For many Customer Success Managers (CSM), finding a community of peers can be an absolute game-changer.
The Customer Success Collective Slack community offers an incredible range of benefits for customer success professionals.
Tap into the #questions channel to get answers and grow your customer success knowledge. Connect with a global network of CS pros worldwide. Boost your career, or find your next direct report through the #jobs channel. Stay ahead of the latest trends and reports with insider info. Receive real talk and insights from experienced members facing similar challenges.
Danielle Martin, Senior Customer Success Manager at TryHackMe found just that when she joined CSC's Slack community.
Keep on reading to discover:
- Danielle’s motivation for joining the CSC Slack community;
- The problems Danielle was hoping to solve with the community;
- How the CSC community has supported Danielle’s day-to-day responsibilities;
- Which channels Danielle finds useful;
- Her experience of the CSC meetup Danielle organized;
- How CSC’s community compares to market alternatives;
- How the CSC community has helped Danielle’s career;
- Danielle’s message to any CSMs who may be considering joining the community.
Buckle up!
Why Danielle joined the CSC Slack community
Joining an online community can help break the isolation some CSMs feel by connecting them to a network of fellow customer success professionals for advice, best practices, and career growth. Here’s what Danielle had to say:
“Customer success can sometimes be a lonely place. Every company does it differently. A lot of us in the community are in early-stage CS teams where we need to be influential in creating processes, scaling them (and scaling the teams) whilst still trying to find a way to service our clients and align with best practices."
The problems Danielle was trying to solve with CSC’s Slack community
No person is an island. Find out just how being a part of a community can elevate your personal brand and sound out new ideas to an empathetic and helpful crowd:
“Upon joining Customer Success Collective, I was hoping it would give me the opportunity to use the community as a sounding board, network, and feel supported by my peers; it has done that and more.
“In addition, I was hoping to increase my personal brand and be more active within the community. CSC has given me a platform to really shine and to contribute in so many ways – I cannot even count!”
How the CSC community has supported Danielle’s day-to-day responsibilities
When you have access to a growing global community of 4,000+ avid customer success enthusiasts, you feel a real sense of belonging. After all, a problem shared is a problem halved.
Danielle found the community to be a safe space that encourages mentorship and gaining new perspectives on challenges involved in scaling a customer success function:
“The CSC Slack channel has been absolutely invaluable to me. Being a founding member of a customer success team and being tasked with scaling staff and processes – whilst all on your own – can be very scary.
“The Slack channel gave me a platform to be able to ask those questions you don’t necessarily want to ask your line manager. Ideas to soundboard off other people who’ve been in the same situation as you. More importantly, I’ve managed to help others by leveraging my own experience, which has been very fulfilling.”
CSC’s top Slack channels
Find out which channels Danielle finds useful and how CSC can improve:
“In particular, I’ve enjoyed the ‘questions’ channel. This is really where I have been able to connect with and help – and receive help – from hundreds of CS professionals worldwide.
“It would be great to have specific channels to ask questions on specific topics, such as ‘onboarding,’ ‘retention,’ ‘scaling CS,’ ‘best practices,’ or ‘automation.’ This way, professionals who are specialists in each area can go to that specific channel, knowing there are people within it that can definitely help from experience.”
Danielle’s experience of hosting a CSC meetup
Nothing beats in-person connections! While online communication has kept us connected, at CSC, we know the magic happens when people come together face-to-face:
“The CSC meetup I organized in Manchester, UK, was the first of its kind for the community. I’m hoping that by planning more for the near future, we can really flesh out the CS talent in the north of England and band together to network and help each other reach dizzying heights.
“One of the most valuable conversations I had was with an individual looking to pivot from marketing to customer success. I was able to give clear strategic advice with regard to their CV and the types of jobs they were applying for, and I have since even had a personal Zoom meeting with them to offer some further help and mentorship.”
Christina Graham
Why Danielle chose CSC’s community over alternatives
Customer success may still be an emerging field, but there are already plenty of online communities out there for CS professionals. So, what sets Customer Success Collective apart from the rest?
“As far as I am concerned, there is no alternative to the CSC Slack and LinkedIn community. CSC really does have the monopoly on what ‘great looks like.’ I’ve never felt so immersed in a community as I have since I joined their Slack and LinkedIn communities.”
How being in CSC’s Slack community has helped Danielle’s customer success career
Being supported and surrounded by an online community of like-minded peers can instill confidence through shared knowledge and best practices. The camaraderie and collective wisdom of such a community can empower CSMs to perform their jobs better with the reassurance that fellow professionals have their back.
Find out how Danielle has gone from strength to strength by being involved with CSC:
“Since joining Customer Success Collective, I have been honored and humbled by the unlimited opportunities their team has given me to get involved within the community.
"Within only 12 months, I have been able to join their Customer Advisory Board, become a Brand Ambassador, contribute to content in the form of a guest on their podcast, and even had my quotes put onto one of their coveted reports.
“This has helped raise my profile exponentially and definitely has helped me with trying to achieve a promotion at work.”
Should you join CSC’s Slack community?
For any CSMs still debating whether to join Customer Success Collective, Danielle has this rallying cry:
“If you are looking for a community, there’s only one… it’s Customer Success Collective. Join! It’ll change your life – and your career!”
Danielle’s seen firsthand how becoming a member can be a total game-changer for advancing your network, profile, and career.
So, if you've been on the fence, listen to Danielle's advice. This is your nudge to simply dive in. The supportive community you've been searching for is right here and ready to welcome you with open arms.
Just imagine the doors that could open by joining your peers on this exciting customer success journey!
