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CS My Way
I am beyond thrilled to introduce a new section in my newsletter — 'CS My Way'!
Welcome to this exciting new space where you can learn from the best in the industry and get ahead in your career and beyond.
Each week, I engage in conversations with top executives — Chief Customer Officers, VP/Head of CS, founders, and CEOs. Together, we discuss how they drive success for their customers.
I always learn a lot from these exclusive interviews — they are full of massive value with practical examples, key takeaways, and best practices from each leader.
I hope they’ll inspire you to contribute or build world-class CS organizations in the years to come 🚀🚀
Let’s Go!
So excited to kick off this new exploration with Shirley Chapman, Head Of Customer Success at Forrester, one of the world's most trusted research and advisory companies!
Thank you, Shirley, for accepting my invitation.
The stage is yours!
About Forrester
What does Forrester do? Could you share the top challenge the company solves for its customers?
As a research and advisory company, Forrester helps business and technology leaders use customer obsession to accelerate growth, navigate change, and put their customers at the center of their leadership, strategy, and operations.
We serve the functional needs of tech, customer experience, sales, marketing, digital, and products.
In particular, we help clients shorten the distance between a bold vision and superior execution with a proven growth path.
About You
Where are you based, and can you tell us about the journey that led to your current role as Head of CS at Forrester?
I am a remote worker based in Winchester in the south of England.
My career is long and varied, starting as a teacher of Economics and Business, then I moved into the tech world as a software trainer, and then as a manager.
My CS journey began in 2009 while living in France, as a regional and global CSM for an online business language development company.
Moving on to a tech skills development company, I moved back into leadership and we moved back to the UK (after 12 years in France).
I joined Forrester in 2022 to lead the International Customer Success team, with teams across EMEA and APAC, as part of Forrester's global CS team.
What inspired you to pursue this career path?
Above all, my main motivation has always been to help people be the best they can be, whether as a school student, a member of my team, or a customer.
I also just love learning about how different types of businesses work, and in particular, where the role of a CSM can help individuals within customer organizations be successful and drive results.
Key Achievements
Could you share one or two of your proudest accomplishments so far?
When I became a leader at Pluralsight, we were a small team of 5 CSMs in EMEA and it was an incredible period of growing the regional business and a true sense of entrepreneurial team spirit.
We then grew the remote team and established an incredible team based in the new EMEA HQ. I am proud of the growth and the results we achieved as a high-performing team of amazing individuals.
On a personal note, I am also proud of being a cancer survivor, having been diagnosed when I was only 35 years old and with 2 very young children.
It was a very challenging time, but it made me a stronger and more resilient person, which has been important in my career. I do believe it gave me a superpower of perspective.
The work we do is important, but nothing is more important than health and family.
Driving Customer Success
What's one strategy you found to be most effective for driving CS?
Having data that proves the link between what CSMs are working on and retention is key, not only helping customers achieve value.
And I am careful about my wording—customers achieve value based on them solving their business challenges, rather than CS "delivering" value.
To have a seat at the exec table, we have to show that what we do drives renewals, regardless of whether the CSM owns the contractual relationship or not.
In short, "keeping customers happy" is not an effective strategy.
Any unique approaches or frameworks that worked well for you?
Working with my senior leader at Pluralsight, we created an engagement journey, starting with what our customers needed throughout the journey.
We did this recording with Irit Eizips on this subject.
So many customer journeys are based on what we want a customer to do, or what we think they need, but this approach is anchored in the needs of the customer.
Building a Customer-Centric Culture
How do you infuse a customer-centric culture within your teams?
It is quite simple:
Ask questions about what the customer is solving for, what is happening in their business, and what is going on in their world, encouraging them to see customers are individuals.
Being curious about the individuals and the world they are working in helps keep the focus on our clients.
And of course, Forrester's research is based on customer obsession so we have to practice what we preach!
Team Empowerment
How do you motivate and empower your teams daily?
Reinforcing the link between the day-to-day and the initiatives and outcomes that our customers are working on
Sharing the amazing feedback we hear from customers
And having our customers talk at our events.
Knowing that the work they do with customers, who are mainly senior leaders in large companies, and with the internal ecosystem, is empowering.
About AI
Are there particular AI tools that help you boost team performance?
