A framework should be transparent & company-wide. It should tell a story about how you approach the assessment you will do in your first 30 days as a CCO. The three pillars you will seek to understand are the people in the organization and the customers you serve, the processes that have been built and what is missing, and the systems currently in place.

With a framework in place, you can report weekly on critical findings, why they matter, and how they align with the company vision. By the end of your first 30 days, you will have a comprehensive understanding of the following:

• What metrics are being leveraged to lead your customers?
• The organization you are serving.
• The pain points the product is seeking to address.
• The people in your organization, their skills, gaps, and opportunities to grow.
• The existing processes and the ones that need to be built (playbooks to scale, for example).
• The systems or tools the customer team uses and where there is an opportunity to optimize.

If you are in an early-stage company, likely, data doesn’t exist to make decisions, and the people in the organization may not be able to lead the customer confidently.

The findings through your framework assessment will allow you to identify gaps and build a road map by quarter. You can estimate costs to build a scalable organization, who you need to hire, and where you can reduce costs.  

2. Build Team Spirit

Develop a mindset that focuses on achieving goals together. Companies perform better when they operate in teams rather than relying solely on individual efforts. You can’t do it alone to succeed as a leader, so creating a team that works well together and has diverse perspectives and skills will be helpful for problem-solving and decision-making.

Collaborative teams lead to more innovative and comprehensive solutions. Creating an environment where they are psychologically safe to share ideas and build upon each other’s contributions will enhance creativity and synergy. Teamwork will produce faster results than what individuals can achieve on their own.

While the initial assessment of all the work may seem daunting, teams can divide complex tasks into smaller, more manageable parts and allocate them among team members based on their strengths and expertise. It’s also important to note that your “team” consists of many stakeholders, both internal and external. It’s ok to get input from industry experts and consider them an essential part of your team. No one has all the answers, but collectively, everyone does. 

Ensuring your team has a clear vision for the future will also enable faster business results. Make sure everyone knows not only where you are going but why they are going there. The emotional buy-in on the ‘why’ for a team is critical for team success. A team that is bought in on the “why” will be able to achieve faster and pivot efficiently as needed. You can’t overstate your “why.” Do it early and do it often. 

Hyper Focus on the Outside Perspective:

When you are so focused on your product and team, it is easy to forget the customer experience. A reminder I share with clients is to ‘think outside in, from your customer’s experience, not inside out.’ Before your 100-day reflection on what you have accomplished, you should know the following:

• The strengths of your team and where help is needed
• What data is available and what is missing to make decisions
• Your ideal customer profile
• How to segment and serve your customers
• What you need to implement from a process and systems perspective to scale while staying focused on the forecasted Net and Gross Revenue. We’ll dive into data next.

As a leader, you should meet at least three customers weekly. If you don’t understand the customer’s pain points, goals, and expectations of your product, you are not doing your job. Leverage the data you acquire from these conversations, the surveys your customers are answering, and the customers’ voices online when you are not in the room to lead.

3. Make Data-Led Decisions 

Leveraging what you hear through the voice of the customer is only one element of how you succeed in your first 100 days. Gathering customer data by segment and cohort is essential as you scale your organization. You will want to work closely with your Finance team to review expected outcomes from the board. Your Chief Financial Officer should become your best friend. They are responsible for the budget and will have a say in how much is allocated for people, processes, and systems.

Leading with NRR and GRR as data points your team should focus on. The rest, NPS, CSAT, ENPS, Churn Risk, Logo Churn, Health Score, and many others, will all feed into the top two but stay focused on the north star metrics. 

Putting It All Together

The first 100 days as a CCO are demanding and present an opportunity to establish a strong foundation and course for the company and the customer’s success. To thrive in this role, it is essential to prioritize several important elements. 

• Understand the organization’s customer landscape, including their needs, preferences, and pain points. Understand these elements to lay the groundwork for impactful strategy development.
• Build relationships and collaborate with critical stakeholders cross-functionally to foster a customer-centric culture and enable cross-functional alignment.
• Develop a clear vision and strategy to enhance the customer experience while establishing measurable goals and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to ensure a focused and results-driven approach.
• Provide valuable guidance for strategic initiatives by leveraging data and analytics to drive insights and inform decision-making.  

Continuous internal and external communication is key for building trust across your stakeholders, engaging your team, and illustrating the organization’s commitment to delivering exceptional customer impact. Focusing on these aspects during your initial 100 days as a CCO will lay a solid foundation for long-term success. Now it’s your turn to build the stage for a customer-centric transformation that will lead to durable growth.

Additional Tips:

1. Attend CS100, by ClientSuccess.com, held annually in Utah. Details Here.
2. Attend CxO Annual, by Gainsight. We attend yearly, and the learnings and connections made there last a lifetime. Details Here.
3. Read The Chief Customer Success Officer Playbook, by Rod Chekras. Buy here.
4. Contact Growth Molecules for coaching, training, and to help your organization protect and grow revenue. Let’s Talk!