stop optimizing. start eliminating.

Your CS ops team might be building the wrong things.

They're creating sophisticated workflows for processes that shouldn't exist in the first place.

After working with dozens of CS orgs, I've noticed a troubling pattern: an obsession with operational efficiency while completely missing operational effectiveness.

The result? CSMs drowning in optimized busywork while customers slip through the cracks.

The Real Problem

Most CS operations teams see CSMs struggling with workload and ask, "How can we make these processes faster?"

But that's like optimizing the route to the wrong destination. The fundamental question isn't "How do we do this better?" It's "Should we be doing this at all?"

Think about what CSMs spend time on: writing templated follow-ups that customers ignore, manually updating CRM fields after every call, creating quarterly business reviews no one reads, and chasing down basic usage data.

None of this helps customers succeed, yet CS ops teams spend months perfecting workflows around it.

Three Simple Rules

The best CS operations teams follow this hierarchy:

1. Eliminate first Remove processes that add no customer value.

2. Automate second Handle necessary but routine tasks without human intervention.

3. Optimize last Make remaining human activities more effective.

Most teams start with step three. The best teams start with step one.

What to Eliminate, Automate, and Build

For every CS process, ask this question: "If we stopped doing this tomorrow, would customers achieve less success?"

If the answer is no, kill it.

Your CSMs shouldn't be data entry clerks (integrations should handle that), meeting coordinators (customers can book time directly), or report generators for documents that gather digital dust.

Next, automate predictable, rule-based work. But here's the trap: don't just automate customer-facing "how are you?" emails. Automate internal data collection and synthesis so CSMs can have smarter, more human conversations..

Then, focus on building systems that help customers integrate your product into their world. This means creating customer change management tools to help CSMs guide customers through the adoption of new processes, investing in predictive intelligence to surface which accounts need attention and why, and building value demonstration systems that help CSMs quantify specific business outcomes, not just product usage.

The 80/20 Reality

Here's an uncomfortable truth: 80% of your customers don't need elaborate, human-led CS operations.

They need self-service resources and a strong community. Your CS ops investments should enable your CSMs to focus on the 20% of accounts that drive 80% of your revenue.

Measure What Matters

CS ops teams love measuring activity — the number of touchpoints, QBR completion rates, health score updates. But these rarely correlate with customer success.

Instead, measure what matters: Time to first value, expansion revenue per CSM, customer outcome achievement, and cost to retain.

The Bottom Line

The most effective CS operations teams are elimination machines. They ruthlessly cut anything that doesn't directly contribute to customer outcomes.

This requires courage. Killing processes people spent months building is hard. But it's necessary.

Your CSMs are strategic professionals capable of driving meaningful business impact. Don't optimize them into administrative assistants.

The question isn't whether your CS operations are efficient. It's whether they're effective.

What's one CS process you could eliminate tomorrow that no customer would notice?

🤘

We’re grateful you choose to read each week. When you’re ready for more, there are a couple ways we can help:

» Cover Your SaaS is a financial literacy course for go-to-market leaders. Grab your copy here.

» Promote your product and services to over 5,500+ senior SaaS Customer Success pros by sponsoring our weekly newsletter and podcast.

Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up at ChiefCustomerOfficer.io.