How to choose the right customer success tool

As a leader in customer success, you understand how critical it is to have the right tools and platforms to engage effectively with customers. With so many emerging technologies and products, however, comparing them can be daunting.

That’s why it is so important to choose customer success solutions and software carefully to ensure they meet your organization’s evolving needs — now and in the future.

Why do you need a CSM tool?

A CSM tool, also known as a Customer Success Management tool or a Customer Success Platform, is a software solution designed to help Customer Success Managers (CSMs) manage customer relationships and ensure customer success. CSM tools typically provide features and functionality such as:

1. Customer data management: CSM tools allow CSMs to centralize and organize customer data, including information such as contact details, usage patterns, and support history.

2. Communication and collaboration: CSM tools enable CSMs to communicate with customers via email, in-app messaging, customer portals, or other channels and collaborate with colleagues on customer issues.

3. Customer health monitoring: CSM tools allow CSMs to track customer health scores and receive alerts when customers may be at risk of churning or need additional support.

4. Customer success planning: CSM tools help CSMs create and execute customer success plans, including onboarding, training, and adoption strategies.

5. Reporting and analytics: CSM tools provide insights into customer behavior, such as usage patterns and feature adoption, and help CSMs track and report on key performance metrics, such as customer retention and churn rates.

CSM tools are often used with other customer relationship management (CRM) tools, such as Salesforce or HubSpot, to provide a more complete view of the customer journey. An example of a popular CSM platform is Planhat.

What do you look for in a customer success tool?

Several key factors can help you choose the right solution for your organization when looking for a customer success tool or platform. Here are some of the key considerations:

1. Features and functionality: The tool should offer the features and functionality you need to manage customer relationships and ensure customer success. This may include customer data management, communication and collaboration tools, customer health monitoring, customer success planning, reporting and analytics, and integrations with your other tools.

2. Ease of use: The tool should be easy to use and intuitive, with a user-friendly interface that allows you to quickly and easily perform tasks and access information.

3. Scalability: The tool should scale to meet your needs as your customer base grows without sacrificing performance or functionality.

4. Flexibility: The tool should be flexible enough to adapt to your organization’s unique needs and workflows and allow you to customize it to fit your specific requirements.

5. Customer support and training: The vendor should provide good customer support, including training and resources to help you get the most out of the tool.

6. Security and compliance: The tool should comply with relevant data protection and privacy regulations.

7. Cost: The tool should offer a good return on investment (ROI), with pricing models that fit your budget and usage needs.

Ultimately, the best customer success tool for your organization will depend on your specific needs, goals, and budget. It’s important to research, evaluate different options, and choose a tool that meets your requirements and helps you achieve your customer success objectives.

What companies provide Customer Success Platforms?

There are several companies that are known for their strong customer success platforms and have received recognition for their efforts. Here are a few examples:

1. HubSpot: HubSpot is a marketing, sales, and customer service platform that is well-known for its customer-centric approach. The company’s customer success program is focused on providing customers with personalized support and resources, including online training and a dedicated customer success team.

2. Salesforce: Salesforce is a customer relationship management (CRM) platform recognized for its strong customer success program. The company’s customer success team provides various services, including onboarding, training, and ongoing support, to help customers get the most out of the platform.

3. Planhat: Planhat is a customer platform designed to help companies drive customer success at scale. The company’s platform provides various tools and features to help Customer Success Managers (CSMs) manage their customer relationships and ensure customer success, including customer health monitoring, customer success planning, customer collaboration, automations, reporting, and analytics.

Ultimately, the best company for customer success will depend on your specific needs and goals, and it’s important to do your research and evaluate different options before making a decision.

What are the top 3 priorities in customer success?

The priorities of customer success can vary depending on each organization’s specific needs and goals. However, three general priorities are important for most customer success teams:

1. Customer retention: One of the primary goals of customer success is to ensure customer retention by helping customers achieve their desired outcomes and ensuring they continue seeing value in your product or service. This may involve identifying and addressing customer issues, providing ongoing support and training, and working with customers to develop and execute a success plan.

2. Customer satisfaction: Another key priority of customer success is to ensure customer satisfaction by providing an exceptional customer experience. This may involve understanding and addressing customer needs and pain points, communicating effectively with customers, and providing personalized support and guidance.

3. Expansion and growth: Customer success teams may also focus on driving expansion and growth by identifying opportunities to upsell or cross-sell products or services to existing customers and by working to increase customer lifetime value. This may involve identifying customer needs and goals, developing and executing a strategy for upselling or cross-selling, and ensuring that customers continue to see value in your product or service.

While these are just three general priorities, the specific priorities of customer success may vary depending on the needs and goals of each organization. It’s important for customer success teams to work closely with their customers to understand their needs and goals and to develop a customized strategy for achieving success.

Gain Valuable Insights into Customer Success with Planhat’s Community Survey

Discover how industry experts in the Customer Success community reduce churn and grow their existing customer base in Planhat´s Customer Success Community Survey 2023.