I’ve been asked a lot of late if I thought that FDE’s –Forward Deployed Engineers — will replace Customer Success Managers as the future of the profession. The quick answer is: No. FDE’s have their place, as do properly chartered and managed Customer Success teams. While generalist CSM jobs are at risk from takeover by agentic ai agents, for the busywork that made up the bulk of the utilization in CS groups can be more economically handled by ai, there will always be a need for people who have in-depth knowledge of the product and the customers’ business. The difference between FDE’s and trusted advisor CSMs is, and will be, in how a company uses them to ensure retention and expansion of the company-customer relationship. Both are needed.
B2B software companies have always had FDE’s involved in implementation. They guided the customer through the whole process; integration, training, and onto go-live. The specialists ensured that the customer didn’t try to boil the ocean by turning on every last feature, they took them through a phased roll-out and change management process. It definitely paid off. One large CRM company discovered that if the company’s implementation group or a competent 3rd party did the install, the likelihood of retention was well north of 50% better than if the customer company’s IT team did their own implementation. That’s a duh!? moment that should have been obvious. Deep product expertise combined with deep domain expertise consistently applied through onboarding builds a solid foundation.
The Continuing Role of Customer Success
But there is a missing piece in expert onboarding that is definitely why Customer Success needs to stay. The FDE’s don’t directly focus on retention or expansion; their role is to get the onboarding done properly and then to move on to the next gig. (Note, too, that the FDE may be a consultant from an allied firm and not an employee.) The CSMs’ have a different focus, which is to ensure that the customer continues to realize value.
Should both of these roles be offered as a paid service to the customers? Yes, if properly marketed and sold, for it’s in the best interests of both parties. The FDE builds a firm foundation and the CSM guides the customer to continued realization of value.
