Beyond the Acquisition | Customer Success Podcast | Episode 1

Emmanuelle Skala SVP of Customer Success at Toast



Beyond the Acquisition our Customer Success Podcast is now live!

In this episode with Emmanuelle Skala, SVP of Customer Success at Toast we learn how using the customer at “True North” has allowed Toast to thrive. Toast is the leading cloud based Restaurant Management System and is ranked #12 in the Forbes Cloud 100.

Emmanuelle has a wealth of experience with scaling companies in sales, operations and Customer Success. She also serves as an advisor on a number of boards. I really enjoyed digging into her practical application of customer success and ensuring that customers are always getting the value of the product.

Are your customers achieving the business results promised with your solution?

This is the role of primary of Customer Success and the “yard stick” Emmanuelle uses to measure Customer Success teams. Focus on leading indicators as well as the traditional lagging indicators such as: NPC, CSAT, etc. is secondary to driving business results and value for your customers.

Meet your customers where they want to be.

In the case of Toast, this is a small business owner (restaurant owner) who is extremely busy serving customers who is not in front of a computer. Toast focuses on text messages, phone and in-person communication channels to connect with their customers. Connecting during non-peak times, such as before the lunch or dinner “rush.” It sounds simple, but Emmanuelle is stressing fundamentals and “knowing” your customer.

How would you structure Customer Success?

Focus on “True North.” Setup the team to be 100% focused on how to measure success. Your implementation team and/or Customer Success Managers must have a clear definition and measurement of first success, live or the first moment of value for your customers. Document this, test it and revise it as necessary for your customer segments. Plot the customer journey from sales to live (and then beyond) to ensure your team understands, intimately, all the steps required to achieve the promised business results with your solution. Spend the time up front with your customers to set them up for success. Early investment will pay dividends as the “flywheel” takes effect. If you you do all of this properly you have likely earned enough trust to take the next steps and consider cross and up-selling opportunities with your customers.

Don’t overlook the power of data, it’s fundamental to a Pro-Active Customer Success model. 

Ensure that your product is capturing and tracking usage and adoption data to empower your Customer Success team to measure and drive adoption. Many companies overlook this at early stages and invest only in people. Don’t overlook the power of data. Design and/or implement tools early on to leverage the power of your data allowing your Customer Success Managers to focus on targeted accounts based on data. Using data to drive CSMs actions is more productive that focusing on the customer with the loudest voice. As you can imagine if you have a high volume, lower touch CS model this becomes absolutely necessary to Customer Success.

What are the primary Customer Success metrics you take into the Board Room?

Retention – Important, but careful this a lagging indicator and best in context with other leading metrics.

Customer Sentiment – Net Promoter Score or Customer Satisfaction score is a leading indicator to retention and valuable across your customer segments

Health Score – If you have a way to measure health, this is a good leading indicator to customer sentiment and retention across customer segments. Health is usually a color coded (Red, Amber, Green) scale or points based score.

Net Revenue and Net Annual Recurring Revenue –  Net ARR is a measurement showing revenue growth in existing customers used primarily for later stage companies focused on a land and expand model. Early stage companies may have less focus on this metric as acquisition and retention are the primary focus.

Productivity Tip or Hack?

I have found that one common trait among successful folks is time management. Emmanuelle is no different! She uses her calendar to block off work into focused “chunks” as well as a disciplined approach to checking email. She sets specific times of the day to read and reply to emails to ensure she can stay focused and on task.

I had such a great time with Emmanuelle Skala, the SVP of Customer Success at Toast! Hopefully you will take some of this and apply it to your organization. Please be sure to check out our other episodes of Beyond the Acquisition and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

 

Subscribe to Beyond the Acquisition