We are using our own tool, which is currently in beta for customers, called Izola.
We are also using an internal-only tool.
Generative AI (GenAI) is a game-changer for Forrester customers and the CS team.
Not only are our incredible analysts providing great insights to our customers, but we are also exploring as a company and a CS team how we can make the most of the opportunity that GenAI presents.
We are privileged to have access to those analysts and the wisdom they share with our customers.
Cross-Functional Collaboration
How do you promote collaboration between customer success teams and other internal departments like Sales, Marketing, or Product?
At Forrester, CS reports to the Chief Sales Officer.
I reinforce the message that Sales and CS are 2 sides of the revenue-generating coin with shared goals, despite different responsibilities.
- Shirley Chapman
Our marketing team relies on CSMs to help with events, in terms of identifying speakers, driving attendance, and creating a great customer experience at the events.
There are also regular connections between the global CSM organization and the product team to provide customer feedback and expertise in the evolution of the product.
Can you share a successful cross-functional initiative and its business impact?
This year, we had an initiative with our analysts from our research team, which focused on customer initiatives and outcomes.
There was a co-defined program of enablement, which was executed at the same time and with the same content.
Having both organizations complete this work hand in hand created a common language and understanding that went beyond the 2 teams responsible for this work.
Ensuring Customer Success - Proactive Customer Engagement
What proactive approaches do you take for customer engagement?
We have an omnichannel approach to engagement, which includes the CSM, our digital CSM team, and elements in our product that drive engagement.
How do you identify and address customer needs before they become urgent?
We have frequent and planned meetings with our individual stakeholders and regular meetings with the economic buyer, as well as data that indicates that there may be an issue, for example, if a customer hasn't had a call with their analysts for an extended period of time.
So we use data as well as being close to the customer with the CSM "risk radar" switched on to identify any early signs of a problem.
Leveraging Technology
What tools or platforms do you use to drive customer success?
Salesforce, Microsoft Teams & Generative AI.
Measuring and Iterating - Key Metrics
What key metrics do you track for measuring success?
Our goals are based on the equivalent of Net Revenue Retention Rate (NRR), but we also track engagement activities and some key leading indicators of risk.
How do these metrics align with your overall business objectives?
Our focus is on retaining existing clients but also identifying growth opportunities based on the value achieved by our customers.
Advice for Aspiring Customer Success Leaders
What practical advice would you give to those aspiring to leadership roles in customer success?
Immerse yourself in the powerful CSM network that is available.
Attend webinars and conferences, read blogs and books, listen to podcasts, and comment on posts on LinkedIn.
Have an external mentor and, if possible, an internal one too, so they can give advice on where to spend your time and effort to set you up for success in a leadership role.
Any specific insights from your career that others could follow in their professional journeys?
I have never intentionally planned my career.
However, I have always been open-minded about what might come next and adapt to opportunities that have arisen.
I am passionate about customer success, and the advice I have given to my children is to do what you love.
In The News: CS Layoffs
What's your take on the layoffs that hit CS organizations primarily?
Sadly, I think they were inevitable.
As a profession, we have not influenced the CEOs sufficiently.
I also think a lot of CS organizations grew too quickly and promoted individuals to VP in particular who were unable to deliver/prove business value.
- Shirley Chapman
Not being able to show a direct link to increasing revenue puts CS teams at high risk.
What's Next for You
I am 61, so retirement is definitely a consideration. But I am not ready to hang up my CS leader boots yet!
However, I have bought a keyboard with a plan to learn enough to play a few tunes once I have retired. It is just as well I have a few years to learn because it is not easy (kudos to all piano/keyboard players reading this).
Hobbies and Recommendations
What do you enjoy doing outside of work and family?
We are lucky to have an apartment in the French Alps. So we ski every winter and go walking in the summer.
I do BodyPump (weight-lifting exercise) twice a week, and I do a bit of yoga as well as using the treadmill at the gym.
Any books or podcasts you'd recommend?
There are so many to choose from!
I’d recommend The Power of Moments by Chip and Dan Heath.
And for anyone hoping to move into Customer Success, definitely the "blue book" by Nick Mehta, and this other book.
I would also recommend the Women in Customer Success podcast as well as the CSM Practice YouTube channel.