Introduction

Effective and regular engagements with both executives and customers are essential for building strong relationships and driving success. Building on the foundations set in our previous guide on Standardizing Handovers and Transitions, this guide will help you optimize these engagements, ensuring they occur at the right cadence and with the right preparation. By standardizing these interactions, you can strengthen trust, identify potential issues early, and ensure alignment with your customer’s goals.

Why does this matter?

Optimizing engagements can:

• Build Stronger Relationships: Maintain regular touchpoints to ensure all parties are aligned and informed.

• Identify Risks Early: Regular engagements help surface potential issues before they escalate.

• Improve Efficiency: Standardized processes reduce manual effort and ensure consistency across engagements.

Hot to get started

Ready to optimize your executive and CSM engagements? Here’s how you can get started:

Step 1: Establish Regular CSM Touchpoints

1. Define Cadence and Personas: Set up a regular cadence for CSM meetings based on customer segments.

2. Log and Track Meetings: Use the Timeline feature to log meetings and track compliance with the defined cadence.

3. Set Up Alerts and CTAs: Create CTAs to notify CSMs when meetings are overdue to ensure timely engagements.

Step 2: Schedule and Conduct EBRs Efficiently

1. Determine EBR Frequency: Establish the appropriate frequency for EBRs based on the customer’s segment.

2. Ensure Stakeholder Participation: Log meetings in Timeline and create CTAs to ensure the right stakeholders attend EBRs.

3. Utilize Success Snapshots: Use Success Snapshots to create templatized decks with key metrics and details, simplifying EBR preparation.

Step 3: Conduct Executive Engagements on the Right Cadence

1. Define Engagement Cadence: Establish a regular cadence for executive engagements, ensuring they align with customer segments and needs.

2. Use Templates and CTAs: Create templates for executive engagements and use CTAs to guide internal teams through the process.

3. Track and Adjust: Log all executive engagements in the Timeline and use the data to adjust strategies and improve future interactions.

Step 4: Monitor and Adjust the Process

1. Track Engagements: Use Gainsight to log all executive and CSM engagements, monitoring the process for any gaps or issues.

2. Collect Feedback: Gather feedback from your team and stakeholders to refine and improve the engagement processes.

3. Report and Analyze: Regularly review reports on engagements to identify trends and make data-driven adjustments.

Gainsight features you'll need

• Timeline: To log and track meetings and engagements.

• CTAs: To create action items and ensure timely follow-ups.

• Success Snapshots: To simplify the preparation of EBR decks.

• Playbooks: To provide structured guidance for CSMs and executives.

• Email Assist: To facilitate communication and follow-ups.

What’s next?

With optimized executive and CSM engagements in place, you'll be well-equipped to track compliance effectively. Check out our next article on Track Compliance with Health Score Measures to learn how to monitor and ensure adherence to engagement standards. Following that, we'll dive into Standardize Stakeholder Management to handle changes in executive stakeholders consistently and effectively.

Stay engaged, stay proactive, and keep driving success! 🚀

Further reading and inspiration

Blog: 10 Ways We Engage with Execs at Our Customers