SC Lvl 1
A robust Customer Success strategy is a ______________.
Critical Success Factor
CAC is the acronym for which well-used Business Success metric?
Customer Acquisition Cost
Which of the following is NOT one of the four stages of an effective Business Review?
Discussion
A "Voice of the Customer" program's primary purpose is to identify positive experiences and encourage customers to share them on social media outlets.
False
An Executive Business Review is a tactical discussion with a customer.
False
An onboarding playbook is designed to be used by the customer to track their progress.
False
As long as you get off to a good start with a new customer, you don't have to worry too much about the experience they have later in the customer journey.
False
Best practice is to begin mapping the customer journey from the point immediately after the customer subscribes to your product or service.
False
Business acumen is an innate ability - you either have it or you don't.
False
During a Business Review, the discussion should be limited to topics that are directly related to your business relationship with the customer.
False
During the onboarding process, it is your responsibility to demonstrate how to do key tasks, but it is solely the customer's responsibility to ensure those new tasks become habits.
False
If something goes wrong due to a bad choice made by your primary contact, it is important to make sure that their manager (who is likely the decision-maker) knows it wasn't your fault.
False
If you have a good relationship established with the customer, it's not really necessary to put any commitments either of you make in writing.
False
It is not necessary to include the customer in the process of success planning.
False
It's best to keep your boss in the dark and only tell them about an escalation if it gets really bad.
False
It's generally a good idea to sometimes tell your customers what they want to hear, in order to avoid any difficult conversations.
False
It's okay to focus on more than one milestone at a time. Multi-tasking is a core competancy of Success Plan Execution.
False
Leading measures are important on their own. They don't need to be shown to the entire team regularly.
False
One should assume that all customers have pretty much the same definition of 'success'.
False
Success Plans should only be worked on at the beginning of your relationship with a customer.
False
Success Plans take a lot of time and effort to put together.
False
Team Success metrics are more broad, holistic metrics that describe the overall health of the company.
False
The Success Plan approach is only possible for high touch, high-value accounts.
False
When a customer asks you to escalate a problem, you should do so immediately.
False
When collaborating with a customer to solve a problem, it's recommended to focus the conversation on specific features of the product that will help solve the problem.
False
When dealing with an angry customer you should immediately apologize for what happened.
False
When reviewing the Success Plan during a Business Review, you should only focus on positive progress or milestones that have been met.
False
When talking with customers about their expectations, it is important to display confidence and agree with what they want even if you know it will be difficult to deliver.
False
You should expect a similar level of engagement across all of your customer accounts.
False
You should focus on the short-term, immediate problem you are trying to solve.
False
You should mix-up the style of delivery of a Business Review for your customers each time you hold a meeting.
False
A lagging measure is a measure or performance indicator that is slow to materialize.
False. A lagging measure tell you when you're done or where you've been.
Which of the following is NOT true? Establishing clear onboarding metrics enables you to _________________.
Have something to create a pretty graph out of for your boss
The Customer __________________ Score provides you with a snapshot of how the customer is progressing on their journey to success.
Health
Which of the following is NOT a best practice for Success Plan execution?
Heavily detailed conference calls and status reports tracking and demonstrating progress.
In the road trip analogy discussed in this module, in which the customer is the driver and the car is the product, what role does the Customer Success Manager play?
Navigator
According to the old adage, if you have 10 goals, you're probably accomplish?
None
When a customer contacts you and complains that a feature doesn't work the way they expected in the product, the best course of action is to......
Start by asking the customer "What business problem are you trying to solve?"
Successful customers will...
Stay with you for longer, Spend more money with you over time, Tell others about you
When dealing with a tricky customer, it's important to __________.
Stop and give consideration to the fact that the customer may be reacting this way due to things happening in their life that are outside your control
We're no longer in the 'Age of the Customer', we're now in the 'Age of the ______________'.
Subscriber
Which of the following is NOT one of the keys to a great mindset?
Taking all the credit
The "15 minute rule" refers to _______________________.
The amount of time you should try to solve the problem on your own before considering the merits of involving others
What do we mean by achieving 'First Value'?
The first time your product delivers meaningful positive business impact
It is always advisable to position the value of your solution based on how it addresses specific business needs that your customer has, or provides them with a competitive advantage.
True
It is important that all key stakeholders are present at the Business Review meeting.
True
It is important to be aware of seasonality trends in your customer's industry, as this may explain why they are not responding to your outreach.
