Shovels, Snowblowers, and Customer Success: Clearing the Path to Automation

You wake up, look outside, and there it is—a fresh, heavy blanket of snow covering everything. The driveway, the car, the sidewalk—it’s all buried. You sigh and ask yourself the age-old question: Do I shovel, or do I fire up the snowblower?

This is the same dilemma some businesses face when designing the customer journey. Do you handle everything manually, or do you automate? Just like with snow removal, the right answer depends on the situation. So, let’s dig in (pun fully intended) and figure out how to clear the path for your customers while keeping things smooth and efficient.

The Shovel Approach: Personal and Precise

A shovel gives you control. You can clear exactly what needs attention, take your time, and make sure no detail is missed. In customer success, this represents hands-on engagements like personalized onboarding, custom success plans, regular syncs and one-on-one support.

When a Shovel Works Best:

? New high-value customers who need a personal touch before, during and after onboarding.

? Critical moments like renewals, expansion discussions, or troubleshooting.

? Customers needing extra guidance beyond automation, like those in complex industries.

It’s great for small, focused efforts, but let’s be real—if a blizzard hits, that shovel isn’t going to cut it. Manually handling every single customer interaction doesn’t scale, and before long, you’ll be buried under the weight of your growing customer base.

The Snowblower Approach: Automation at Scale

Enter the snowblower—the powerhouse that makes life easier. In customer success, this is automation:

• Automated onboarding emails to guide new customers.
• AI-powered chatbots to answer common questions.
• Engagement triggers to proactively reach out.

When a Snowblower Works Best:

? Large-scale onboarding where consistency is key.

? Engagement touchpoints like reminders, product tips, and health score monitoring.

? Customer success at scale, ensuring no customer is forgotten.

A snowblower covers a lot of ground fast, making it perfect for repetitive tasks and ensuring no customer is left in the cold (literally and figuratively).

Why You Need Both

The best approach isn’t choosing one over the other—it’s knowing when to use each tool:

? Use automation (snowblower) for scalable, repetitive tasks like onboarding flows and customer health tracking.

? Use manual engagement (shovel) for high-value accounts, complex issues, and moments where a personal touch matters.

Think about it: If you rely only on a shovel, your team will be overwhelmed. If you depend entirely on a snowblower, you might miss key spots—those customers who need extra attention might slip through the cracks.

Striking the Right Balance

Just like winter demands the right mix of shoveling and snowblowing, customer success requires a balance between automation and human touch.

• Over-automate, and customers may feel disconnected.
• Rely too much on manual effort, and your team won’t be able to scale.

The key is knowing when to automate and when to engage personally. Start with automation to handle repetitive, scalable tasks—then step in with a human touch for high-value moments like renewals, troubleshooting, or strategic conversations.

Time to Get to Work!

The best customer success strategies use both shovels and snowblowers—automation to handle the heavy lifting and human interactions to provide warmth and precision. Find the right mix, and you’ll ensure every customer gets the support they need—without your team feeling buried under the workload.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a driveway to clear. Time to go shoveling! ????