The Real Job of Customer Success Isn’t Support — It’s Translation
The Real Job of Customer Success Isn’t Support — It’s Translation
The Real Job of Customer Success Isn’t Support — It’s Translation
The Real Job of Customer Success Isn’t Support — It’s Translation
Translation is what elevates CS from messenger to value driver, from simply passing along feature requests to shaping the outcomes that drive retention, growth, and trust.
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Translation is what elevates CS from messenger to value driver, from simply passing along feature requests to shaping the outcomes that drive retention, growth, and trust.
Share
Translation is what elevates CS from messenger to value driver, from simply passing along feature requests to shaping the outcomes that drive retention, growth, and trust.
Customer Success (CS) often gets boxed in as support: responding to tickets, passing feedback along, and keeping customers happy. But the highest value CS brings isn’t in relaying what customers say. It’s in translating what they mean. CS isn’t the messenger. It’s the translator.
Customer Success (CS) often gets boxed in as support: responding to tickets, passing feedback along, and keeping customers happy. But the highest value CS brings isn’t in relaying what customers say. It’s in translating what they mean. CS isn’t the messenger. It’s the translator.
Customer Success (CS) often gets boxed in as support: responding to tickets, passing feedback along, and keeping customers happy. But the highest value CS brings isn’t in relaying what customers say. It’s in translating what they mean. CS isn’t the messenger. It’s the translator.
Why This Distinction Matters
When CS acts as a messenger, it keeps the conversation feature-focused. Customers ask for a button, and CS carries the request unchanged. The problem is that features don’t equal value. A feature built to satisfy a single request might never solve the real business problem behind it.
Translation reframes the ask into an outcome Product can build toward, and sometimes reveals the solution already exists if the customer thinks about it differently. That shift moves the roadmap from adding features to creating value.
Why This Distinction Matters
When CS acts as a messenger, it keeps the conversation feature-focused. Customers ask for a button, and CS carries the request unchanged. The problem is that features don’t equal value. A feature built to satisfy a single request might never solve the real business problem behind it.
Translation reframes the ask into an outcome Product can build toward, and sometimes reveals the solution already exists if the customer thinks about it differently. That shift moves the roadmap from adding features to creating value.
Why This Distinction Matters
When CS acts as a messenger, it keeps the conversation feature-focused. Customers ask for a button, and CS carries the request unchanged. The problem is that features don’t equal value. A feature built to satisfy a single request might never solve the real business problem behind it.
Translation reframes the ask into an outcome Product can build toward, and sometimes reveals the solution already exists if the customer thinks about it differently. That shift moves the roadmap from adding features to creating value.
What Translation Looks Like
From symptom to root cause
Messenger: “The customer needs more filters.”
Translator: “They need faster visibility into compliance data. Filters are the symptom; speed is the outcome.”
From feature to outcome (and existing value)
Messenger: “They want more export options.”
Translator: “They’re spending hours on manual reporting. The opportunity isn’t another export; it’s helping them use the reporting tools they already have to get to compliance faster.”
From one-off to scalable pattern
Messenger: “They need custom roles.”
Translator: “Admins are overwhelmed by permissions. The scalable value is efficiency, which we can often address with automation already in place, not just another role type.”
What Translation Looks Like
From symptom to root cause
Messenger: “The customer needs more filters.”
Translator: “They need faster visibility into compliance data. Filters are the symptom; speed is the outcome.”
From feature to outcome (and existing value)
Messenger: “They want more export options.”
Translator: “They’re spending hours on manual reporting. The opportunity isn’t another export; it’s helping them use the reporting tools they already have to get to compliance faster.”
From one-off to scalable pattern
Messenger: “They need custom roles.”
Translator: “Admins are overwhelmed by permissions. The scalable value is efficiency, which we can often address with automation already in place, not just another role type.”
What Translation Looks Like
From symptom to root cause
Messenger: “The customer needs more filters.”
Translator: “They need faster visibility into compliance data. Filters are the symptom; speed is the outcome.”
From feature to outcome (and existing value)
Messenger: “They want more export options.”
Translator: “They’re spending hours on manual reporting. The opportunity isn’t another export; it’s helping them use the reporting tools they already have to get to compliance faster.”
From one-off to scalable pattern
Messenger: “They need custom roles.”
Translator: “Admins are overwhelmed by permissions. The scalable value is efficiency, which we can often address with automation already in place, not just another role type.”
An End-to-End Example
Take the request for more admin roles. A customer asks: “We need more role types.”
In Messenger mode: CS passes the request directly to Product.
In Translator mode: CS digs deeper and finds the real outcome is efficiency. Admins are spending hours on manual permissions management.
