Cisco 820-605 Practice Test Questions, Exam Dumps

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820-605 Cisco Practice Test Questions and Exam Dumps

Question No 1:

What is the primary industry trend driving the need for organizations to establish a formal Customer Success practice and dedicate roles such as Customer Success Managers (CSMs)?

A. Service organizations must shift from a traditional "break-fix" model to a proactive and preventative service approach, allowing CSMs to guide both customers and internal teams in maximizing solution adoption and pre-empting issues.
B. IT spending is increasingly controlled by business unit leaders who demand clear business outcomes from technology investments before committing to purchases, with CSMs helping provide real-world success stories and use cases.
C. With the rise of subscription-based business models, customers now expect rapid realization of value and measurable business outcomes. If these expectations are not met, they may cancel subscriptions. CSMs play a crucial role in ensuring customers achieve their desired outcomes as quickly as possible.
D. The fast pace of innovation in emerging technologies, especially in areas like the Internet of Things (IoT), often leads to customer confusion. CSMs work closely with sales to align the right solutions with the customer's needs to ensure faster success.

Correct Answer: C

Explanation:

The primary industry trend necessitating the rise of Customer Success practices and the Customer Success Manager (CSM) role is the shift toward subscription-based consumption models, which has transformed how customers engage with technology providers.

In traditional models, revenue was largely generated at the point of sale. However, in today’s subscription economy, recurring revenue depends on continued customer satisfaction and demonstrated value. This puts immense pressure on vendors to prove ongoing business outcomes, not just sell a product or service. Customers are empowered with the flexibility to cancel or reduce usage if they do not quickly realize benefits or if the solution fails to meet evolving needs.

This trend creates a critical need for a dedicated Customer Success function. The CSM ensures that the customer experiences a rapid time to value, maintains high engagement with the product or service, and successfully achieves the outcomes they initially sought. CSMs proactively monitor customer usage, identify risks, advocate for customer needs, and offer guidance and best practices to maximize solution adoption.

Moreover, companies with a strong Customer Success function often see improved retention rates, upsell opportunities, and customer advocacy. It’s not enough to close the sale; success must be delivered continually throughout the customer lifecycle.

This shift fundamentally changes business strategy from being product-centric to becoming customer-outcome-centric. The CSM becomes a trusted advisor, responsible for bridging the gap between technology potential and realized business value.

In summary, the growing prevalence of consumption-based and subscription models makes it imperative for businesses to invest in Customer Success teams. These teams, led by CSMs, ensure customer satisfaction and retention by focusing on measurable business outcomes, which are now the cornerstone of modern enterprise relationships.

Question No 2:

Which of the following options best represents a common and effective structure for a Customer Success Quarterly Business Review (QBR) or Success Review, designed to ensure continued alignment, value realization, and planning between a vendor and its customer?

A. Review of results from the prior quarter, discussion of the product roadmap, promotion of new products through marketing, and confirmation of goals for the next quarter.
B. Review of results from the prior quarter, validation of completed agreed-upon actions, benchmarking against industry peers or standards, and confirmation of next quarter’s goals.
C. Review of prior quarter performance, summary of services delivered, overview of ongoing issues and support cases, and confirmation of next quarter’s goals.
D. Review of results from the prior quarter, overview of roadmap updates and promotion of upcoming products, and confirmation of goals for the next quarter.

Correct Answer: B

Explanation:

A Quarterly Business Review (QBR) or Customer Success Quarterly Success Review is a strategic meeting between a Customer Success Manager (CSM) and a customer, typically held every 90 days. Its goal is to align on business objectives, review progress, and proactively plan for continued success and value realization.

The most effective QBR format generally includes four key components:

Review of prior quarter results – This includes a discussion of usage data, key performance indicators (KPIs), progress on agreed goals, and the business impact realized. It's essential to demonstrate how the solution delivered tangible value during the previous period.
Agreed actions completed – This section confirms what was previously committed by both parties (customer and vendor) and whether those actions were fulfilled. Accountability is a key part of building trust.
Benchmarking with the market – Customers benefit from knowing how they compare to similar organizations. Sharing insights such as usage trends, maturity models, or industry benchmarks provides context and can inspire further engagement.
Confirm goals for the next quarter – A QBR must be forward-looking. It’s crucial to realign on the customer’s evolving business priorities, define clear objectives, and agree on joint action items for the upcoming quarter.

