The first step a Customer Success Manager should take is to engage with the customer to understand their needs, goals, and the reasons they chose the solution. This direct engagement provides valuable insights that inform the Customer Success Plan and ensure alignment with the customer’s objectives. References: Best practices in customer success management emphasize the importance of customer engagement as the foundation for understanding the purpose behind a purchase.

To increase market share and protect the brand’s reputation, risk management and credibility are essential. Risk management helps in mitigating potential threats that can affect market share, while credibility establishes trust with customers and stakeholders, which is vital for brand reputation. References: Cisco Customer Success Manager documentation1.

During onboarding, the most important metric for a Customer Success Manager to uncover is the value that the customer expects to derive from the solution. References: Onboarding best practices that emphasize the importance of understanding and delivering value to the customer.

 The stakeholder responsible for ensuring that the customer realizes value from solutions coming up for renewal is the Customer Success Manager. Their role is to work closely with the customer to ensure they are achieving their desired outcomes with the solution and to address any concerns that may affect the renewal decision.

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. 

Operating expenses (OpEx) are the costs for the day-to-day operation of a business, such as rent, utilities, and payroll. Capital expenses (CapEx), on the other hand, are investments in assets that will benefit the business over a longer period, such as equipment or property2.

The Customer Success Manager should recommend conducting a survey to determine which collaboration solutions users are using to understand why there is a gap in engagement. Additionally, advertising additional user training sessions throughout the organization can help increase the utilization rate by ensuring users are aware of and know how to use the new solution.