Are Customer Success & Relationship Managers Just Expensive Middlemen?

Are Customer Success & Relationship Managers Just Expensive Middlemen?

Most companies waste these roles: 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲’𝐫𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞, 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐜𝐤 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐬.

If that’s how your CS or RM team operates, you might as well automate them away.

Here’s what’s broken:

𝐍𝐨 𝐃𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧-𝐌𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐏𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫: If they always need approvals, they can’t solve problems.

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞: Customers chase updates instead of getting insights.

𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐎𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞: They add steps instead of removing friction.

The Business Impact:

𝐋𝐨𝐰 𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 – Customers don’t see value and churn.

𝐈𝐧𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐲 – More escalations, more tickets, and longer cycles.

𝐖𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭 – High-cost roles with low strategic impact.

The Fix: Empowerment & Ownership

𝐃𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐑𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬: CS should resolve issues, not escalate them.

𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭: Move beyond check-ins—predict churn, drive adoption, and align with customer goals.

𝐓𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐮𝐞: Link CS/RM metrics to renewals, upsells, and expansion.

If your CS team can’t drive outcomes, they aren’t 𝐂𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐒𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬—they’re just 𝐂𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐒𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝟐.𝟎.

Your Take: Are CS/RM roles strategic in your company, or just another layer of friction?