This structure ensures that the conversation remains value-centric, strategic, and mutually beneficial. It avoids becoming a purely technical or support-focused meeting (as in option C), or a product-centric sales pitch (as seen in options A and D).

By emphasizing past outcomes, current benchmarks, and future goals, option B aligns closely with best practices in Customer Success and supports the overarching objective: helping the customer achieve and sustain measurable business outcomes.

Question No 3:

Which of the following statements best defines the concept of "Customer Success" as it is widely recognized in modern business and SaaS (Software as a Service) models?

A. Customer Success is a business methodology that ensures customers achieve both their expected and unexpected outcomes while using your product or service.
B. Customer Success is a business methodology focused on increasing recurring revenue by minimizing churn risk while encouraging adoption and account expansion.
C. Customer Success ensures that customers are kept on current software versions and contract renewals, allowing them to focus on their core business priorities.
D. Customer Success is measured by the Net Promoter Score (NPS), which reflects coordinated efforts across sales, marketing, services, and success teams to deliver a positive customer experience.

Correct Answer: A

Explanation:

Customer Success is a proactive business strategy centered on helping customers achieve their desired outcomes through the effective use of a company’s products or services. Unlike traditional support, which is reactive and focused on problem resolution, Customer Success is strategic and outcome-driven.

The most accurate and comprehensive definition is:

“Customer Success is the business methodology of ensuring that customers achieve their expected and unexpected outcomes while using your product or service.”

This definition reflects the essence of Customer Success: driving value for the customer before, during, and after the point of sale. It's not just about using the product but achieving specific business results — whether anticipated at the start of the relationship or discovered as usage matures.

Why is this important? In modern subscription-based or as-a-service models, the vendor’s revenue depends on continued customer satisfaction, retention, and expansion. If the customer doesn’t succeed, they may churn or reduce spending. Therefore, vendors must adopt a customer-centric mindset that goes beyond technical support to include success planning, onboarding, health monitoring, and regular check-ins to ensure ongoing value delivery.

Other choices contain partial truths but miss the broader scope:

Option B focuses on revenue impact (important, but a result, not the definition).
Option C narrows Customer Success to software versioning and renewals, which are support or account management functions, not success-focused.
Option D confuses the measurement of customer sentiment (NPS) with the methodology of Customer Success.

In essence, Customer Success is about delivering real business outcomes, not just satisfaction or usage. When done correctly, it benefits both the customer and the vendor, fostering long-term, mutually valuable relationships.

Question No 4:

Which of the following statements most accurately distinguishes the roles and objectives of Customer Sales and Customer Success in a modern, customer-centric business environment?

A. Customer Sales focuses on selling solutions that meet specific business needs, while Customer Success ensures customers use those solutions effectively to realize the intended value.
B. Customer Sales is responsible for driving adoption and ensuring customers realize value from the solutions, while Customer Success focuses on deploying the solution within the desired timeline.
C. Customer Sales helps customers realize the value of solutions they’ve purchased, whereas Customer Success is primarily concerned with upselling and expanding the customer’s product portfolio.
D. Customer Sales focuses on selling solutions to meet business needs, while Customer Success identifies new product opportunities for the sales team based on current solution usage.

Correct Answer: A

Explanation:

The core distinction between Customer Sales and Customer Success lies in their primary goals and the stages of the customer lifecycle they influence.

Customer Sales is primarily focused on the pre-sale phase — identifying business needs, proposing appropriate solutions, and securing agreements. The objective is to match the right products or services with the customer’s current challenges and business goals. Sales activities are transactional and revenue-driven, often ending at the point of purchase.
Customer Success, on the other hand, begins after the sale. It is focused on post-sale value realization — ensuring that customers effectively adopt and use the purchased solutions to achieve their desired outcomes. The role of Customer Success is relationship-driven and outcome-oriented, helping the customer derive maximum value from their investment.

Therefore, the most accurate distinction is found in Option A:

“Customer sales is about selling solutions to meet business needs. Customer success is about getting customers to utilize those solutions to get the value they intended.”

This definition underscores the complementary nature of the two functions. Sales brings the customer in by offering a promise of value; Customer Success delivers on that promise by guiding the customer through adoption, engagement, and achieving business results.

