820-605 Questions and Answers

A lagging indicator is a metric that reflects the success or failure after an event has occurred. In the context of customer success, an increase in the net promoter score (NPS) is a lagging indicator because it measures customer sentiment after they have experienced the product or service. 

 Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are the metrics that evaluate whether a customer’s outcomes are being met. They are used to measure the success of an organization in achieving its business objectives and are directly linked to the customer outcomes. References: Cisco Customer Success Manager documentation1.

Payroll is considered an operating expense (OPEX) because it is a cost incurred in the normal course of business operations. Operating expenses include day-to-day costs such as rent, equipment, marketing, payroll, insurance, and funds allocated for research and development

The barrier that the Customer Success Manager must overcome when upper managementquestions the renewal of the solution subscription is a business barrier. Despite the progress made by the Network Security Staff in using the solution, the CSM needs to demonstrate the business value and ROI of the solution to the upper management to justify the renewal2.

 A high touch customer success experience is characterized by personalized and customized support, often involving regular one-on-one meetings with a dedicated customer success manager12. This model focuses on providing elite customers with a tailored experience that addresses their specific needs and challenges, ensuring they receive the highest level of service.

To gain commitment for additional use cases, it is effective to identify target outcomes that address known challenges and demonstrate how new use cases can help achieve them. Additionally, conducting a discovery session to uncover additional pain points can reveal opportunities for further use cases

A Quarterly Success Review is a conversation that outlines the key initiatives that are agreed upon in the success plan. It is an opportunity to review progress against the success plan and make any necessary adjustments. 

A SWOT analysis helps in understanding the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats related to a customer’s business environment, providing insights that can be used to tailor customer success strategies. References: 1

 The Customer Success Manager should consider re-enforcing the time to value of the solution. This involves communicating the benefits and potential impact of the solution on the customer’s business operations and objectives, emphasizing how timely deployment can lead to quicker realization of these benefits.

Targeted use cases are specific scenarios that illustrate how a product or service can be used to achieve a particular goal or solve a specific problem. They help customers understand the practical application of a solution and how it can lead to the desired outcome1.

To mitigate the risk of lack of adoption with a new leadership team, the Customer Success Manager must address and resolve all technical issues that may be hindering adoption and review the original business case to reassess desired outcomes with the new leadership. These activities ensure that any obstacles to successful adoption are removed and that the new leadership’s goals and expectations are aligned with the solution’s capabilities

 The best reason for documenting your customer’s success is to provide awareness of the value achieved by the customer’s purchased solution. This documentation helps demonstrate the impact of the solution on the customer’s business. 

 Adoption campaigns typically include actions such as messaging users about best practices for their solutions to encourage proper and effective use, and informing stakeholders about new features that could enhance their solution’s value. References: Cisco Customer Success Manager documentation and best practices in adoption campaigns emphasize the importance of educating users and stakeholders to drive solution adoption and utilization.

An adoption campaign should focus on exploring additional use cases to achieve business outcomes. By identifying new ways the solution can be used, the campaign can highlight the versatility and added value of the product, leading to opportunities for expansion9.

 The best method to measure customer consumption of technology is through telemetry and analytics. Telemetry involves the automatic recording and transmission of data from remote or inaccessible sources to an IT system in a different location for monitoring and analysis. Analytics is the systematic computational analysis of data or statistics. Together,they provide a comprehensive view of how customers are using technology

Components of Key Performance Indicators that contribute to customer value achievement includethe quality of service performance data, which reflects the reliability and effectiveness of the service, and the speed to resolution of service requests, which impacts customer satisfaction and trust in the service provider. Both are critical for demonstrating the value delivered to the customer. References: Best practices in customer success management emphasize the importance of service quality and efficient resolution of issues as key drivers of customer value and satisfaction.

Documenting a customer’s success is crucial for providing awareness of the value achieved by the solution. This documentation helps in recognizing the benefits and outcomes that the customer has realized through the solution, which is essential for validating the investment and encouraging continued engagement

 A balanced scorecard covers perspectives on business process, customer, financial, and learning and growth to provide a comprehensive view of an organization’s performance. References: The Balanced Scorecard framework, which is widely used in strategic management to evaluate the overall performance of an organization across multiple dimensions.

Two barriers to adoption within an organization are inadequate knowledge and skills, and organizational silos. Inadequate knowledge and skills refer to the lack of necessary training or expertise among employees to effectively use a new solution. Organizational silos occur when different departments or groups within an organization do not share information or collaborate effectively, which can hinder the adoption of new solutions across the organization

 During the first customer engagement, capturing the customer’s desired outcomes is essential. This information helps in understanding the customer’s expectations and goals, which guides the subsequent actions and strategies for customer success. References: Cisco Customer Success Manager documentation

To avoid the issue of a customer having to explain their problems multiple times to different team members, it is essential to clarify roles and responsibilities with the stakeholders. This ensures that there is a clear understanding of who is responsible for what, and the customer knows exactly whom to contact for each issue

The value proposition of customer success for customers is the reduced time to value. Customer success initiatives aim to help customers achieve their desired outcomes faster and more efficiently, thereby reducing the time it takes for them to realize value from their investment1.

