When a customer reaches the Use Stage for Network Provisioning and Operations in the Data Center Network solution domain, the recommended action is to understand the architecture of the purchased solution. This understanding is crucial as it allows the customer to fully utilize the features and capabilities of the solution, ensuring they can optimize their network operations effectively. It also enables them to identify areas where they can improve efficiency and performance, which is essential for achieving the desired outcomes from their investment in the technology.

References:

•Cisco’s official page on Customer Success Manager certification1.

•Lifecycle Advantage blog by Cisco, highlighting the importance of overcoming adoption barriers and helping customers progress through the lifecycle journey2.

•CSM Exam Overview on Cisco Learning Network, which outlines the knowledge and skills tested in the exam

The exhibit shows that Product C is facing critical issues in the ‘Implement’ stage, as indicated by the red box, and at-risk conditions in the ‘Use’ stage, as shown by the orange box. These indicators suggest that there are significant barriers preventing the successful implementation and use of Product C. Therefore, the first priority must be to identify and document these barriers to develop a plan to overcome them and ensure the product’s success. References: Best practices in customer success management and product lifecycle management.

The financial implication of churn is reduced revenue. When customers discontinue their subscriptions or stop purchasing products, the company’s revenue decreases. References: Financial analyses related to customer churn highlight the direct impact on revenue, emphasizing the importance of retaining customers to maintain financial stability.

Expanding an endpoint security solution to cover additional assets like data center servers represents a use case expansion opportunity. This scenario indicates that the customer is extending the scope of their current solution to cover more of their infrastructure. References: Expansion opportunity identification techniques that look for scenarios where the application of a solution is broadened to new areas within the customer’s environment.

The concern for a Customer Success Manager within this task of the RACI matrix is that having too many people responsible can lead to confusion and a lack of clear leadership. In a RACI matrix, it is best practice to have only one person accountable for a task to ensure clear ownership and accountability. Multiple people marked as accountable could result in a diffusion of responsibility and inefficiency. References: The RACI matrix is a tool used to clarify roles and responsibilities in project management. It is important to have clear, singular accountability for each task to ensure effective execution and decision-making.

The first step in the mitigation plan should be to engage a specialist to identify a technical solution or workaround. This is because the problem is technical in nature, and a specialist would be best equipped to quickly find a solution that allows the call center agents to resume recording calls.

The barrier that the Customer Success Manager must overcome when upper managementquestions the renewal of the solution subscription is a business barrier. Despite the progress made by the Network Security Staff in using the solution, the CSM needs to demonstrate the business value and ROI of the solution to the upper management to justify the renewal2.

The term for the gap between the features and functions that customers purchase and the features and functions that they use is consumption gap. This gap can indicate areas where customers may need additional support or training to fully utilize their purchase. 

Using a combination of tailored surveys and IT tools-based metrics allows for a comprehensive assessment of the new IT solution’s impact. Surveys provide qualitative insights into user satisfaction, while metrics offer quantitative data on usage and performance.

The loss of a project sponsor can significantly delay time to value. A project sponsor provides the necessary support, resources, and advocacy for a project within an organization. Without a sponsor, projects can face delays due to lack of direction, resources, and organizational support

A common indicator of customer health is the customer satisfaction metric. It reflects the level of satisfaction customers have with a product or service, which is a key indicator of their overall health and likelihood to continue using and recommending the solution4.

The sources used to identify barriers include people, process, and tools. People refer to the stakeholders involved, process refers to the workflows and procedures in place, and tools refer to the technologies and resources available to support the customer success efforts

When faced with technical support cases that negatively impact customer health scores, the Customer Success Manager should prioritize resolving the underlying issues. Ensuring the escalation to technical specialists is a critical action that facilitates a focused approach to diagnosing and resolving the connectivity problems. Technical specialists have the expertise to delve into the specifics of the cases and work towards a timely and effective resolution. References: Best practices in customer success management emphasize the importance of addressing product quality issues promptly and efficiently, leveraging the expertise of technical specialists to restore customer confidence and sentiment.