Other options confuse roles or oversimplify their functions:

Option B misattributes adoption and value realization to sales.
Option C wrongly narrows Customer Success to expansion efforts.
Option D shifts the focus of Customer Success to a sales support function, which is a secondary—not primary—objective.

Ultimately, Customer Success ensures long-term customer satisfaction, retention, and growth by turning the promise of value into a consistent reality.

Question No 5:

During the initial customer onboarding meeting as part of a Customer Success engagement, which two key outcomes should be achieved to lay the foundation for long-term success and ensure strategic alignment? (Choose two.)

A. Completion of customer training sessions.
B. Confirmation and alignment on the customer’s desired business outcomes.
C. Review of the product roadmap to introduce upcoming features.
D. Scheduling of a regular Quarterly Success Review (QSR) cadence.
E. Identification and agreement on key customer stakeholders involved in achieving success.

Correct Answers: B and E

Explanation:

The initial customer onboarding meeting is one of the most critical touchpoints in the Customer Success journey. It sets the tone for the relationship and is the starting point for ensuring that the customer will realize meaningful business value from their investment. The meeting is not about technical setup or feature training; rather, it is about strategic alignment and establishing a shared vision for success.

Two foundational outcomes of this meeting are:

B. Confirmation of customer business outcomes

This is arguably the most important outcome. Customer Success is centered around ensuring the customer achieves their desired outcomes through effective use of the product or service. During the initial meeting, the Customer Success Manager (CSM) must work with the customer to clearly define and document these outcomes, which will serve as the guiding objectives for future engagements, adoption strategies, and success metrics.

E. Agreement of key stakeholders

Success depends not only on technology, but also on people. Identifying the right stakeholders and champions within the customer’s organization is crucial. These individuals will influence adoption, provide feedback, and drive internal alignment. The onboarding meeting should establish who is responsible for technical, business, and executive decisions so communication remains streamlined throughout the lifecycle.

Why the other options are less critical at this stage:

A (Customer training) may be planned later, but it's not a primary goal of the initial strategic meeting.
C (Product roadmap) may come up in later conversations, particularly during Quarterly Business Reviews, but isn't central to onboarding.
D (QSR scheduling) is a good practice, but secondary to defining outcomes and roles.

By focusing on confirming business goals and establishing stakeholder alignment, Customer Success teams create a strong foundation for long-term partnership and measurable impact.

Question No 6:

Which type of Key Performance Indicator (KPI) is most relevant to the Customer Success function, and best reflects whether the customer is realizing value from their investment?

A. Business KPIs that measure progress toward the customer’s defined business outcomes.
B. Sales KPIs that track revenue generation and deal closure rates.
C. IT service KPIs that measure system uptime and ticket resolution times.
D. Operational expenditure (OPEX) KPIs that reflect a company’s cost efficiency and spending patterns.

Correct Answer: A

Explanation:

The core responsibility of Customer Success is to ensure that customers achieve their desired business outcomes through the effective use of a product or service. Therefore, the most relevant KPIs for Customer Success teams are those that track progress toward those outcomes — in other words, business KPIs.

Why Business KPIs (Option A) Matter Most

Business KPIs are customer-defined metrics that reflect how well a solution is helping them achieve specific strategic objectives. These can include increased productivity, faster time to market, improved customer satisfaction, or enhanced ROI. For example, a company using a CRM system might have a business KPI of reducing sales cycle time by 20%. Customer Success Managers (CSMs) align their efforts around helping the customer reach these targets.

These KPIs serve as the foundation for ongoing value conversations, Quarterly Business Reviews (QBRs), and renewal or expansion discussions. When a customer sees clear progress toward their business goals, they are far more likely to continue the relationship and become long-term advocates.

Why the Other Options Are Less Relevant:

B. Sales KPIs are important for the sales team, not Customer Success. These metrics (e.g., quota attainment, closed-won deals) track revenue generation, not customer value realization.
C. IT service KPIs (e.g., system uptime, ticket resolution) are relevant to IT support or operations teams but don’t directly reflect business success.
D. OPEX KPIs measure internal cost control and efficiency — again, important for finance or operations, but not tied to the customer’s success journey.

