It's rough out there right now in Customer Success. Here's my approach to getting through the current mess we're in
Three things you can do and one thing you shouldn't do
Companies in tech and elsewhere are struggling. Layoffs in tech have increased exponentially in the last 12 months. Besides dealing with the loss of colleagues, more pressure is being put on the remaining employees. In addition, companies are cutting costs wherever they can. What does this mean for Customer Success?
Well, the obvious. It’s a really challenging time for anyone in CS. Those that have been laid off are competing against more candidates. If you are still employed, you will have more work on your plate because you're either in a hiring freeze or just had your department cut or both. You will have less assistance from Marketing, Product, Ops and other teams because they are also having their own resource challenges.
Your customers are also going to be more demanding. They will lean on you more because their own asses are on the line, and they have lost resources and really need your help. Their bosses are putting pressure on them to cut costs, which means they will be bringing those requests forward to you. They may decide to drop your product all together. It’s not personal - it’s business - but it doesn’t feel any better.
In all my time in CS, this is one of the most challenging if not the most challenging times so know that you aren’t alone in feeling the way you are feeling. It’s rough out there. Here is what you can do to try and protect yourself and come out stronger on the other side of this:
Protect yourself. Make sure that you are getting enough rest and exercise so that you are in the right state and bringing your full self to work. If you need additional help, seek it out. If you need to take time off, take it. Focus on your needs.
Ask for help. This isn’t the time to play superhero. You will have too many items coming at you and too little time in the day. Yes, we always have that, but it’s way worse than usual. You will see the craziest demands and you will have clients that may make you pull your hair out. Seek out help from your manager. Seek out help from colleagues. Go to live CS events. Go to virtual CS events like the ones Jan Young runs. Don’t suffer on your own.
Just listen. As someone who buys software, it’s very painful when you need to go to your vendor and make demands such as cutting fees. If your customers are doing this to you it can’t be easy for them either. Use empathy and imagine the pressure they are under. Don’t make it about you and the uncomfortable situation they are putting you in. Just listen to what they are asking. Your goal should be to keep the customer. Your company needs to cover their expenses but do what you can to keep the customer so you can live to fight another day.
If you have focused on building trusted relationships and delivering value, you should be in a better place. That said, what you can’t do is blame yourself when you start to see churn popping up from customers who you thought were in a good place are sending you a non-renewal email. It’s going to happen. Do the necessary retro but don’t get too caught up in the self-blame game. We aren’t in normal times so much of what is written out there isn’t going to apply.
You are going to need to be more flexible. You are going to need to stretch more than you have. You will be tested in ways that you never could have imagined. Work through every situation and prioritize the biggest fires first.
Beyond that, focus on your needs above everything, get the help you need and commit yourself to just listening to your customers. That’s really all you can do. It’s a wild world out there. Just know you are not alone. If I can help, feel free to reach out. Keep fighting - you’ll get through this.