Customer-Centric Strategy Formulation

MBA schools get one thing right. Frameworks. Consultants swear by them. And here's what most CSMs miss: Your job? It's consulting in disguise. Every customer meeting. Every QBR. Every escalation. You're solving problems. But where do you start? That's where frameworks come in. Your secret weapon. Your north star. Your problem-solving toolkit. Let me break down the top 10 that'll transform your CS game in 2025: 1. MECE Not just for consultants anymore. Mutually Exclusive, Collectively Exhaustive. Perfect for segmenting your customers. Enterprise vs. Mid-market vs. SMB. No customer falls through the cracks. Every account has a home. 2. SWOT Your QBR's best friend. Analyze each account's: Strengths (feature adoption) Weaknesses (unused modules) Opportunities (upsell potential) Threats (competitor presence) Make every review strategic. 3. PESTLE Because your enterprise customers are complex. Political (stakeholder mapping) Economic (budget cycles) Social (team dynamics) Technical (integration needs) Legal (compliance requirements) Environmental (remote work impact) Miss one? Risk renewal. 4. 5 Whys Low product adoption? Ask why. Poor engagement? Ask why. High churn risk? Keep asking why. Root cause analysis saves accounts. 5. BCG Matrix Your portfolio management tool: Stars: Growth accounts Cash Cows: Stable enterprises Question Marks: New logos Dogs: Churn risks Prioritize your time accordingly. 6. Porter's Five Forces Not just for market analysis. Use it for customer health: User adoption strength Executive buy-in Alternative solutions Integration stickiness Budget competition The complete health score. 7. OKR Because "increase retention" isn't enough. Objective: 95% renewal rate Key Results: - 100% QBR completion - 90% feature adoption - 48hr response time 8. RACI Map your customer's journey: Who's Responsible for success? Who's Accountable for renewal? Who needs to be Consulted? Who stays Informed? Clear ownership = Clear success 9. SMART Goals Make every success plan count: Specific feature adoption targets Measurable usage metrics Achievable timelines Relevant to business goals Time-bound implementation 10. 3Cs Customer (their needs) Company (your solution) Competition (their alternatives) The triangle of customer retention. Here's what most CSMs miss: Frameworks aren't rigid rules. They're power tools. For discovering value. For driving adoption. For ensuring renewal. Master these. Apply them to your accounts. Watch your renewal rates soar. Because great CSMs? They're framework ninjas. ------------------ ▶️ Want to see more content like this and also connect with other CS & SaaS enthusiasts? You should join Tidbits. We do short round-ups a few times a week to help you learn what it takes to be a top-notch customer success professional. Join 1999+ community members! 💥 [link in the comments section]

CMOs want pipeline. CFOs want unit economics. Marketers tend to segment with metrics like customer count, ACV, or win rate. These are good at first. But they’re incomplete. The next level is to segment like a CFO Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) is a great bridge. CLV doesn’t just measure deal size or ease of closing. It captures *the full value* of a customer or segment over time: initial purchase, gross margin, retention, and expansion. It’s a great metric to tie marketing strategy to business outcomes. Here's an example... Which customer would you rather acquire? Customer A - $120K ACV. - Closed in 60 days - Costs $60K/yr to serve. - Churns in year 2. Customer B - $60K ACV. - Closed in 90 days - Costs $20K/yr to serve. - Expands in year 2 to $80K. - Expands in year 3 to $100K. Clearly B is more valuable in the long-term. The 5-year value (CLV) is ~6x higher. But a lot of times this dynamic gets missed when thinking about ICPs and segments because we stop with pipeline metrics. CLV helps divide your market by long-term value. This is especially key in an ABM motion where you are making big investments into relatively small segments of accounts. You want to spend resources on the accounts that your CFO will love. Want help measuring CLV by segment? DM me. I'm thinking I'd make a template for this during the holidays. #B2B #marketing #sales

At this stage, I believe most businesses are using metrics of some sort. So the biggest problems with metrics today is not that they are not used, it's that the wrong ones are used. Or there are just too many. Companies are often unaware they are using the wrong metrics. This usually happens when they are either copying what others are doing because it sounds like something they "should" be doing, or they lack clarity about what's really important to their growth. The other problem I mentioned was the use of too many metrics. It's really not necessary to measure everything! Collecting and analyzing huge amounts of data can create decision paralysis and make it difficult to focus on what really matters. Instead of helping, it can slow down decision-making. There IS a simple solution. It starts with focusing on identifying areas that matter most to your growth. 1️⃣ Begin by defining your top business goals. Ask, "What do we want to achieve?" Whether it’s increasing customer retention or improving operational efficiency, your metrics should directly support these goals. 2️⃣ Avoid overload by choosing only 3–5 core metrics that are critical to your goals. For example, track Net Promoter Score for customer satisfaction, or Cycle Time for operational efficiency. 3️⃣ Implement tools to automate the tracking of these metrics, so you can easily monitor progress without manually crunching numbers. This saves time and ensures real-time data. 4️⃣ Set up a routine to review the data—weekly or monthly. Look for trends and areas of improvement, and adjust your actions based on the insights gained. 5️⃣ Make sure your team understands the importance of these metrics and how they can contribute to improving them. This helps ensure accountability and alignment across the organization. Do you have any tips for effective metric management? What works in your organization? Leave your comments below 🙏 #measurewhatmatters #metrics #leadership #datamanagement #continuousimprovement