True
It is important to establish clear roles and responsibilities for every team member involved in the onboarding process.
True
It is important to have a backup plan when working on resolving a serious escalation.
True
It is important to make customer-centricity within your organization a habit, not a fad.
True
It is important to send a follow-up email to an angry customer listing the actions you both are going to take to try and remedy the issue.
True
It is important to share what you learn from customer interactions with everyone who is a part of your organization.
True
It is recommended to be more available than usual to a customer who is currently in the middle of the escalation process.
True
It should be your priority as a CSM to prevent escalations from occurring.
True
Metrics are the language that leadership teams use to measure the performance of the company.
True
Milestones and actions must be time-boxed.
True
One reason a customer may stop responding is because your point of contact is no longer with that company or they may have a new role within the company.
True
Product adoption is a term generally used to measure how comprehensively a product is being utilized.
True
Storytelling is a useful tool to improve the likelihood that a customer will act on your advice.
True
Success Plans should be shared with customers.
True
What are the three (3) critical elements to making sure our goals and milestones are accomplished?
1. Concentration 2. Focus 3. The whirlwind
How many hallmarks of success did salesforce have
5
In the subscription economy, what percentage of lifetime revenues are typically captured at the initial sale?
5-30%
If a company has 20% revenue churn, its gross retention is ________?
80%
What does the metric ACV stand for?
Annual Contract Value
The Business Success metric known as 'ARR' refers to:
Annual Recurring Revenue
Which of the following is NOT an example of how to increase customer-centricity?
Asking other teams to avoid contact with customers under all circumstances
Applying a consultative approach makes it more likely you'll be seen as a ____________________ to your customers.
Trusted Advisor
Which of the following is NOT a key goal of onboarding?
Uncovering upsell opportunities
What is the third step of the value delivery process - a step that is often forgotten?
Value Demonstration
Which of the following should be components of an effective Business Review? Select all that apply.
1. A detailed agenda of what is to be discussed during the meeting 2. A professional-looking template for the presentation to the customer
The goals of a Business Review meeting are to:
1. Agree on a plan for the period ahead 2. Reflect on the past few months and discuss what progress has been made
A solid understanding of metrics is important for CSMs for which of the following reasons?
1. Allows you to make the right decisions 2. Provides confidence 3. Gives you personal credibility with others
Some ways to make sure communication gaps don't occur is: (select all that apply)
1. Asking your contact for their communication preference (email or phone?) 2. Knowing your contact's personality 3. Understanding what their pattern of communication with you has been in the past
When re-engaging a customer, it is important to__________.
1. Be clear on your ask 2. Make call-to-action frictionless 3. Deliver some free value and tease some additional value
Which of the following are examples of how to help members of your organization adopt a more customer-centric mindset? Select all that apply.
1. Discussing how changes to existing functionality may impact current customers 2. Asking others in your company, "What would our customers think of this new feature?" 3. Encouraging others to consider whether there is a better way to meet the customer's needs
A typical customer engagement model includes:
1. Email touchpoints. 2. In-app interactions with the customer. 3. Phone touchpoints. 4. Scheduled meetings and training sessions.
The role of a CSM in 'managing change' should primarily involve a focus on which two of the following?
1. Helping customers change their internal processes to include the use of your product 2. Helping end users adopt a positive mindset about the new technology and understand the impact on their roles
Which of the following statements are true?
1. It is important for CS teams to remember that customers come from a wide range of backgrounds and all have different experience and perspectives. 2. Customers experience your brand through multiple touchpoints and interactions and often form an emotional connection to the product.
What are some of the reasons that make effective onboarding so difficult? Select all that apply.
1. It requires a shift of "ownership" of the customer from pre-sales teams to the post-sales teams 2. It requires a transfer of information as the customer data is moved into different internal systems 3. There is often a shift in the timing/amount of communication with the customer
Which of the following is true about a well-executed Business Review? Select all that apply.
1. It will strengthen your overall relationship with your customer. 2. It will enhance your personal and company credibility in the eyes of the customer. 3. It will accelerate progress towards outcomes.
Select the three types of demanding customers that we discussed:
1. Needy customers 2. Unreasonable customers 3. Bullies
Which of the following are common onboarding mistakes? Select all that apply.
