5 Components of a Successful Account Review
Account reviews are a type of call that customer success managers (CSM) conduct with their clients. One of the main differences between an account review and a regular client call is that a wide range of topics can be discussed during the latter, depending on the client’s needs. Account reviews, on the other hand, have a clear set of topics so the CSM can better evaluate the client’s situation. While the list of these topics may vary, the main goal of an account review is to confirm that the client is getting value from the product and, as a result, is planning to renew their subscription. In an ideal world, this question shouldn’t even arise. As a CSM, you should ensure your company’s product or service is an integral part of the client’s business practices for a multi-year contract.
How long an account review takes depends on the size of the client’s organization, the complexity of their use cases, and other factors. I recommend setting aside at least one hour so you don’t rush through the process.
Now, what are the components of a successful account review? What should be discussed and why?
1. Set product-related goals
Start with discussing the client’s goals for your product. If you or your colleagues have been working with the client for a while, you should already have a list of their goals from previous conversations. Ask the client to evaluate their progress toward these goals and discuss how you can work together to achieve them faster. You should also ask if the client has any additional goals. If this is the client’s first account review and the topic of product-related goals hasn’t been brought up yet, spend all the time necessary to discuss their goals and make sure that these goals are realistic. The last thing you want to do is to set the wrong expectations.
Sometimes you’ll find yourself in a situation where the key decision-maker on the client’s side changes. Should that happen, make sure you confirm whether or not their expectations of your company’s product or service are the same as their predecessor’s. If not, work together to come up with new ones.
2. Share use cases
Your client may be using your company’s product and be quite satisfied with it. However, to make the product stick, you need to make sure the number of active use cases keeps growing. A use case is how your clients have used the product successfully and brought tangible value. If possible, come prepared to account reviews with a list of suggestions based on the experience of clients from similar industries and markets. Don’t just dump new use cases on the client. Firstly, confirm that these use cases are relevant to them. Then offer a step-by-step guide on implementing them and ask the client to complete them by an agreed-upon due date. If possible, schedule a quick check-in to confirm that the client has implemented these use cases and answer any questions they may have.
3. Meet and greet new champions
If your client’s leadership team has changed since your last call with them, an account review is a great way for you to offer to onboard the new employees. An introductory training session is often a good starting point. Use these opportunities to build relationships with the new team members and prove the value of your company’s product.
Keep in mind, though, that not every new team member will be excited about the product. During the account review, ask them whether they’re familiar with the product and whether they’ve used any similar solutions before. If they’ve been using your competitor’s solution and were quite happy with it, consider scheduling a separate follow-up session with them to sell the value of your product. Otherwise, you’ll risk having detractors in the key roles of your client’s organization, who may want to switch to your competitor’s solution.
4. Showcase recent releases
Regardless of how great your marketing team’s efforts are to promote your product’s latest releases, the client may still not know about them. They could’ve missed the email, didn’t have time to read it, or misinterpreted how the new functionalities could actually help them. That’s why it’s advised to dedicate some time to showcase new features during account reviews. But don’t throw all the features at your client — select only the ones that would be relevant to their use cases.
Some of your clients will be proficient with your product. As a matter of fact, it can be difficult to recommend anything to them because they may already know how the product works as well as most of its best practices. Firstly, as a CSM, you should be happy about it — if the client is willing to spend that much time learning the ins and outs of your product, it can definitely be considered as a sign that they’re getting value from it. Secondly, for these clients, you can go the extra mile and prepare a list of upcoming features. Work with your product team to get that list and sign an NDA with the client if needed. If you have a customer-facing roadmap, that’s even better! Just share it with the client and highlight the items that are relevant to the client.
5. Address adoption challenges
Even though the client’s management team puts trust in your product, it doesn’t mean that every team member (who should be using it) will be excited about it. Make sure that you ask the client for their team’s opinion on your product. If adoption isn’t as good as it should be, share a list of recommendations on how to improve it. I always recommend taking the “What’s In It For Me” (WIIFM) route: Brainstorm with decision-makers on the client’s side to come up with a list of how each team member can benefit from the product. The product could allow them to get work done faster or make fewer mistakes. Getting the team members on your side is critical because it makes the product stick.
A lack of motivation may not be the real issue, and the team members may simply not know how to use the product. If that’s the case, plan a training session with them as soon as possible.
In addition to all of the above, an account review is a great opportunity to ask the client about their plans for growth. Knowing when the client is planning to expand their product usage will allow you and other members of the account team — account managers, support agents, and others — to plan better for the upcoming months.
Delivering an account review means covering a number of large topics, which would require you to demonstrate good time management skills. The cadence of accounts reviews may vary, but I recommend doing them at least once per quarter to make sure that both you and the client don’t miss any critical information and the client is set up for success.