When a Quality Manager join a new company, how he must start his working in professionally and effectively for improvement , step by step.. *Phase 1: Familiarization and Foundation Building 1. Review Company Policies and Procedures 2. Meet with Key Personnel's of all departments 3. Conduct a thorough tour of the facility to understand operations, identify potential quality risks, and get a sense of the company culture. 4. Examine quality records, including audit reports, customer complaints, and corrective actions to understand the company's quality performance. *Phase 2: Assessment and Gap Analysis 1. Evaluate quality processes, such as inspection, testing, and calibration to identify gaps and inefficiencies. 2. Identify potential quality risks, including supply chain risks, equipment risks, and process risks. 3. Analyze quality data, including defect rates, customer satisfaction, and supplier performance to identify trends and areas for improvement. 4. Develop a comprehensive report outlining the gaps and inefficiencies in the quality management system. *Phase 3: Setting Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and Targets 1. Establish quality objectives, including defect reduction, customer satisfaction improvement, and supplier performance enhancement. 2. Develop KPIs to measure quality performance, including defect rates, customer satisfaction, and supplier performance. 3. Set targets and benchmarks for each KPI based on industry standards, customer requirements, and company goals. 4. Communicate KPIs and targets to relevant stakeholders, including department heads, supervisors, and quality team members. *Phase 4: Quality improvements plan 1. Prioritize areas for improvement based on the gap analysis report and quality data analysis. 2. Develop corrective actions to address gaps and inefficiencies in the quality management system. 3. Establish timelines and responsibilities for implementing corrective actions. 4. Develop a comprehensive quality improvement plan outlining the corrective actions, timelines, and responsibilities. *Phase 5: Implementation and Monitoring 1. Implement corrective actions outlined in the quality improvement plan. 2. Regularly monitor progress against KPIs and targets. 3. Continuously evaluate and improve the quality management system to ensure it remains effective and efficient. 4. Communicate results to relevant stakeholders, including department heads, supervisors, and quality team members. Countermeasures for inefficiencies- 1. Streamline processes to reduce waste and increase efficiency. 2. Implement lean principles to minimize waste and maximize value. 3. Provide training and development opportunities to enhance employee skills and knowledge. 4. Foster open communication across departments and levels to ensure quality issues are identified and addressed promptly. 5. Conduct regular audits to ensure compliance with quality standards and identify areas for improvement.

My Favorite Analyses: Conjoint Analysis Let’s talk about conjoint analysis, a valuable tool for businesses seeking to understand consumer decision-making. Rather than asking consumers what they want, this approach goes further by revealing the trade-offs people are willing to make and at what cost. What is conjoint analysis? Conjoint analysis examines how customers make decisions when faced with options. It presents various product combinations and asks for choices, helping businesses understand what their target audience values and how much they are willing to pay for it. For example, a conjoint analysis for smartphones may present customers with the choice of two different options to choose from: Smartphone A: 24-hour battery, 24 MP camera, $700 price, Apple brand Smartphone B: 18-hour battery, 48 MP camera, $900 price, Samsung brand Conjoint analysis imitates real-life decision-making situations and can be applied to a range of industries and products. Data is commonly collected through surveys, with respondents selecting between 8-12 sets of product profiles. The more choices they make, the better we understand their priorities for each attribute. How Is The Analysis Conducted? The first step in analyzing survey results is determining what is called “partworths” and evaluating the relative importance of each attribute. Partworths quantify how each element of a product is valued (as the name implies, it expresses how much each PART of a product is WORTH to a consumer). Statistical models are used to calculate partworths, and we will typically rely on a good R package to do the heavy statistical lifting once the data has been collected and cleaned. Next, we must assess the significance of each attribute by examining their partworth ranges. A larger range indicates greater impact on consumer choice, while a smaller range suggests that the element is more of an expectation for consumers than a differentiating product feature. What Does Conjoint Analysis Tell Us? Conjoint analysis provides valuable insights into customer preferences, including the relative importance of product attributes and how much customers are willing to pay for specific features. It helps businesses tailor their products and pricing to maximize customer satisfaction and revenue. Marriott used conjoint analysis to design its Courtyard brand for business travelers, while the Portland Trail Blazers used it to create ticket packages that appealed to fans and increased revenue. Whether developing a new product or making decisions about an existing one, conjoint analysis ensures choices are based on real customer preferences, not assumptions. Art+Science Analytics Institute | University of Notre Dame | University of Notre Dame - Mendoza College of Business | University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign | University of Chicago | D'Amore-McKim School of Business at Northeastern University | ELVTR | Grow with Google - Data Analytics #Analytics

