Customer-Related Customer Success Management Activities

In business markets, customer value propositions are typically characterized by value that is not exchanged in the moment of purchase but rather cocreated by the supplier and the customer throughout the customer’s usage of a solution or complex offering. As suppliers typically aim at keeping the customer churn rate low, they need to make sure that this value in use promised in the customer value proposition is actually achieved or even exceeded. Hence, suppliers have to establish measures that aim at continuous value-in-use monitoring and enhancement, i.e. a customer-related CSM process. While value-in-use monitoring includes activities of identifying the created value for the customer in form of certain key performance indicators and their reporting to the customer, value-in-use enhancement is about the reflection on opportunities for value optimization and the actual dissemination of respective activities. Through these activities, the customer-related CSM process can be fundamentally aligned with the customer’s goals and hence with the promises made during the sales process. Furthermore, suppliers need to incorporate customers into this process as an active value contributor.