After doing numerous interviews and insightful discussions with various Customer Success Directors and Sales Architects, I've compiled a list of crucial questions that prospective candidates should consider asking during their interviews. Whether you're transitioning into a CSM or Product Architect role, these questions will help you better understand expectations and do better interviews. Let's dive in without further delay:

1️⃣ Product Evaluation: ▶️ It's all about the product! Who wants to work with a subpar product riddled with defects? Ask about the strength of the product. Inquire about escalations, ticket volumes, and how the company handles support versus customer success. This insight will reveal the balance between support and proactive customer success efforts.

2️⃣ Driving Innovation: ▶️ How does the company foster innovation? Who is responsible for driving internal and external efforts to promote product feature adoption? Understanding the mechanisms in place for new release awareness, product innovation, and feature enhancements is key to grasping the company's innovation culture.

3️⃣ CS Organizational Structure: ▶️ Delve into the company's CS organizational structure. Are there dedicated segments, particularly for digital? What's the customer-to-CSM ratio for each segment? This insight will gauge the company's CS maturity and help you align your expectations accordingly.

4️⃣ CS Tooling: ▶️ Does the company utilize dedicated CS tools, or is everything managed through a single CRM? The importance of dedicated tools cannot be overstated. They streamline processes, automate playbooks, drive customer health scores, and provide comprehensive reporting. Understanding the tooling landscape is crucial for efficiency and effectiveness.

5️⃣ CS Operations: ▶️ Inquire about the presence of a CS Ops team. Do CSMs have access to this team's resources? Is there a dedicated CS Ops person? Efficient operations support is essential for CSMs to focus on customer interactions rather than administrative tasks. A strong CS Ops setup can truly be a game-changer.

6️⃣ Reporting Structure: ▶️ Who does the CS team ultimately report to? Is it Sales, CX, Strategy, or Product? Understanding this reporting structure is vital because incentives drive behavior. Aligning with the right reporting structure ensures your goals and aspirations are in sync with the company's objectives.

7️⃣ Cross-Functional Collaboration: ▶️ Success is a collaborative effort. Inquire about the company's approach to cross-functional collaboration. How seamlessly do teams work together? What initiatives are currently underway, and how is alignment maintained? This insight will reveal the company's teamwork ethos.

Remember, these are just starting points. Each interview may unveil additional areas of interest. Hope you found this useful!!