👥 Are our customers a name and a logo, or a real person trying to help themselves and their companies win each day? Let’s be honest: CS doesn’t always get this right. I don’t always get this right. When things get tough (aka churn risk, low usage, budget pressure) our instinct is to reach for the metrics. What can we quantify? What can we prove? How do we show we’re “doing our job”? We start building dashboards, framing health scores, chasing outcomes. Not wrong But also not enough. Because often, metrics make us feel better internally. But they don't us understand the people we’re here to serve. This is the tension at the heart of CS. We sit between the customer’s lived reality and the company’s operational pressure. And it’s our job to resolve that tension. Not avoid it. Not outsource it. Own it. So here’s what I’m thinking about today: What can we do to drive a deeper understanding across our orgs of client needs and value? And more importantly: How do we humanize the people at those clients? Here are 5 small moves with outsized impact: 1️⃣ Tell customer stories, not just stats. Share a 30-second anecdote at an All Hands Meeting. Real people. Real outcomes. 2️⃣ Bring a voice into the room. Quote an actual user in a roadmap meeting. Let them shape the build. 3️⃣ Translate feedback into intent. Don’t just say what a client asked for. Explain why it matters. 4️⃣ Invite cross-functional teammates to customer calls. Let them hear the tone, nuance, and urgency directly. 5️⃣ Celebrate wins that start with the customer. When a feature lands or a renewal closes, connect it to the human story behind it. CS isn’t just about adoption or retention. It’s about being the customer people engine inside the business. And that starts with us, every day, choosing to fight for understanding, not just validation. #CustomerSuccess #Leadership #VoiceOfCustomer #CustomerCentricity #CreateTheFuture

Customers expect seamless interactions across every channel, whether they’re online, in-store, or on social media. While this is the backbone of customer satisfaction and loyalty, ensuring that every interaction feels seamless and personalized can often be a challenge. It’s not just about solving problems as they arise but also about truly understanding your customers' journeys, addressing their pain points, and creating a unified experience across all platforms. So, how do we make this happen? Here are five steps to delivering a consistent omnichannel experience: 1. Know Your Customer Understanding your customers’ preferences, behaviors, and challenges is the foundation of a great omnichannel strategy. Dive deep into your customer data to truly know who they are and what they need. 2. Integrate Your Systems Seamless integration between your systems ensures smooth communication and data sharing across all channels. This prevents disjointed experiences and empowers your team with the right insights at the right time. 3. Maintain a Consistent Brand Image Whether it’s a social media post, an in-store interaction, or an email campaign, your brand identity should remain consistent. A cohesive message builds trust and reinforces your brand’s promise. 4. Create Seamless Customer Journeys Transitions between channels should feel effortless. Customers shouldn’t feel like they’re jumping between disconnected silos but rather engaging with one cohesive system. 5. Implement Personalization Strategies Customers expect personalization. Tailor your offerings, interactions, and messaging to each customer to make them feel valued and understood. Are these steps easy to implement? Not always. I believe that just as empathy in customer service requires ongoing effort and training, delivering a consistent omnichannel experience demands constant evaluation, refinement, and investment. But the payoff is undeniable nevertheless – you realize that stronger customer loyalty, better brand reputation, and more meaningful connections with your audience. What’s your biggest challenge in creating a seamless omnichannel experience? Share your thoughts or insights in the comments. We’d love to learn from your journey! #CustomerExperience #Omnichannel #CustomerJourney #EmpathyInBusiness #CX #KSA

