position the CSM holds in the customer’s mind. Positioning impacts whether the […]
Customer Status: The Hidden Motivator You Can’t Ignore
Article by Lincoln Murphy
In Customer Success we’re always concerned with the status of our customers. We keep track of their health score, their adoption velocity, usage, satisfaction, and other metrics that tell us whether or not they’re successful. And while all of that is obviously what we should be looking at in our Customer Success operation, there’s another […]
The Power of Curiosity in Customer Success
Article by Lincoln Murphy
As a Customer Success Manager (CSM), it’s easy to fall into the trap of just going through the motions with your customers. You have a list of tasks to complete, metrics to track, and goals to achieve. But what if I told you that being curious could transform your relationship with your customers and position […]
Creating Customer Success Playbooks with ChatGPT
Article by Lincoln Murphy
Customer Success is always under pressure to optimize (and reduce the expense of) everything. Many people see ChatGPT as a way to streamline Customer Success processes like preparing for customer meetings or literally creating those processes upon which their organizations run. One approach some Customer Success pros are taking is to use ChatGPT to generate […]
ChatGPT or Bing: Which AI Tool is Best for Customer Success
Article by Lincoln Murphy
Generative Artificial intelligence (AI) like ChatGPT – and now Bing Chat – is transforming the way we communicate and work, especially in Customer Success. These AI-powered tools offer unique benefits to Customer Success Managers (CSMs) and Enablement pros like: enhancing search, language generation, and productivity. I finally got access to Bing Chat and was able […]
Customer Success Pros: Stay Ahead of the Game with ChatGPT
Article by Lincoln Murphy
As a Customer Success professional looking to stay relevant in your field and be the best at what you do, one emerging tool that you need to be aware of – and start using – is ChatGPT. ChatGTP is a powerful AI program that has the potential to revolutionize the way you work, but to […]
ChatGPT in Customer Success: Generative Output to Desired Outcome
Article by Lincoln Murphy
Generative AI, like ChatGPT, is a powerful technology that has revolutionized the way we approach various fields, including writing, coding, music composition, and even Customer Success. ChatGPT uses artificial intelligence to generate high-quality content based on prompts, enabling people to accomplish far more in much less time. For example, programmers can generate code that would […]
Stop Teaching Your Customers to Ignore You! A Guide to Effective Customer Engagement
Article by Lincoln Murphy
Customer Engagement still relies on email as the primary channel for most businesses. But what happens when the emails you send are ineffective, causing decreased opens and interactions, increased unsubscribes, and a tarnished sender reputation? These are clear signs that your customers may be ignoring you. In this post, we’ll explore why this might be […]
Growth Unlocked: The Key to Exponential Account Expansion
Article by Lincoln Murphy
Expansion – not simple renewal – is the ultimate indicator of a successful customer.
Customer Success: Defined (Summer 2023 Update)
Article by Lincoln Murphy
Customer Success is transformative for your business. If you do it right. Learn what REAL Customer Success is in this post.
Stop Confusing Free Trials and Onboarding (It’s Costing You Customers)
Article by Lincoln Murphy
Confusing Free Trials and Onboarding will likely result in poor engagement and lower conversion from free to paid.
The Importance of Consistency in Customer Success Management
Article by Lincoln Murphy
The Importance of Consistency in Customer Success Management
The Real Reason Your Company Invests in Customer Success
Article by Lincoln Murphy
The Real Reason Your Company Invests in Customer Success
Customers Hate These 3 Things (and How to Avoid Them)
Article by Lincoln Murphy
Customers Hate These 3 Things (and How to Avoid Them)
The 5 Secrets of World-class Customer Success Managers
Article by Lincoln Murphy
The 5 Secrets of World-class Customer Success Managers – CSMs.
Customer Onboarding: How to Design and Implement an Effective Onboarding Process
Article by Lincoln Murphy
Customer Onboarding is a widely discussed, yet often misunderstood, phase of the customer lifecycle. This article will level-up your understanding of Customer Onboarding.
Eliminate Churn Forever in 5 Simple Steps
Article by Lincoln Murphy
Churn… ya boring. Yawn. Time to move on. I’m so over talking about churn and if you really understand what Customer Success is all about, you should be, too. Churn is so easy to get rid of… you just have to do five simple things. If churn is a problem for you, this post will […]
Customer Success: The Lost Art of Churn Reason Analysis
Article by Lincoln Murphy
Why do customers churn? If you can’t answer this accurately, you’ll never be able to prevent future churn. This guide will help you do just that.
Customer Success: How to Quantify the Impact of Bad-fit Customers
Article by Lincoln Murphy
What’s the cost of Bad-fit Customers? This post takes your intuition that Bad-fit customers are bad for business and helps you prove it.
Designing a Sales-to-CSM Handoff that Actually Works
Article by Lincoln Murphy
The Sales to CSM Handoff is one of the most critical parts of our relationship with the customer and the most likely to be messed-up.
Customer Success: CSM Capacity Planning Guide & Calculator
Article by Lincoln Murphy
How many Customer Success Managers (CSMs) do you need? Here’s a tool – and the logic – to do Capacity Planning for your Customer Success organization.
