How CSMs Can Manage Difficult Customer Situations

Similar to an earlier post, this is a summary of a presentation- let me know what you think of this alternative format.

Types of difficult customer situations

• Incomplete onboarding
• Low user engagement and feature usage
• Feature request
• Disengaged point of contact
• Weak relationship
• Unrealistic expectations
• Pricing conversation
• Cancellation threat

Incomplete Onboarding

Possible Reasons

• Disengaged point of contact
• Poor success planning
• Lack of internal alignment and prioritization
• Low attendance during kickoff call and onboarding
• Unfinished implementation

Suggested Tactics

Poor success planning

• Create a Sales handoff process to better capture knowledge shared during the sales process
• Work with the customer to establish and agree on a success plan within the first 30 days

Lack of internal alignment and prioritization

• Highlight customer’s original buying reason
• Assign tasks and hold people accountable

Low attendance during kick off call and onboarding

• Define everyone’s roles and responsibilities
• Bring issue to the attention of Management/ Executive teams

Unfinished implementation

• Confirm appropriate resources have been allocated within both organizations

Low user engagement and feature usage

Possible reasons

Low user engagement

• Incomplete onboarding
• Absence of processes that encourage long-term engagement

Low feature usage

• Unclear value proposition
• Insufficient knowledge of new features

Suggested tactics

Low user engagement

• Absence of processes that encourage long-term engagement
• Work with point of contact to create and enforce new processes
• Leverage buy-in and support from Management/ Executive teams

Low feature usage

• Unclear value proposition
• Present new features from the perspective of what goals they will enable end-users to accomplish
• Insufficient knowledge of new features
• Announce new features through multiple channels-trainings, emails, in-app messages, etc.

Feature request

Possible reasons

• Incorrect expectations set during Sales process
• Issues with product quality
• Customer’s needs have changed or will in the future

Suggested tactics

Incorrect expectations set during Sales process

• Collaborate with Product to uncover underlying use case/ need and identify possible solutions or work-arounds
• Clarify what value the customer can expect to receive from current features

Issues with product quality

• Provide feedback to Product around high-priority bugs or features customers find it difficult to use
• Work with Support to address any outstanding issues

Customer’s needs have changed or will in the future

• Explain feature request process
• Assess how feature request might impact renewal or possible cancellation

Disengaged point of contact

Possible reasons

• Incomplete onboarding
• Low user engagement and feature usage
• Main point of contact leaves
• Unresponsive

Suggested tactics

Main point of contact leaves

• Build relationships with multiple contacts
• Do research internally (Sales, Support)

Unresponsive

• Ensure every interaction provides value
• Review usage metrics to assess cancellation risk level
• Reach out to active end-users across multiple channels
• Get creative with outreach strategies

Weak relationship

Possible reasons

• Disengaged point of contact
• Poor relationship with CSM
• Weak relationship with Management/ Executive teams

Suggested tactics

Poor relationship with CSM

• Escalate internally
• Reset relationship by restating roles and responsibilities and establishing a mutually agreed upon success plan
• Build a check-in and escalation path should any further issues develop

Weak relationship with Management/ Executive teams

• Engage through succinct updates on progress of success plan
• Connect success plan to higher-level company goals
• Provide materials that support advocacy and budget approval

Unrealistic expectations

Possible reasons

• Incorrect expectations set during Sales process
• Request an unsustainably high level of service
• Misunderstand product value

Suggested tactics

Incorrect expectations set during Sales process

• Work with Sales to ensure they are conveying a reasonable value proposition to prospective clients
• Identify misalignment on customer goals and expectations early in the onboarding process

Request an unsustainably high level of service

• Define roles and responsibilities
• Agree on customer’s roles and responsibilities as part of a shared success plan
• Be specific about what resources can be committed

Misunderstand product value

• Review customer’s original buying reason
• Reset expectations and establish a success plan that will allow them to see value
• Collaborate with Product to uncover underlying use case/ need and identify possible solutions or work-arounds

Pricing conversation

Possible reasons

• Change in customer’s business
• Need to negotiate upsell or expansion terms
• Issues with pricing

Suggested tactics

Change in customer’s business

• Revenue concerns — propose reduction in seats and associated costs
• New ownership — provide material that supports advocacy and budget approval
• Shift in strategic initiatives — suggest ways customer can continue to find value

Need to negotiate upsell or expansion terms

• Connect future usage with value currently derived from product

Issues with pricing

• Know legacy pricing plans
• Work with Accounting/ Finance to understand basic billing processes

Cancellation threat

Possible reasons

• Low user engagement and feature usage
• Feature request
• Pricing conversation
• Lack of value
• General dissatisfaction

Suggested tactics

Lack of value

• Define value and illustrate with data
• Review success plan deliverables, feature usage, engagement data from onboarding, QBRs, etc. to demonstrate value over time
• Provide material that allows point of contact to make a strong case for renewal

General dissatisfaction

• Reassess product fit
• Explore recovery options to ‘reset’ the relationship
• Manage any ongoing issues
• Avoid getting backed into a corner by an aggressive customer