In Conversation with Sanya Mittal, Our Customer Success Manager

Introducing Sanya Mittal who is a Customer Success Manager at CleverTap. Being the youngest CSM here and a two-time award winner (Quarterly Star award for customer success team and GEM award 2021 announced globally every year), she would like to give valuable insights into what she does everyday and what she has learnt here.
As a people person, she is responsible for maintaining direct relationships with clients, to help them achieve their business objectives and marketing KPIs via CleverTap. She has onboarded new customers and provided product value adoption to clients across various business verticals — from e-commerce to gaming, health tech, and more. Here she is extremely delighted to share what gets her so excited to come to work here everyday.
What is the most interesting aspect of your role?
I learn something new almost every single day, and that’s what keeps work interesting. There hasn’t been a single day when I didn’t learn something — whether it’s from another colleague, a client, or our own product. There are constant surprises. Everyone is open to sharing ideas and helping others, which makes our team like a work family.
What has been your biggest challenge at CleverTap so far?
It has to be my very first onboarding, because I had never done anything like it. They were a key client, but more than that, I had to take ownership of the proceedings and ensure a seamless onboarding. Patience, learning, and proactivity made this easier.
As the first ever onboarding experience that I took up, I was definitely nervous, having questions like ‘Will I be able to give a good presentation? Will I be able to understand their objective and come up with good ideas that they like? What if I say something I’m not supposed to say?”
These thoughts are inevitable and natural under pressure, which was a major challenge for me. I accepted I was a learner and began researching their product, best marketing practices, and more. My fellow technical manager Jidesh, who was co-onboarding with me, was very supportive and his experience helped. The onboarding was definitely not a cakewalk. Being an important client, there were huge expectations and demands that made it more challenging.
They say if you don’t have a difficult client, you’re no good as a CSM. I think it’s true because this was a great opportunity and it encouraged me to push my limits, knowledge, and successfully equip myself for the journey ahead.
What has been your proudest accomplishment at CleverTap?
Apart from personal career growth, I am proud of making a decision that put out a major fire. This was back in 2019, pre-COVID, and we were at the tail end of a long day at work. I was working on some things with the team in the US, so I was online around midnight, browsing through things when I came across a campaign that one of our key clients had scheduled to go out in the morning the next day. I noticed a major issue in the content and immediately flagged it to my senior.
We ran some tests internally and realized that this campaign would be disastrous if it went out as is, and there were necessary changes to be made. So we immediately tried contacting the client’s POCs (point of contact) and other concerned people. But it was 2:00 a.m., and naturally no one was answering a call from an unknown number.
The only option we had was to stop the campaign from going out — which was a major dilemma. Under security compliances, we are not permitted to access and edit a client’s account. On the other hand, it was a matter of the client’s business reputation. After a long discussion, we decided to risk this move and manually stop the campaign, while sending a message to the client requesting them to create a new one as soon as they could.
In the morning, the client thanked us and was ecstatic that we’d saved their brand. One thing I learned was ‘Do the right thing, even if it means risking something of your own.‘
How does your role help CleverTap achieve its vision?
CleverTap is, and always will be, a fast-paced, visionary environment that is bursting with new ideas. Being on the front line, juggling between clients and internal teams, I think the customer success team plays a huge role in shaping the happiness of clients. While I picture CleverTap achieving a lot more in the future, I am happy to be a part of this success as the days go by.
What are your tips for personal success?
First and foremost, be yourself. Do not be fearful of being judged in a professional environment. There will always be people who have something that you don’t (experience, A-level education, etc.), but you should find your strength and own it, because that is unique to you and you will then have something that they don’t.
Have compassion, not only for your clients but for your colleagues as well. Back up someone who’s unwell, help a junior who looks up to you, spread positivity. Be a leader, not a boss, work with the team. And don’t forget to smile during your rainy days!