Margie Barkley: Video: 3 Challenges of CSMs 2023 How to overcome it

Customer success managers (CSMs) are constantly challenged to provide an exceptional customer experience. However, the modern customer is making it difficult for them to stay competitive. CSMs must therefore find innovative ways to streamline and optimize processes, while engaging them in multiple channels. One tool that can help nurture strong customer relationships and foster mutual trust is video. With videos, CSMs can help drive value, foster mutual trust, and create a personalized connection with customers.

Let’s dive deeper to find answers to the why and how.

3 Key Challenges Faced By CSMs Today And It’s Solution

Most CSMs typically face a range of difficult and challenging circumstances when managing customer accounts. Sure, these are customers who have already been onboarded and are paying for the service, but struggles are still inevitable. Here are a few of them:

An increase in ‘ghosting’ incidents – One of the greatest challenges CSMs face is booking meetings with customers in their accounts. Numerous emails, phone calls, and voicemails are sent out in hopes of reaching the right person, but oftentimes there’s no response.Difficulty in showcasing value & building trust – Most CSMs fail to connect with their customers in a meaningful way, largely because their interactions are limited to brief “check-ins.” These short, surface-level conversations lack the depth and purpose necessary to build trust and rapport between both parties. As such, expecting to establish trust and nurture a relationship during a short (30–60 minute) quarterly business review is quite ambitious.Lengthy onboarding process – As a CSM managing multiple accounts, it’s critical to get new customers up and running quickly in order for them to be successful. Live onboarding can make an impact, but it’s not enough. After the initial session, there will still be questions that arise, and the help documents aren’t always going to provide the answers they need. Writing out lengthy emails with advice and screenshots may take up too much time, only for them to get ignored or their advice to be poorly understood by the customer.

Solution to CSM Challenges Is Videos

The CSM world is ripe for an evolution. One approach that is gaining traction is to adopt videos as part of the strategy. As we have seen with sales and marketing teams, when videos are used, it can drive efficiency. Not only can it make communication more efficient, but it can also help drive better engagement among all stakeholders.

In a Hubspot study, the results show that people want to see more video content (53%) than emails (23%).

Source: Hubspot

Why are videos more effective? Videos create a sense of trust and credibility that words alone can never achieve. When you show your face on camera and make gestures, it conveys a level of authenticity unlike other marketing tactics. With sound and text combined, viewers are able to understand the product’s benefits quickly and easily.

3 Best Ways CSMs Can Engage Customers With Videos

Video is the fastest way to counteract these CSM challenges and provide customers with personalized, strategic advice. It also emphasizes the value of being a partner rather than just a vendor. Here are four ways to use videos in your CSM role that can help you achieve this quickly and effectively:

1. Re-engage unresponsive customers

Are you struggling to get an unresponsive customer back on board? Send a quick video Inmail via LinkedIn to show them how eager you are to help and address their needs. Showing your face in the message will make it more personal, letting the customer know that they can trust you and that you truly want to solve their problems.

Hi [first name],

It’s been a while since we chatted! I’d love to hear how things are going on at your end. Also, is there anything I can do to make your experience better?

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Our tip: Begin your video by introducing yourself. Then crack a joke about how long you’ve been trying to reach out. End it with a poll; this allows customers to connect with you or let you know if they’d prefer to be left alone. This way, you’ll leave the door open for them without coming off as pushy.

2. Build trust with a value-driven mindset

Don’t underestimate the power of regular connections with your customers. Keeping them informed about their progress with your product, as well as any new feature launches, can be a great way to build trust and keep an open line of communication. It’s also a great way to show customers how much you value them and understand their needs.

A video on CSMs Business Review and Status Updates
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Here’s another video to showcase how you can send them a feature update announcement. Give them details on what’s included in the new update, how it will benefit those who use it, or any other information that may be relevant.

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3. Curate a personalized onboarding experience

Instead of relying on a generic, one-size-fits-all approach to onboarding, create a video hub to help your customers navigate their pain points with personalized strategic advice. This video hub would be an organized and user-friendly repository of videos related to each customer’s needs. By having videos readily available, your team can save time while sending response to common inquiries. The added benefit of this resource is that it allows your team to give guidance and provide solutions faster than ever before.

CSMs video on video hub
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Now that we’ve outlined the potential for success with videos in customer success management, let’s dive into a case study to illustrate the positive impact video can have on account management teams. One of our customers saw truly remarkable results after introducing video tools into their operations.

UK’s Airline Books 2.5x More Meetings With Videos

Videos are an incredibly useful tool for businesses, and their impact on success can be remarkable. For example, the UK’s second largest airline was facing challenges that was difficult for them to solve. Here is a brief overlook:

Challenges they faced: Low engagement and response rates as customers weren’t showing up for update calls or to discuss new offers. Additionally, their internal communications weren’t functioning optimally either.

How Hippo Video helped solve it: To solve these problems, the airline decided to send personalized video messages to their B2B partners. The strategy worked remarkably well – the number of bookings increased by 48% and response rates rose by 12%. It was observed that previously disengaged prospects suddenly began taking interest in the videos they received. In addition to this, the airline further reinforced their approach by adding engaging CTAs to their videos. This led to a dramatic improvement in booked meetings, raising from 28% before implementing videos to 70% afterwards.

Data from email campaigns featuring videos revealed an open rate of 61.3%, which is significantly higher than without video content. Video emails were particularly successful at landing new accounts, expanding existing relationships and cross-selling or up-selling services to new partners. The use of videos made it much easier to demonstrate features or present workable solutions that may have been difficult or impossible to convey with words alone.

A case study on how CSMs from UK's second largest airline doubled customer engagement and reduced no-shows.
View our case study here

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) On Video for CSMs

Does my CSM team have to record videos for each customer outreach?

For businesses that rely on customer success, Hippo Video is an invaluable asset for increasing team productivity. With pre-built video templates, users can create personalized intros and outros. They can also quickly sync it with a product or tutorial video before sending it to their target audience. This eliminates the need for writing emails and making phone calls, saving time and energy in the process.

Can I record videos directly from LinkedIn?

Yes, you can. With Hippo Video integrated with LinkedIn, all you have to do is download our Chrome extension and you can record videos directly within LinkedIn.

Conclusion

A successful customer success manager (CSM) should always be proactive and empowered to drive customer satisfaction. This means not only developing strong relationships with customers but also delivering an outstanding experience that leaves a lasting impression. By creating videos, CSMs can break through traditional barriers and turn customers into long-term advocates of the brand. It is important to note that creating videos also saves time, so why not leverage its many benefits?