Networking for Customer Success Managers

Anyone who is customer facing should be building close, authentic, long lasting relationships with their customers. It pays off in more ways than you can imagine: repeat customers, references, community champions, content ideas, competitive intel and so much more. Here are 5 ways you and your team can start building those relationships: 1. Amplify a customer’s LinkedIn posts - When your customer posts something interesting, don’t just like it yourself but share the link on your internal chat and ask your team to like it as well. It’s amazing how powerful this is. It’s human nature to look at who is liking your content on any social platform and most people get a consistent number of likes. If you drive 50% more for a customer they will notice that. 2. Help find candidates for their team and jobs for them if they’re looking - In your position engaging with a specific persona all day every day you have amazing visibility and connections into relevant candidates for open jobs and companies hiring. If you let your customers know that you can be a resource for them on both sides of the table you will see how quickly you can start playing matchmaker. 3. Share best practices that have nothing to do with your company/product - Everyone is looking to improve in their job. Everyone wants to know what their peers are doing at other companies. When you hear good ideas from other customers or read about a best practice, send it to them. Just show them you’re thinking about them and are invested in them being successful. 4. Make them look good in front of their manager and/or team - It needs to be authentic and relevant but find a reason to give your customer a shoutout when you’re in a meeting with them. It doesn’t even need to be a big thing but something about how they’re the fastest to roll out your product, how their feature request ended up becoming a game changer for a bunch of customers, how they’re the most productive team you’ve seen at one particular thing. 5. Fight for a feature/bug fix/service that they’re asking for - In short, be the squeaky wheel for your customer. When they ask for something, set the expectation that it takes a while to get that thing done but then go fight for it internally. Each company has their own process for this kind of stuff but if you push in the right ways you can usually get their request prioritized. When it’s done make sure the customer knows you fought for them to get that thing done. The best thing is that these are “free”. Of course they will take time and energy but the return on this work is astronomical. I honestly didn’t appreciate the power of these relationships when I started my career but I now have close relationships with so many customers that I’ve worked with over the years. They’re a sounding board for business ideas, they’re working with companies I’m advising and we’ve become each other cheerleaders. What did I miss? What else are you doing to build relationships with your customers?

Recently, I've had 40+ conversations with founders, investors, and partners - here's what I learned about building a powerful network. I remember attending a national training at KPMG with thousands of professionals from across the U.S. They asked each team: "What's the most valuable thing you'll get out of this event?" We submitted "Networking will be the most valuable thing we get out of this event." I was shocked when they called out our answer as the winner across all teams. It took me years to really understand this. When I launched Mighty Digits, my first 2 customers came from within my network, giving me freedom to build while securing income. Some of my largest customers came from relationships with VC firms who trusted us with their portfolio companies. As the saying goes: "It's not what you know, it's who you know." To me, it's both - but if I had to choose one, it would be the people in my network. A good network naturally raises your IQ and yields 10x dividends. ➡️ IDENTIFY WHO YOU WANT TO NETWORK WITH Everyone wants to connect with their ideal customer, but don't stop there. Connect with other service providers who serve your target audience but aren't competitive - alternate services or same service in different regions. My favorite people to connect with are investors, since there's strong correlation between investing in a company and wanting confident financial records. Start by making a list of the most ideal people to network with and work backwards. Avoid focusing only on customers to sell to. ➡️ HOW TO CONNECT WITH YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE "Ask for money and get advice, ask for advice, get money twice." Your goal with networking is NOT to sell anything. Your goal is to provide value and establish relationships. Sales come naturally as relationships are nurtured. Four ways to connect: — Reach out for warm intros through mutual connections — Send targeted cold emails that are relevant and personalized — Host events that allow them to expand their network too — Attend events and approach people in groups or standing alone ➡️ THE FOLLOW-UP FRAMEWORK This is the most important part. After connecting: — Send follow-up email with thanks and conversation recap — Find ways to offer value first - referrals, advice, resources — Keep in touch quarterly to see how you can be of service — Treat your A-list players with appreciation - gifts, meals, personal thanks === Networking is a long-term play. Relationships take time to build, and many may not go anywhere. But for those that do, you can build an entire business on them. What's been your experience with networking? Do you have any tips for building powerful relationships? Share your thoughts below 👇

