Part 3: Change Management Transitioning to a Keystone Performance Indicator
This is Part 3 of a 3-Part series on Simplifying Metrics for Customer Success:
● Part 1 is available at When KPIs Are Too Much, Try a Keystone Performance Indicator.
● Part 2 is available at Selecting Your Keystone Performance Indicator for Customer Success
In this section, we discuss how to launch Keystone Activities within your organization, and begin relying on them as a management and performance objective.
Identify and Communicate the Need
To implement any change as significant as what’s described in this article, organizational alignment is crucial. Make a strong business case by identifying current blind spots and conservatively projecting the financial benefits of addressing them. If your current metrics are too a CSM (Customer Service Manager) is expected to monitor. Additionally, demonstrate situations in which the best performers on the team (defined by lagging metrics such as Renewal Rate) show poor leading metrics, and vice versa.
Restructuring one team will affect others. Switching to a Keystone Metric requires new reporting and processes. This will certainly impact teams generating reports and managing business systems. Collaborate closely with them, ensuring their strategic plans can accommodate the necessary resources. Be sure that your champions are themselves “high enough” to have authority to drive cross-functional cooperation.
Recognize the Gaps
Review current team activities and compare them to the requirements you’ll need to deliver the Keystone metric. Your team may already be doing some of the work, but is it structured and measured in the way you’ll need? For example, when your CRM (Customer Relationship Management) records customer contacts, does it differentiate between decision makers and day-to-day users? Can your Voice Of Customer reporting accommodate feedback that would come from a QBR (Quarterly Business Review) or other Business Review? How are you tracking customer meetings, and how would you adapt this to Business Outcome Reviews?
Then it’s important to identify the tasks that aren’t being done at all. In all likelihood, you don’t have a process to identify Success Outcomes. Look for best practices on how to start these efforts up.
Provide Specifications for IT
Work closely with the Business Systems or IT team to standardize processes and fill the gaps you’ve just identified. Provide them with detailed specifications to capture necessary data and build required reports for the new processes. Plan for the future by describing the desired process a few years into adoption and envision the reporting requirements.
For example, it’s not enough just to report that an account has a Business Outcome defined. You’ll need to have a creation and expiration date, because over time customers’ business outcomes change. You’ll need to make sure the goals stay fresh, report on how often they get updated. Document changes in detail and review them with all parties involved. Explore existing enterprise tools like Gainsight or Vitally for functionality, and identify other systems requiring access to this information and reports.
Pilot the Process
Run prototypes of the Keystone activity with select customers even before perfecting or standardizing the necessary processes. You can start with referenceable customers who understand your product’s value. Develop ad hoc reporting on their Business Outcomes and closely evaluate the results. Schedule the first Business Outcome Reviews and make adjustments based on the findings before finalizing the business systems and commencing training.
Around this time, begin developing training content. Keep it flexible until the systems are in place and the process is well-defined. Start training only after conducting a few reviews and kinks have been worked out of any new or updated systems. That way you can train staff on the complete process, including how to use the systems.
Measure the Prerequisites
In the end state, all accounts should have defined Business Outcomes, and Reviews should be held on a regular cadence. However, Reviews cannot be conducted properly and on schedule until every account has a defined Business Outcome. Start measuring the number of accounts that are meeting this prerequisite, and set company goals accordingly. Collaborate with IT to create automated reports on the number and percentage of accounts with current Business Outcomes defined. Set targets on how quickly you’ll reach 100%.
This intermediate metric is useful during the transition phase while the Keystone Performance Indicator is getting established. Looking forward, it’s important for leadership to monitor this metric on an ongoing basis to ensure all new accounts have defined Business Outcomes. This can be incorporated into the customer onboarding process.
Strengthen as You Go
Ultimately, you want to hold Business Outcome Reviews on schedule for all customers or as close to that as possible. Strive to establish the Keystone metric even if all supporting checklist items are not fully achieved.
For instance, if you can’t always secure a “high-enough” executive’s participation in a review, it should still be counted, and identified as an opportunity to build the executive relationship for the next review. Reporting should also highlight accounts not meeting their business outcomes. Early identification allows time to rectify the situation before the next renewal.
So long as CSMs conduct reviews on schedule, any shortcomings can be noted, and in time strengthened. As this activity becomes central to CSMs’ job focus, their proficiency will improve, and they will better utilize them as a touchstone for customer relationships.
Conclusion
This single keystone metric will enable measurement of CSM and Customer Organization performance. By continuously strengthening and refining the process, you can drive organizational alignment, improve customer outcomes, and enhance the effectiveness of your Customer Success team. With dedication and continuous improvement, you can achieve long-term success for your customer. The natural outcome will be improved customer satisfaction and revenue growth.
Part 3 Summary
1. Align the organization by identifying critical gaps in the current metrics. Make a strong business case for change, emphasizing the financial benefits and demonstrating the impact on team performance.
2. Collaborate with the IT team to provide specifications for creating the new processes and reporting.
3. Pilot the Keystone activity with select customers, make adjustments based on results, and develop training content. Start immediately, and use the achievement of prerequisites as a transitional metric until the Keystone activity becomes your standard operating procedure.
This article on Transitioning to a Keystone Performance Indicator is the third of a three part series:
Part 1: The Problem of Proliferating KPIs – Defining what a Keystone Indicator is, and why it works better. Exploring common KPIs used in Customer Success Organizations, and the challenges of managing them.
Part 2: Selecting Your Keystone Performance Indicator for Customer Success – How a single Keystone Performance Indicator can demonstrate achievement in many areas. Using Business Outcome Reviews as an example of capturing operational balance and breadth.
Part 3: Change Management Transitioning to a Keystone Performance Indicator – How to establish a program of foundational activities. Measuring progress through a transitional phase toward Keystone Performance Management.