What kind of help do your customers need?

Customer Success consists of the tasks and jobs that need to get done for customers to squeeze every ounce of value out of a product. Call it Customer Success, but no matter what it’s called, renewals require customers receiving value from the product.  And, more often than not, there is more to just handing a product to a customer after a purchase.  Pretty much every company needs a form of this, named or not. And no, this is not a support ticketing system—customer support  is an expectation, therefore given.

The trick isn’t just knowing the jobs and tasks. The real game is figuring out how to account for this work across teams. Snowise identifies what actually needs to be done for customers post-sale, which helps companies structure teams for maximum effectiveness—so that Customer Success isn’t just a buzzword, it’s a strategy.

Identifying Post-Sales Needs

We start by asking the hard questions. No fluff, just straight-up problem statements that pinpoint where customer success efforts might be slipping (we’ll tackle digital and automated CS another time).

• What post-sales challenges exist with your current customer base?

  • Churn? Adoption issues? Customers ghosting you after the deal is signed?

• What are the customer’s expectations after the sale?

  • Do they need to install something? Do they need technical support to do it?

• How technical does the customer need to be to deploy the product?

  • Are they replacing an old tool or changing their entire workflow?

• How do you measure a successful customer today—without just looking at monetary metrics?

  • Because if all you’re tracking is renewal/expansion dollars, you’re missing the bigger picture.

From here, we are able to understand what kind of post-sales structure is actually needed. In the world of Customer Success, there are two big camps: Relationship-Based and Project-Based. These aren’t mutually exclusive—most companies need both at some stage of the customer journey.

Relationship-Based CS

Best when customers need ongoing enablement—like webinars, training, check-ins. This can be handled by CSMs, AEs, or whoever has the bandwidth and the right KPIs. The point? It’s about continuous guidance, not just “Hi, just checking in!” emails.

Project-Based CS

Best when the product is technical, complex, and requires real onboarding muscle. If implementation isn’t plug-and-play, customers need dedicated specialists: TAMs, Technical CSMs, CSAMs, Professional Services, Customer Success Engineers. People who actually get their hands dirty.

When to Use Both

• Customer churn, adoption, and onboarding are a mess, and renewals depend on key people saving the day. (Hint: This is a product problem, not a CS problem.)

  
  

and/or,

• The product has a long deployment cycle, requiring deep expertise and a hand-holding approach over multiple quarters. Think of it like adding a Project Manager and Technical Expert to high-profile accounts.

What to Keep in Mind

Success isn’t just about revenue—it’s about impact. Metrics should be tied to real business outcomes, not just vanity numbers.

For too long, Customer Success clung to weak metrics that didn’t prove anything:

• Utilization? Only part of the picture.

• Number of meetings? Who cares?

• Relationships, QBRs? Necessary, but not the endgame.

  
  

At the end of the day, customers are asking one thing: “Prove to me that using this software makes my business better.”

That’s a tall order if nobody ever documented what life was like before using a product. No baseline, no “before” picture—just a vague promise that it’s working.

“Trust us” only flies when the price tag doesn’t make CFOs nervous.

Final Thoughts

Customer Success isn’t about arbitrary meetings or vanity metrics. It’s about making sure customers get measurable value from the product. If your company is thinking about investing in CS, reach out - we’ll help you skip years of frustration and get straight to what works.