1. Not nailing the handoff between sales and onboarding team 2. Not having a well-defined playbook 3. Focusing on speed of onboarding, instead of impact on customer's organization
The best approach for handling a needy, low value customer is: (select all that apply)
1. Prompt them to use the support team or other self-help support services available 2. Provide a little 1-1 assistance, but then encourage them to invest in further paid training if available
Benchmarking data allows you to:
1. Prove that your company is helping other customers achieve value 2. Show your customer how they are performing in relation to peers
Which of the following outreach tactics is most likely to engage a customer?
1. Reaching out with some value for the customer
Which of the following are classic examples of 'inside-out' thinking? Select all that apply.
1. Releasing MVP functionality to customers and then failing to go back and finish development 2. Over-prioritizing majority customer groups when making decisions
During the kickoff or pre-work phase, your team should: (select all that apply)
1. Research the customer to find out needs/motivation 2. Transfer any knowledge from the sales team 3. Arrange a kick-off call with the customer 4. Establish a timeline for the onboarding project
When you're getting ready to try to re-engage a customer that's gone dark, what are some ways you can prepare? Select all that apply.
1. Review product usage to see what activity has occurred recently 2. Check with colleagues to make sure the customer isn't already speaking to them 3. Research the contact on LinkedIn, Twitter and other social media sites
Which of the statements below usually need to be true in order for Onboarding to be deemed complete? Select all that apply.
1. The account has been successfully set up, with all data imported and settings configured 2. All key users are regularly using the product 3. The customer feels confident in how to use the key functionality 4. The customer knows how and where to get help, should they need it
Which of the following must be considered when building a Success Plan? Select all that apply.
1. The current status of your customer 2. The future goals of your customer 3. The timeframe your customer wishes to achieve their goals within 4. The amount of risk your customer is willing to take
Which of the following statements are true about storytelling? Select all that apply.
1. The story should include relevant, tangible data points 2. The story should contain information that your audience would find most pertinent. 3. It is important to understand the audience to whom you're telling the story
Which of the following are true about Executive Business Reviews?
1. Their purpose is to review customer progress and milestones that have been reached. 2. They are usually face-to-face meetings between your company and the customer.
Which of the following are benefits to other departments for helping out in customer-facing roles? Select all that apply.
1. They better understand the challenges that customer-facing employees face daily 2. They get to hear feedback directly from the customer
Many CSMs struggle with building a Success Plan because: (select all that apply)
1. They lack key information about the customer 2. They struggle to get the customer to engage in the process 3. They lack the necessary time to spend on the activity
Which of the following mechanisms will typically increase a company's ARR (or MRR)?
1. Upselling a client to access additional tiers of product features 2. Expanding a customer's consumption of a product 3. Increasing the price of an existing service or product
Some questions that may be asked in a business review are: (select all that apply)
1. Where is the customer on their success plan? 2. Has the customer hit any milestones? 3. What actions should we take next?
Which of the following is NOT a key trait that will help you maintain healthy relationships with your customers?
Accuracy
___________________ listening is a structured form of listening and responding that focuses the attention on the speaker.
Active
Which of the following statements is NOT true about active listening?
Active listening gives the listener time to construct a good argument about why they don't agree with the speaker's statements.
Some reasons you may feel a customer is disengaged include:
All of the above
Which of the following are common causes of a tricky customer situation?
All of the above
Email is not an ideal medium when trying to solve a critical problem with customers because:
All of the above are true. Email is good for recapping what was discussed on the phone, but a phone conversation is usually the most productive medium for discussing an escalation with a customer.
Which of the following are true for a well-implemented Success Plan?
All of the above.
Which of the following should NOT feature in a typical customer discovery session?
Allowing the customer to lead the meeting
Business Success metrics measure how well your internal processes are functioning.
False. Team Success metrics measure the performance of internal processes, whereas Business Success metrics measure the performance of the company as a whole.
The two main types of tricky customers described are 'angry customers' and 'analytical customers'.
False. The two types of tricky customers described were the 'angry' customer and the 'demanding' customer. You should approach them very differently.
What are the four disciplines of execution? Select all that apply.
Focus, Acting on Lead Measures, Scorekeeping, Drive Accountability
Which of the following is NOT a component of a Success Plan?
Internal notes about the client and the personalities of key stakeholders
Why is 'prospect preference' a barrier to customer success?
It prioritizes the needs of companies that are not yet customers over the needs of companies that are already customers, which is likely to lead to retention issues.
It's important to do a good job of onboarding new customers because:
It sets customers up for long-term success and increases the likelihood of renewal
The best onboarding model to use when you have a high volume of low contract value customers is _____________.
