5 Ways to Deliver Value as a Strategic CSM

Hi there,

If the only time you talk about the value your product is delivering is during your Business Reviews… you’re missing the point.

Strategic CSMs don’t save the “good stuff” for a slide deck once a quarter. They find ways to reinforce value all year long—in cadences, emails, success planning sessions, you name it.

Because here’s the thing: if your customer doesn’t feel the value regularly, they’ll question it when it matters most—like renewal.

Here are 5 simple, repeatable ways to deliver value consistently and build long-term credibility with your customers:

1. Share benchmarking data

Your customer wants to know: How are we doing compared to others like us?

Whether it’s adoption rates or feature usage—bring in benchmarking data to spark a conversation.

I did this recently with one of my enterprise customers. They were tracking bumping rate—the percentage of bookings that get released because the end user forgets to check in.

Their average came in at ~35%, well above what I was seeing across similar accounts, and it was a key success metric tied to their current initiatives. So, I put together a graph benchmarking them against three other customers—and more importantly, came prepared to share what the best-performing one was doing differently.

For example:

“Here’s your bumping rate next to three other customers running a similar program. You’re sitting around ~35% average—above the group, and well above our top performer, who’s down in the 7-13% range.

A few things are driving that gap:

Our top performer has badge integration turned on, so check-in happens automatically instead of relying on people to remember. They’ve also rolled out clearer in-office policies—set days, real enforcement—which makes usage more consistent across the board. And their space is tighter relative to demand, so there’s more natural incentive to check in and hold their spot.”

None of these alone explains the full difference. It’s the combination—system, policy, and demand working together—that gets bumping rate down. That’s the direction I’d want to take your account.”

This insight, backed with data, helped this customer realize what needed to change to bring their bumping rate down.

2. Track progress on how they define success

Build a success scorecard that clearly maps goals to milestones and ties those to measurable outcomes. This keeps everyone aligned and helps your champion prove internal ROI without scrambling before a renewal.

For example:

If their goal is to increase space utilization to 60% by the end of Q2, show them the month-by-month trend and what actions are influencing or stalling progress.

Even small movement builds confidence when they’re framed against the goal they care about.

More on this in my Success Plan Playbook.

3. Celebrate mini-wins

Don’t wait for a business review or the renewal process to highlight success.

Call out early milestones, such as a successful rollout, increased adoption in one region, or achieving a new success metric. Celebrating wins reinforces momentum and reminds your champion they’re moving in the right direction—even if the bigger goal is still in motion.

For example:

“You rolled out desk booking to the Chicago office just two weeks ago, and you’re already seeing 65% weekly adoption. That’s one of the fastest adoption ramps we’ve seen for a site of this size. Incredible momentum! Especially considering the upcoming rollout plans for NYC and Dallas.”

Even a short email calling this out can go a long way in building trust and excitement.

4. Surface insights from product usage data

Sometimes customers can’t see their own patterns.

Dig into the data:

• Which teams are lagging in adoption?

• Which features aren’t being used at all that could help them achieve their goals?

• Where are people getting stuck?

Framing these as opportunities helps them unlock more value—and shows that you’re proactively looking out for them.

For example:

“Looking at usage across all regions, we noticed that while overall desk booking adoption is strong, your EMEA offices are at 38% vs 64% in North America. That’s a noticeable gap. We might want to dig into change management or communications in that region to understand what’s blocking adoption.”

Pattern recognition = VALUE. Bonus points if you can pair it with a next step.

5. Bring them relevant industry trends and reports

Your customer doesn’t have time to scan LinkedIn for thought leadership—but you do.

Send a quick note with a recent Gartner report or an industry trend they care about. It positions you as someone who understands their world, not just your product.

For example:

“I came across a recent CBRE Workplace trend report that highlights how hybrid work is reshaping space utilization, occupancy rates, and office design — helping workplace leaders benchmark and optimize their environments.”

Bonus points if you package it with a “why this matters to you” bullet summary so they don’t have to read the full report.

Here’s what you learned today

• Delivering value doesn’t start or end at the Business Review—it’s ongoing.

• You don’t need fancy dashboards to be strategic. You just need to keep showing up with insights, consistency, and a clear understanding of what matters most to your customer.

• The most trusted CSMs are the ones who make their customer’s job easier—consistently.

Before your next meeting, pick one of these tactics and try it. Keep it simple. Keep it relevant.

I want to hear from you. What's one way you've reinforced value with a customer outside of a Business Review?

Best,
Erika