Imagine an European program to create communities in rural areas around Europe, from digital nomads to digital immigrants, to revitalise our villages, how would that look like? After creating the Nomad Village in Ponta do Sol I got asked a lot what I would do to revitalise more villages around Europe, today we are going to explore exactly that. What we need to know! Remote work was the missing piece when it comes to village repopulation. The migration from villages to cities started during the industrial revolution with the centralization of jobs. People moved to cities to have access to better paying jobs. With the information revolution the same kept happening, if you wanted an office job you had to move to the big city, leave your friends and family behind and start over in the concrete jungle. That reality changed completely with remote work. 30% of the population can work from anywhere and those numbers are just going up. This is the biggest opportunity for a reverse migration from the concrete jungle to villages where we can enjoy a better quality of life, connection with others and live happier healthier lives. But how can we spark this movement? It's all about building communities. Introducing... "The European rural community building programme!" (You are welcome European Union) We are selecting 50 villages all around Europe to repopulate and rebuilt their communities, the criteria: - Available accommodation. - Available fibre internet. - Available community buildings to build coworking spaces, social hubs and other social spaces. - 1 person who wants to be the local community builder In these 50 villages we will implement a 5 year program where we focus on: 1- Building the social and physical infrastructures 2- Prepare the local community to welcome the new residents 3- Promote the village all around the world, welcome testers and build the community Through the preparation and promotion of these villages we will be able to revitalise the communities, create a new dynamic social infrastructure, give an example to the world and above everything help 1.000.000 people live better lives by living in beautiful places surrounded by a community. While this is all hypothetical, we now have the conditions to implement this project at an European level and change the decline of our rural areas, we are one well implemented project away. Will the European Union in partnership with the World Economic Forum and others take action or miss this huge opportunity? #remotework #rural #villages (Picture from Sinaia Nomad Experience in Romania, where we worked with a group of nomads and loved it!)

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐢𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐑𝐎𝐈 𝐨𝐟 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐁𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠: 𝟓 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐋𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐬 👨🏼💻 Why I Keep Showing Up When Others See No Value Have you ever been asked, Why waste time on communities when there's no immediate return? After 5 years of community building, I've discovered the secret most people miss... "जैसे दीपक से दीपक जलता है, वैसे ही एक समुदाय दूसरे को प्रकाशित करता है।" 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐔𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐀𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐑𝐎𝐈 💰 • Immediate benefits are rare – and that's exactly the point • The most valuable connections often appear years after planting the seeds • Those seeking instant gratification miss the profound transformation happening beneath the surface • Community impact compounds like interest – small, consistent investments create exponential returns 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐖𝐢𝐬𝐝𝐨𝐦 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐝 𝐌𝐲 𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡 👀 The story of 𝐄𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐫 𝐀𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐤𝐚 provides a powerful parallel to community building. Initially driven by conquest and immediate power, he transformed after witnessing the devastation of war. His greatest legacy came not from quick victories but from the patient cultivation of a compassionate society – a journey that required years of consistent effort without immediate validation. "धैर्य रखने वाला व्यक्ति अंततः महान बनता है, जैसे पानी की बूंद पत्थर में छेद कर देती है।" 𝟓 𝐐𝐮𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐓𝐢𝐩𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐁𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐆𝐚𝐦𝐞 🎯 • 𝐃𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐣𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐲 – Create content from your experiences to multiply your impact • 𝐏𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 – Choose quality engagements over quantity • 𝐁𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐢𝐫𝐜𝐥𝐞 – Identify 5-7 key relationships to nurture deeply • 𝐌𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐬 – Track lives impacted, not just immediate business gains • 𝐂𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐬, 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 – Design frameworks that scale your community impact 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐱 😎 The most effective community leaders aren't those constantly in the spotlight. They're the ones creating spaces for others to shine – often without recognition. This path isn't for everyone. There are easier routes to professional advancement. But true community architects understand what others miss 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞 𝐌𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐏𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐌𝐢𝐬𝐬 🤔 • You develop rare leadership skills impossible to learn elsewhere • You build an authentic network that supports you through any crisis • You gain perspective that makes you invaluable in any organization • You create impact that outlasts any career achievement Are you building communities for quick wins, or are you cultivating a legacy that will flourish long after you've moved on?

Last week, we were hired by a large U.S. management consulting company to coach their directors who were transitioning into partner roles. These super-bright participants had excelled at top business schools and used their sharp analytical skills to solve complex client problems. However, as they moved into management, their analytical prowess became less effective and, in some cases, even obstructive in building strong relationships. Here’s what we discovered: these directors were using listening and interactions primarily as a means to problem-solve. They listened intending to identify, define, and analyse the client’s issues, then quickly offered solutions. While this approach served them well in consulting, it often hindered their ability to build the deep, relational connections necessary for business. Top 3 Takeaways with Action Steps: 1. Listen Beyond Problem-Solving: Please focus on emotions and values. When someone comes to you with a problem, go beyond summarizing details. Pay attention to the emotions, values, and strengths they express. This helps in building a more genuine connection. 2. Shift Your Approach: Recognize relationship needs. Understand that effective management requires more than problem-solving. It involves developing relationships, understanding others’ perspectives, and addressing their emotional and personal needs. 3. Practice Deep Listening: Practice naming the emotions and values you hear during conversations. This simple shift can transform your interactions from transactional to relational, fostering stronger connections with your team and clients. Warmth and connection are crucial as you grow into leadership. Are you ready to move beyond problem-solving and build meaningful relationships? #Leadership #Empathy #ActiveListening #Management #ExecutivePresence #Training