Low / Tech touch
You should strive to consistently educate and share insights with your customer throughout the process of working on a problem.
True
At the end of the Business Review meeting you should:
Outline a go-forward plan to move towards the next milestone
To help drive accountability, it's important to ensure that ________ are linked to key actions on the Success Plan.
People
Which of the following is NOT one of the elements that helps prevent escalations from occurring?
Reduced CSM accessibility
The 'Knowledge Transfer' phase of onboarding specifically refers to the act of_______________.
Relaying important information about the customer from the acquisition team to the onboarding team
Complete this quote. "Success is never owned, it is __________."
Rented
According to Geoffrey Moore, over the last decade we've shifted from the Product Era to the ________ Era.
Service
Which of the following is NOT a requirement of becoming a Trusted Advisor?
Speaking to them everyday
Which of the following is NOT a key component of a well-constructed "story"?
Speculation
Which of the following is NOT a strategy for establishing a healthy relationship with a new customer?
Spending the whole of your first call telling them what you think is best for them
Which of the following is NOT true about Team Success metrics?
The results are regularly shared with customers.
Which of the following is considered the main enemy of execution?
The whirlwind
The first step in dealing with an unreasonable customer is:
To listen to their request and repeat it back to them
"Thinking like a customer" is an organizational mindset, not a process.
True
A Key Action Review can be used to track and communicate progress.
True
A Success Plan helps you articulate what success looks like for every customer.
True
A customer Success Plan should detail the key milestones that the customer is expected to achieve on the path to success.
True
Accurate expectation-setting is a core pre-requisite for delivering customer success.
True
An important component of active listening is for the listener to paraphrase what the speaker said and repeat it back to the speaker to confirm understanding.
True
An important component of onboarding is to set clear expectations with the customer, and this may sometimes mean re-setting incorrect expectations.
True
As the CSM, you are responsible for building rapport and trust with your customers to grow and strength the relationship and ensure that you can help them achieve success over time.
True
At the conclusion of the onboarding process, it is important to collect customer feedback regarding their onboarding experience.
True
Customer complaints, whilst often unpleasant to deal with, should be regarded as 'gifts' because they give you valuable insight into how your company can improve.
True
Customer obsession often wanes as companies grow.
True
During the onboarding process, it is important to find ways to communicate progress and value-realization to key stakeholders within your customer's organization.
True
Engagement will increase if you repeatably demonstrate to a client that you have something valuable to contribute.
True
For lower-value customers, it is acceptable to create generic Success Plans and apply them to different customer segments.
True
Gross Revenue Retention differs from Net Revenue Retention because it does not factor in upsell or expansion revenue.
True
Increased customer engagement enables organizations to better understand customer needs.
True
You should use the customer's emotional cues to show empathy.
True
The ICP is your company's definition of what type of customer you can make successful with your product.
True
The Success Plan is a scoreboard of sorts.
True
The best way to create an action plan is to start with the milestones and work backwards.
True
The biggest positive impact on customer success can be found by first focusing on the onboarding process.
True
The most successful companies align all departments around the customer journey, making Customer Success part of the organizational DNA.
True
The onboarding process should be designed in the context of the entire customer journey, and best practice is to share the process with the customer before starting.
True
The seeds of churn are often sowed during onboarding, even though it may be months, or even years until they are seen.
True
Those who practice good upfront expectation management make their job easier and their customers happier.
True
To succeed in the Subscription Economy, companies need to focus on retaining and growing customers, as much, if not more, than acquiring them in the first place.
True
When calculating logo retention, the revenue of customers does not factor into the calculation.
True
When dealing with a "bully" customer, it is best to be firm and use powerful language.
True
When negotiating with a demanding customer, it is often helpful to share your perspective and decision-making logic with them.
True
When trying to solve a problem, it is a good idea to give the customer at least a couple of options to choose from.
True
You can accelerate domain knowledge by researching the industry, subscribing to news feeds, or reading trade publications.
True
You can show your customer that you are dedicated and committed to their success by planning for both good (opportunities) and bad (obstacles) events along their journey with you.
True
Which of these are 'open' questions?
Why is this important to you?
Most SaaS companies achieve payback on the initial cost of acquisition in which year of the customer lifetime?
Year 2
The discipline of Customer Success is about helping your customer to ____________.
achieve their definition of success by using your product (or service).