 A high touch customer success experience is characterized by personalized and customized support, often involving regular one-on-one meetings with a dedicated customer success manager12. This model focuses on providing elite customers with a tailored experience that addresses their specific needs and challenges, ensuring they receive the highest level of service.

When noticing a decline in product usage, it’s important to re-assess the customer’s business process and ensure that the capabilities of the solution are well-aligned with their needs. This may involve identifying any changes in the customer’s operations or uncovering new challenges they are facing. References: Customer success strategies that focus on aligning product capabilities with evolving business processes.

 Identifying barriers to adoption is crucial for developing strategies to overcome them and ensure successful implementation of the solution. Tracking Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) helps in measuring the success of the Customer Success planning and in making informed decisions3.

The two adoption barriers that must be investigated are business misalignment and lack of communication. Business misalignment occurs when the new solution does not align with the current business processes or goals. Lack of communication refers to the failure to inform or involve end-users in the decision-making process, leading to resistance or non-use of the new software34.

The Customer Success Manager must identify the adoption barriers. The dashboard indicates areas where the engagement scores are low, which suggests that there are obstacles preventing the customer from fully utilizing and benefiting from the product. Identifying these barriers is the first step towards developing a strategy to increase adoption and customer success.

To mitigate the risk of lack of adoption with a new leadership team, the Customer Success Manager must address and resolve all technical issues that may be hindering adoption and review the original business case to reassess desired outcomes with the new leadership. These activities ensure that any obstacles to successful adoption are removed and that the new leadership’s goals and expectations are aligned with the solution’s capabilities

The adoption barriers occurring here are related to process and tools. The process barrier may involve inadequate procedures or systems for tracking license usage. The tools barrier suggests that there may be a lack of appropriate software or mechanisms to monitor and verify how the licenses are being utilized67.

 The type of analytics that has telemetry showing the customer’s use of the software and defines what has happened to date is descriptive analytics. Descriptive analytics focuses on summarizing past events and behaviors, providing a historical view of usage and interactions

The type of KPI that is of most interest to Customer Success is A, business KPIs that define progress to the Business Outcome. These KPIs are crucial for tracking the effectiveness of customer success initiatives in achieving the desired business results for the customer

To gain commitment for additional use cases, it is effective to identify target outcomes that address known challenges and demonstrate how new use cases can help achieve them. Additionally, conducting a discovery session to uncover additional pain points can reveal opportunities for further use cases

The key driver creating the need for customer success is B, the subscription economy. In a subscription-based business model, the ongoing satisfaction and retention of customers are paramount, necessitating a dedicated focus on customer success to ensure continuous value delivery and renewal

The role within a Customer Success organization that acts as a single contact point for a customer across multiple technologies is the Customer Success Manager. They are responsible for overseeing the customer’s journey with the company’s products and ensuring they achieve their desired outcomes.

 Adoption campaigns typically include actions such as messaging users about best practices for their solutions to encourage proper and effective use, and informing stakeholders about new features that could enhance their solution’s value. References: Cisco Customer Success Manager documentation and best practices in adoption campaigns emphasize the importance of educating users and stakeholders to drive solution adoption and utilization.

Two expectations of the Quarterly Success Review are to track key performance indicators or milestones and to align with the customer’s critical business objectives. These expectations ensure that the review is focused on measurable progress and alignment with the customer’s strategic goals1.

An adoption campaign should focus on exploring additional use cases to achieve business outcomes. By identifying new ways the solution can be used, the campaign can highlight the versatility and added value of the product, leading to opportunities for expansion9.

After an onboarding session, the next step for a Customer Success Manager is to document the session, including stakeholder interests and metrics, for leadership. This ensures that there is a record of what was discussed and agreed upon, which can be referenced in future interactions and strategy planning. 

