𝗜𝗳 𝗼𝗻𝗯𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘀, 𝗰𝗵𝘂𝗿𝗻 𝗵𝗮𝘀

𝗜𝗳 𝗼𝗻𝗯𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘀, 𝗰𝗵𝘂𝗿𝗻 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗱. You just may not see it yet. While working through a 𝗖𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗔𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘆𝘀𝗶𝘀 comparing Microsoft 𝟯𝟲𝟱 as a SaaS business and a 𝗸𝗶𝗱𝘀’ 𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗼𝘆𝘀 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗹𝗲𝘁 as a non-SaaS business. What stood out to me is that, in both cases, the customer is not just buying a product. They are trying to solve a real problem. For the Microsoft 𝟯𝟲𝟱 customer, the challenge is fragmented communication, duplicated files, slow collaboration, and missed follow-ups. For the 𝗘𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗼𝘆𝘀 customer, the challenge is uncertainty choosing a toy that is truly age-appropriate, engaging, and capable of delivering learning value. The solution in both cases is not just selling well. It is guiding the customer to value quickly and clearly. From a CSM perspective, that means strong onboarding, the right expectation setting, early support, and helping the customer achieve a meaningful first win. Because when onboarding is done well, 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲-𝘁𝗼-𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗲𝘀, 𝗮𝗱𝗼𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲𝘀, 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁. 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗱𝗲𝗲𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗺𝘆 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗳 𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗰 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽𝘀 𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲 𝗳𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿, 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝗱𝗼𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗴𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴-𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗺 𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. I’ve attached the analysis document for anyone interested in reviewing the full breakdown. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1mE1YVdjCph8ONf4SIwZdTDsjG9X9f2qRvVC_C5QD1ik/edit?tab=t.0#heading=h.4ao15hv0sz14