When was the last time your executives met with your customers? Customer Success isn’t a single department’s responsibility—it’s an organizational mindset. The most successful companies I've worked with weave executives and cross-functional leaders into every stage of the customer journey. Your customers don’t just buy from a company. They buy into the people behind it. How are your leaders showing up? Here are a few ways to engage leaders and teams across your org: 🤝 Exec Sponsorship: Assign senior leaders as sponsors for strategic accounts. This creates a direct line of communication for your customers and also gives your execs a front row seat to feedback and the actual customer experience. 🤝 Cross-Functional Business Reviews: Bring leaders from Product, Sales, Ops, etc. into QBRs, EBRs, or key account reviews. Their insights often uncover new growth opportunities or identify gaps in delivery. 🤝 Unified Company Goals and Themes: Align your entire organization around customer-centric metrics like NRR, retention, and customer satisfaction. I'm a big fan of company wide themes that put the customer at the center. When every department is working toward the same outcomes, silos disappear. 🤝 Tiger Teams: Form cross-functional "tiger teams" to tackle specific customer challenges or opportunities. 🤝 Hackathons and Innovation Labs: Engage both customers and internal teams in hackathons to co-create solutions that directly address customer pain points. 🤝 Go-to-Market Collab: Encourage CS, Sales, and Marketing to collab on messaging, events, and campaigns that will resonate best with your customers. 🤝 Customer Advocacy and CABs: Involve execs in customer-facing events like webinars, product launches, or industry panels. Invite them to the customer advisory board meetings. 🤝 Customer Stories in Company Meetings: Incorporate customer stories and voices into company all hands or leadership offsites. Invite a customer to share their journey, successes, and challenges with your teams. Hearing how your product impacts their business helps other teams feel like they are part of something bigger.... How are you engaging executives and cross-functional leaders in your customer journey today? Are there specific strategies or moments where their involvement has made a measurable impact? I'm looking for ideas!!

The most successful companies aren't hunting for customer testimonials, references, or even referrals. They're gardening. Or turning customers into vocal advocates without them even realizing it. At Zealot, that's exactly what we do with our customers. (And funny enough, we use our own platform to make it happen) Here's how: We start with the basics—regular QBRs to keep the relationship solid. But that’s just the first step. Then we create workflows (we call them "missions") that help us grow our customers from "closed-won" into Zealots naturally over time. Here's an example of a basic workflow we use: 1. Start with Product Advice: After a solid first QBR, we don't jump straight to asking for testimonials. Instead, we send a simple "mission" asking for product feedback. It's low-pressure and gets them involved in shaping the product they use. This initial step is crucial for building trust and showing we value their input. 2. Move to a Case Study: Once they're comfortable with us (and hopefully loving the product), we float the idea of a case study. By this point, it doesn't feel like a big ask—they're already invested in our mutual success. Plus, it gives them a chance to showcase their own innovative use of our product. 3. Ask for a Referral: After the case study, the relationship has deepened. Now, asking for a referral feels natural. They've seen the value, they've shared their story, and they're genuinely on our side. It's a win-win: they help a peer, and we grow our network. 4. Encourage a LinkedIn Post: Next, we suggest they share their success on LinkedIn. This isn't just about us getting visibility (though that's nice). It's about giving our customer recognition in their professional network. It positions them as innovative leaders in their field. 5. Invite Them to Join Our CAB: The final step is inviting them to our Customer Advisory Board when they hit certain milestones. By this point, they're not just customers—they're partners. Joining the CAB feels like a natural progression, and they're excited to be part of shaping the future of a product they believe in. The best part? This whole process is customizable and can be as hands-on or hands-off as we want because of the technology we put in space. To sum up what has worked for us: 1. Nurturing our customers: We start VERY small, and build trust to ask for more over time. 2. We gamify the advocacy journey: While not everyone is motivated by gamification, we've found that gentle nudges often boost engagement rates. 3. Automating the experience: Full disclosure - we're biased because we built Zealot, a customer advocacy software. But here's the thing: we created it because managing this process through Airtable and Gmail was a nightmare. That said, Zealot is just a tool. It can't compensate for poor existing infrastructure or weak customer relationships. But it will streamline and scale the advocacy process for those committed to building strong customer connections.