In this edition of our Ask a CSM series, we’re chatting with Vikki Pope, VP of Client Success, MapAnything.
What was your background prior to becoming a CSM? What attracted you to customer success?
My background is in Salesforce administration and customer service. Being well versed in Salesforce has proven to be incredibly important in my role. Having more of a consultative approach to customer success reinforces our partnership with a client. What attracted me to customer success most was seeing the impact of helping customers utilize their investment. Watching customers have that “Aha” moment where everything clicks gives me a lot of satisfaction.
What does your typical day look like?
Luckily, there is not a typical day for me! I truly value how different each day is at MapAnything. Regardless of how spontaneous my schedule might feel day-to-day, I always do my best to meet with one team member each day to check in on how they are doing and to ask for any customer feedback they may have. In any given day, I can be pulled into Product, Marketing, Executive or Team meetings. MapAnything allows me to feel involved behind the scenes every step of the way which is important when my primary focus is our growing client base.
What’s the most rewarding part of your job?
One of the most rewarding parts of my job thus far has been seeing my team grow. We started as a team of three and have now grown to a team of almost 20. I believe that the growth is a testament to the positive engagement that my team has had with our customers.
What is the most challenging part of your job?
I feel the most challenging part of my role is to juggle working with my team while staying up-to-date on all the Salesforce and MapAnything upgrades that take place on a regular basis.
Which team (outside of your own) do you work with most closely, and why?
I believe that outside of the Client Success team, I work most closely with our Product team because our customers drive product and feature innovation within our MapAnything application. When I receive a feature request from a client, I want them to feel like their voice is helping drive the product roadmap because it truly does!
What advice would you give someone who is just starting his/her career in customer success?
I would tell them that it is incredibly important to keep an open mind in customer success. No two clients have the same story and it’s important to know how to properly work with each customer so their business needs are met. I have also found that to be successful in customer success, you do not need a background in support or customer success. My team is a unique mix of professional backgrounds and every team member brings an invaluable skillset to the table to ensure that our clients are always happy.
In our Ask a CSM series, we’re talking with some of the industry’s leading Customer Success, Education and Training professionals about the ins and outs of their day-to-day. Stay tuned for new Q&As each month!
Want to be featured in a future Ask a CSM post? Email danie@skilljar.com!