Product evaluates whether this is a true gap worth solving against the roadmap. CS follows up with the customer, showing how automation features already in place reduce admin workload by 30% without creating new role complexity.
That is translation in action. The customer sees their pain solved, Product avoids building another edge case, and CS delivers value fast.
An End-to-End Example
Take the request for more admin roles. A customer asks: “We need more role types.”
In Messenger mode: CS passes the request directly to Product.
In Translator mode: CS digs deeper and finds the real outcome is efficiency. Admins are spending hours on manual permissions management.
Product evaluates whether this is a true gap worth solving against the roadmap. CS follows up with the customer, showing how automation features already in place reduce admin workload by 30% without creating new role complexity.
That is translation in action. The customer sees their pain solved, Product avoids building another edge case, and CS delivers value fast.
An End-to-End Example
Take the request for more admin roles. A customer asks: “We need more role types.”
In Messenger mode: CS passes the request directly to Product.
In Translator mode: CS digs deeper and finds the real outcome is efficiency. Admins are spending hours on manual permissions management.
Product evaluates whether this is a true gap worth solving against the roadmap. CS follows up with the customer, showing how automation features already in place reduce admin workload by 30% without creating new role complexity.
That is translation in action. The customer sees their pain solved, Product avoids building another edge case, and CS delivers value fast.
Coaching the Translator
CS teams should be coached to dig into the “why” behind every request. Translation only happens when you peel back the first ask and uncover the real outcome underneath. It often takes a few layers of questioning, but that is what shifts CS from carrying messages to delivering insights Product can act on.
Coaching the Translator
CS teams should be coached to dig into the “why” behind every request. Translation only happens when you peel back the first ask and uncover the real outcome underneath. It often takes a few layers of questioning, but that is what shifts CS from carrying messages to delivering insights Product can act on.
Coaching the Translator
CS teams should be coached to dig into the “why” behind every request. Translation only happens when you peel back the first ask and uncover the real outcome underneath. It often takes a few layers of questioning, but that is what shifts CS from carrying messages to delivering insights Product can act on.
The Translator’s Value
For Product: Surfaces problems worth solving, not just features worth building.
For CS: Positions the team as value-driven, and often helps customers unlock outcomes with tools they already have.
For Customers: Ensures their pain is tied to outcomes, not parked at the feature level.
The Translator’s Value
For Product: Surfaces problems worth solving, not just features worth building.
For CS: Positions the team as value-driven, and often helps customers unlock outcomes with tools they already have.
For Customers: Ensures their pain is tied to outcomes, not parked at the feature level.
The Translator’s Value
For Product: Surfaces problems worth solving, not just features worth building.
For CS: Positions the team as value-driven, and often helps customers unlock outcomes with tools they already have.
For Customers: Ensures their pain is tied to outcomes, not parked at the feature level.
The Risk of Staying the Messenger
Staying in messenger mode keeps CS feature-focused. Every request gets treated as a feature gap, and the roadmap fills up with edge cases that drain resources without creating leverage. It also blinds customers to the value that already exists. Without translation, they may assume the product cannot solve their problem, even when the capability is there. The result is wasted effort for Product, missed wins for CS, and lingering frustration for customers.
Translation is what breaks that cycle. It shifts CS from feature delivery to strategy, from messenger to value driver.
The most valuable CS teams don’t just carry messages. They translate them into insights that drive outcomes. Sometimes that translation means saying: “Here’s how you can solve this today with what you already have.”
The Risk of Staying the Messenger
Staying in messenger mode keeps CS feature-focused. Every request gets treated as a feature gap, and the roadmap fills up with edge cases that drain resources without creating leverage. It also blinds customers to the value that already exists. Without translation, they may assume the product cannot solve their problem, even when the capability is there. The result is wasted effort for Product, missed wins for CS, and lingering frustration for customers.
Translation is what breaks that cycle. It shifts CS from feature delivery to strategy, from messenger to value driver.
The most valuable CS teams don’t just carry messages. They translate them into insights that drive outcomes. Sometimes that translation means saying: “Here’s how you can solve this today with what you already have.”
The Risk of Staying the Messenger
Staying in messenger mode keeps CS feature-focused. Every request gets treated as a feature gap, and the roadmap fills up with edge cases that drain resources without creating leverage. It also blinds customers to the value that already exists. Without translation, they may assume the product cannot solve their problem, even when the capability is there. The result is wasted effort for Product, missed wins for CS, and lingering frustration for customers.
Translation is what breaks that cycle. It shifts CS from feature delivery to strategy, from messenger to value driver.
The most valuable CS teams don’t just carry messages. They translate them into insights that drive outcomes. Sometimes that translation means saying: “Here’s how you can solve this today with what you already have.”
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© 2025 Planhat AB
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© 2025 Planhat AB