Key performance indicators (KPIs) are directly associated with evaluating a customer outcome because they are quantifiable measures used to gauge the performance over time in terms of meeting strategic and operational goals. KPIs are crucial for assessing whether a company is on track to achieve its desired outcomes. References: Cisco Customer Success Manager documentation

The goal of the Quarterly Success Review is the alignment of priorities and outcomes while celebrating accomplishments. This regular review is a strategic meeting that allows both the customer and the organization to ensure that they are aligned in terms of business priorities and desired outcomes. It’s also an opportunity to recognize and celebrate the successes and milestones achieved, which can be motivating and reinforce the value of the investment in the solutions provided.

References:

•Cisco’s official page on Customer Success Manager certification2.

•Skilljar blog on scaling Customer Success with Quarterly Business Reviews3.

 A technical adoption barrier is the lack of integration with other products. This barrier occurs when the new technology does not easily integrate with the customer’s existing systems, causing difficulties in adoption5.

The true definition of customer success is A, which states that it is the business methodology of ensuring customers achieve their expected and unexpected outcomes while using your product or service. This encompasses the holistic approach of customer success to ensure customers find value in the product or service, beyond just the anticipated results

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. 

The correct answer is C, which highlights the shift towards subscription models in IT and the role of the Customer Success Manager (CSM) in ensuring customers achieve their business outcomes and realize value from their subscriptions. This trend is a key driver for companies to invest in Customer Success practices and roles, as the ongoing satisfaction and perceived value are critical in a subscription economy where customers have the flexibility to cancel services that do not meet their expectations

The primary goals when introducing the customer to Customer Success are B, the identification of customer business outcomes, and E, the alignment of key stakeholders. These outcomes ensure that the customer success efforts are aligned with the customer’s business objectives and that all relevant parties are engaged in the success plan1.

The critical reports for the meeting with the Director of IT Policy and Governance to address the CIO’s dissatisfaction would include the number of users registered, the number of meetings user initiated, and the number of meetings user joined. These reports will provide insights into user engagement and utilization of the collaboration solution5.

Opportunities that can lead to customers becoming advocates include moments of success when the customer acknowledges progress and continuing results based on unexpected value. These instances demonstrate the tangible benefits of the solution and can inspire customers to share their positive experiences with others, leading to advocacy.

To mitigate the risk of lack of adoption with a new leadership team, the Customer Success Manager must schedule a Quarterly Business Review with the new leadership team and review the original business case to reassess desired outcomes with them. These activities ensure alignment on expectations and provide an opportunity to address any concerns the new leadership may have67.

 The best method to measure customer consumption of technology is through telemetry and analytics. Telemetry involves the automatic recording and transmission of data from remote or inaccessible sources to an IT system in a different location for monitoring and analysis. Analytics is the systematic computational analysis of data or statistics. Together,they provide a comprehensive view of how customers are using technology

During a Quarterly Success Review, it is critical to cover the success plan, the agreed priorities, and the planned outcomes. These topics ensure that the review is focused on assessing progress towards achieving the desired outcomes as outlined in the success plan1.

The RACI tool is used by Customer Success Managers to establish cross-functional alignment, ensure efficient execution and communication across a project team, and facilitate stakeholder management. RACI stands for Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed, and it helps clarify roles and responsibilities within a project.

The best course of action to prepare for the first customer introduction meeting is to build an understanding of the customer’s business, market trends, and priorities. This knowledge will enable the Customer Success Manager to have a meaningful conversation with the customer, aligning the discussion with the customer’s strategic goals and industry context.

 Prior to a meeting with the customer to discuss their adoption journey before the renewal, it’s important to have the customer annual report and quarterly business reviews to understand the overall business health and past performance. Additionally, support tickets reports and diagnostic information are crucial to identify any issues the customer has faced and how they were resolved, which can inform the discussion on adoption and potential improvements