 The best outcome a Customer Success Manager can achieve for a customer is removing barriers so the customer achieves the fastest time to value possible from the solution they purchased. This ensures that the customer quickly realizes the benefits of their investment, leading to higher satisfaction and the potential for further expansion

 Prior to a meeting with the customer to discuss their adoption journey before the renewal, it’s important to have the customer annual report and quarterly business reviews to understand the overall business health and past performance. Additionally, support tickets reports and diagnostic information are crucial to identify any issues the customer has faced and how they were resolved, which can inform the discussion on adoption and potential improvements

The value proposition of customer success for customers lies in supporting their business vision. Customer success helps customers to realize their business objectives and ensures that the solutions provided align with their strategic direction

Using a combination of tailored surveys and IT tools-based metrics allows for a comprehensive assessment of the new IT solution’s impact. Surveys provide qualitative insights into user satisfaction, while metrics offer quantitative data on usage and performance.

The Customer Success Manager should focus on the product use case that will achieve the desired outcome. This involves understanding how the software solution can be applied to enable the customer’s specific business goals and providing guidance on how to leverage the product to meet those objectives

The adoption barriers occurring here are related to process and tools. The process barrier may involve inadequate procedures or systems for tracking license usage. The tools barrier suggests that there may be a lack of appropriate software or mechanisms to monitor and verify how the licenses are being utilized67.

The Customer Success Manager is responsible for confirming the use cases targeted in a Customer Success Plan. They work closely with the customer to understand their needs and ensure that the plan aligns with the customer’s goals and the capabilities of the solution1.

 Communication with customer executives should focus on the return on investment and the time to value, as these objectives are typically top priorities for executive-level stakeholders. References: Executive communication guidelines that prioritize value demonstration and alignment with leadership objectives.

This statement describes an end user adoption barrier related to behavioral resistance. When staff members are accustomed to certain tools or workflows, they may resist transitioning to new solutions, especially if they perceive the new solution as less convenient or less effective than their established habits

The goal of the Quarterly Success Review is the alignment of priorities and outcomes while celebrating accomplishments. This regular review is a strategic meeting that allows both the customer and the organization to ensure that they are aligned in terms of business priorities and desired outcomes. It’s also an opportunity to recognize and celebrate the successes and milestones achieved, which can be motivating and reinforce the value of the investment in the solutions provided.

References:

•Cisco’s official page on Customer Success Manager certification2.

•Skilljar blog on scaling Customer Success with Quarterly Business Reviews3.

For a customer aiming to increase services and improve launch times, the appropriate business outcomes are time to market and business growth. These outcomes focus on the efficiency of service deployment and the expansion of the customer’s service offerings. References: Business strategy literature that correlates the improvement of service deployment times with the acceleration of time to market and the potential for business growth.

The desired outcome for a Customer Success Manager (CSM) to achieve for a customer is removing barriers so the customer achieves the fastest time to value possible from the purchased solution. This aligns with the CSM’s role in ensuring that customers can quickly and effectively realize the value of their investment, which is critical in a subscription-based economy where ongoing customer satisfaction is essential for retention and continued revenue streams. The CSM’s focus is on facilitating customer adoption and usage, identifying and overcoming adoption barriers, and helping customers achieve their business outcomes efficiently.

References:

•Cisco’s official page on Customer Success Manager certification1.

•Cisco Learning Network’s article on Cisco Customer Success Manager Specialist2.

The critical reports for the meeting with the Director of IT Policy and Governance to address the CIO’s dissatisfaction would include the number of users registered, the number of meetings user initiated, and the number of meetings user joined. These reports will provide insights into user engagement and utilization of the collaboration solution5.

The key metrics that measure the outcome of driving employee efficiencies are C, the reduction in headcount or operational support costs, and D, customer and employee feedback. These metrics directly reflect the efficiency gains in the workforce and the perceived impact of the solutions on the employees’ productivity

 Expansion opportunities within customer success include the expansion of solution features and services. These opportunities arise when customers see the value in adding more features or services to their existing solutions to enhance their capabilities or meet additional business needs. References: Strategies for identifying and capitalizing on opportunities to expand the scope of solutions provided to customers, leading to increased value and customer satisfaction.

The Customer Success Manager initially validates stakeholders during the onboarding stage34. This is a critical phase where the CSM establishes relationships with key stakeholders, understands their expectations, and begins to align the product’s capabilities with the customer’s business objectives.

The customer is in the Advocate stage. After the adoption barriers were addressed and the customer’s business goals were fulfilled, the customer’s satisfaction led them to share their positive experience with the solution in blogs and social media, advocating for the product

The sources used to identify barriers include people, process, and tools. People refer to the stakeholders involved, process refers to the workflows and procedures in place, and tools refer to the technologies and resources available to support the customer success efforts

The customer success objective of a Quarterly Success Review is to align work effort to outcomes. This involves reviewing the efforts made during the quarter and ensuring they are in line with the desired business outcomes.

The purpose of a customer stakeholder map is to create a communication plan that outlines how to engage with various stakeholders. It helps in understanding their influence, interests, and the dynamics between them, which is essential for effective communication and relationship management8.