Insights from Customer Success Festival - How CSMs Can Add Value Throughout the Customer Lifecycle

Last month, I had the pleasure of sharing the stage with Krista Hardebeck , Director, Customer Success Management at Salesforce, during the Customer Success Events Customer Success Collective’s Customer Success Festival in San Francisco. Our session, "How CSMs Can Add Value at Each Stage of the Customer Lifecycle," focused on key strategies that CSMs can employ to make a meaningful impact at each touchpoint in the customer journey.

Here are some of the key highlights from our discussion:

1. Understanding the Customer Lifecycle

The customer lifecycle can be broken down into onboarding, implementation, adoption, advocacy, renewal, and expansion. While some companies combine onboarding and implementation, Krista and I agreed that for more complex technologies, treating these as separate stages is better to ensure both are given the attention they need.

2. Onboarding: The First Make-or-Break Stage

Onboarding is often where the customer first engages post-sale, with sky-high expectations. Krista emphasized the importance of clearly understanding what success means to the customer from the very start. Whether it’s a short or complex onboarding process, knowing what your customer wants to achieve in those first few weeks helps keep both sides accountable.

3. Renewal: Don’t Wait Until the End

We also highlighted that renewal shouldn’t be only discussed at the end of the contract term. Throughout the lifecycle, CSMs should regularly check progress toward the customer’s goals, identify potential risks, and address issues as they arise. When renewal conversations happen, the value delivered should already be crystal clear to the customer.

4. Tailoring Customer Experience

There’s no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to managing a customer lifecycle. Krista and I emphasized the importance of tailoring your strategy based on the customer’s goals, size, and technology needs. Flexibility is key. Understanding when to lean in with more personalized support versus automation is crucial to success.

5. Collaboration with Internal Teams

One of the big themes in our session was the importance of cross-functional collaboration. Whether it’s working with Sales, Solution Engineers, or the Product Team, strong internal partnerships can help unlock key conversations with your customers and ensure they get maximum value from your solution.

I want to thank Krista Hardebeck again for the engaging session and all of the participants at Customer Success Festival for making it such a vibrant exchange of ideas. If you attended, what were your biggest takeaways from the event?

Let’s keep the conversation going in the comments below! #CustomerSuccess #CustomerLifecycle #SaaS #CSM

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