Training, Certification, & CPD Trends in Customer Success Management in 2023
Throughout 2023 we have been conducting a survey of senior leaders within the global Customer Success Management profession. We had over 300 responses from CS leaders throughout the world, and from a wide range of sizes and types of companies ranging from brand new SaaS startups through to decades old and well established multi-national corporate enterprises.
The survey asked 23 questions, some of which had “select one or more options form the answer shown” options, and some were completely open for respondents to answer in their own words. We aim to publish the complete survey with responses and a commentary very soon.
Meantime, one specific question we asked was…
How much budget (per head) do you currently spend or plan on training/certification?
Seven response options were available, ranging from “Less than $100 per team member” to “More than $1,500 per team member”. The percentage of responses in each answer range is shown below:
What can immediately be seen is that there is a distinct breakdown into three groups, as follows:
Group One: Low Budget – Up to $250
The first group is also the largest and contains 50% of all respondents, which have a budget from zero to $250 per annum per team member to spend on training and certification (please note that at least some of those that did not have a formal budget might still be able to submit a training proposal for budget approval).
The large size of this group appears to somewhat reflect the “cautious” times in which we currently operate, where companies are not confident as to what the future might have in stall for them and so are generally averse to anything but minimum spending for bare essentials.
Needless to say, this could turn out to be a poor decision in the long term for at least some of the companies within this category, since studies show how companies with well-trained workforces consistently outperform those with less well-trained workforces. Benefits include an average 8.6% increase in productivity and a 24% higher profit margin*.
Group Two: Mid Budget – $250 to $750
The smallest of the three groups is the mid-budget group, comprising just 22% of the total responses.
This group does have a tangible budget allocated for training and again potentially could request additional funds if backed up with a sufficiently convincing justification.
This group is looking for “maximum bang for their buck”. They know they cannot have the best, so they want a good compromise between quality and quantity to ensure that essential knowledge and skills are covered without compromise.
Group Three: High Budget – $750 to $1,500+
The final group comprises 28% of the total responses. These are companies that realize the importance of investment in people in order to grow revenues and remain competitive. These companies tend to be the “movers and the shakers” within their industry when it comes to medium to long-term value generation.
The companies in this group are prepared to sacrifice a certain amount of today’s cash flow to invest in their workforce in order to gain a brighter future. Training and certification can sometimes provide a very rapid payback, but it often takes a minimum of twelve months or more before the changes in patterns of activities on the ground by retrained workers begin to have a sufficiently cumulative effect on net new sales, renewals, etc.
How Practical CSM Can Help
In times of change such as the one we are currently experiencing, the decision to spend less (or even nothing at all) on training may seem like a sensible and cautious approach. However, the reality may be quite different. In times of change, you have to respond to the change and even “ride the change”, which can only be done when your workforce are sufficiently committed to keeping up to date with high-quality knowledge and skill development.
Having recognized the above we have implemented two new strategies:
Strategy One: The Customer Success Management Essentials (CSME) online self-study program
This is a brand-new course that delivers a “no frills” basic guide to customer success management, aimed at the “Low Budget” client who needs to stretch their customer success spend as far as possible. Prices start from as little as $197 for the “Basics” version and also include a “Comprehensive” version for just $412. (Greater discounts apply for bulk purchases).
Strategy Two: Reduced Fees for our Practical CSM Academy online CCSMP self-study program
Our existing Certified CSM Professional (CCSMP) program, with its fully featured, multi-format training in HD quality, its gamification and navigation options, its huge CPD library and its comprehensive team management and reporting tools is still our flagship service. Those who try it always love it, but not everyone that goes through the demo has been able to afford it. By reducing our pricing by roughly one-third, we aim to make the Academy affordable for a much wider range of companies. Our new pricing starts at just $750 without CPD and $987 with CPD included. (Again, greater discounts apply for bulk purchases).
Start Today!
To learn more about our range of online and classroom training programs, to find out why we are globally the very best at what we do, and to arrange a no-commitment initial consultation with us, please visit us at practicalcsm.com.
