Trim Size: 6in x 9in  Mehta572763 c01.tex V1-04/03/2020 11:45pm Page 11 Customer Success: What It Is and Why It Affects Everything 11 decisions about whether to stay with the vendor or spend more based on whether their outcome was achieved. So you need to get them to that outcome. However, in many companies, Customer Service is there to react to client needs, and Account Management is ready to sell, but no one is proactively getting the client to value. (You will hear the word “proactive” a great deal in Customer Success circles.) After the client has purchased and before they are ready to buy more, who is making sure the customer keeps moving forward? Customer Service is ready to pick up the phone when it rings, but who is taking the initiative to call the customer to help them achieve more? You might think that Account Management is the “outboundteam,”buttheirfocusisdifferent. KevinMeeks,VicePresident, Global CSM and Renewals, at publicly traded data software company Splunk, phrased the difference succinctly. “When I think of account management, I think of commercial selling. When I think of success management, I’m thinking about advocacy and things we’re doing to make the customer successful, without a focus on short-term sales.” Customer Success is the missing link that helps your clients achieve their desired outcomes.  A true, company-wide focus on Customer Success ensures that your  customers reach their goals through using your product while having a great experience. Inorderforthattohappen,youneedthreethings:(1)anorganizationwaking upevery day and thinking about driving more value for customers, (2) a set of company-wide programs to help address issues across the company that impedeCustomerSuccess,and(3)aculturethat reinforces that the customer is at the center of the company. WhyCustomer Success Isn’t Optional Customer Success is a natural outcome of massive changes in the economy, including but not limited to the following facts: ◾ Globalization and technology have dropped the barrier to entry for businesses. ◾ Lowered barriers to entry allow new entrants to disrupt almost every established category. ◾ Newentrantshavecreatedlower-frictionbusinessmodels,whichmakes it easier for customers to try and buy—especially with shorter-term pricing, granular consumption, and easier deployment.