Customer Success is outcome-driven, not product- or revenue-driven. Therefore, the most valuable KPIs for a CSM to focus on are those that demonstrate how well the customer is achieving their business goals, which in turn fuels satisfaction, retention, and growth.

Question No 7:

What is the primary industry trend or business shift that is driving the widespread adoption of Customer Success as a strategic function across organizations?

A. The availability of more financial resources to invest in customer-facing teams.
B. The rise of the subscription economy, where ongoing customer value is tied to recurring revenue.
C. The need for advanced technical specializations in product implementation.
D. The growth of portfolio management to handle multiple customer projects more efficiently.

Correct Answer: B – The Subscription Economy

Explanation:

The key driver behind the growing need for Customer Success is the emergence and rapid expansion of the subscription economy — a business model where customers pay for products or services on a recurring basis (monthly, annually, etc.) instead of a one-time purchase.

In traditional sales models, companies earned most of their revenue upfront, and the customer’s success or failure post-sale had little immediate financial impact. However, in subscription-based models (such as SaaS, cloud services, or recurring software licensing), revenue is realized over time, making customer retention, adoption, and satisfaction critical to a company’s bottom line.

If customers do not see value or achieve the outcomes they expect, they can cancel their subscriptions or fail to renew, directly impacting recurring revenue and long-term profitability. This shift has created a need for dedicated roles and functions — like Customer Success Managers (CSMs) — to ensure customers are:

Successfully onboarded
Effectively using the product
Achieving their desired business outcomes
Staying engaged and renewing their contracts

Customer Success is now seen as a proactive, strategic discipline, not just a support or service role. It is responsible for guiding the customer journey, minimizing churn, and identifying growth opportunities through upsells and expansions — all essential in a subscription-based economy.

Why the Other Options Are Less Critical:

A. Financial resources may support investments in Customer Success, but they are not the driving reason for its rise.
C. Advanced specializations relate more to services and technical support.
D. Portfolio management is a practice within project or account management, not a core driver for Customer Success.

The subscription economy (Answer B) is the central reason Customer Success has become essential — ensuring customers continuously gain value is now a business necessity, not just a courtesy.

Question No 8:

Why is it important for organizations to formally document a customer's success throughout their lifecycle with a product or service?

A. To establish key performance indicators (KPIs) used to measure success.
B. To outline roles and responsibilities in the context of project management.
C. To clearly communicate and demonstrate the business value the customer has achieved through the solution.
D. To identify expansion opportunities that the sales team can pursue for future growth.

Correct Answer: C – To provide awareness of the value achieved by the solution

Explanation:

Documenting a customer's success is a vital practice in Customer Success Management because it provides tangible evidence of the business value delivered by a product or service. The most important reason for this documentation is to ensure that both the vendor and the customer are aligned on the results achieved and the impact of the solution on the customer’s goals.

By formally capturing success — such as cost savings, productivity gains, improved customer satisfaction, or increased revenue — Customer Success Managers (CSMs) help the customer visualize the return on their investment (ROI). This not only reinforces the importance of continued use and adoption, but also strengthens the relationship and builds trust.

Moreover, documented success serves as a strategic asset in several ways:

It forms the basis for renewal and expansion conversations, by proving the product's effectiveness.
It can be shared internally with stakeholders at the customer organization to maintain executive sponsorship and continued buy-in.
It can be used externally as a customer reference, case study, or testimonial (with permission), which benefits sales and marketing teams.

Why the Other Options Are Less Appropriate as Primary Reasons:

A. Establishing KPIs is typically done at the start of the engagement to define success — not the reason for documenting achieved success.
B. Documenting roles and responsibilities is part of project management, not a strategic Customer Success activity.
D. While documented success may lead to sales expansion opportunities, that is a secondary benefit, not the primary purpose.

The main reason to document a customer’s success is to demonstrate the business value delivered by the solution (Answer C). This practice ensures visibility, supports strategic alignment, and reinforces the customer’s motivation to continue the partnership.

Question No 9:

What is the primary objective of the Customer Success function in a modern customer-centric organization?

A. To ensure the customer achieves a measurable return on investment (ROI) from the solution.
B. To educate the customer on both known and lesser-known features of the company’s products and solutions.
C. To help the customer reduce operational, financial, or technical risks through guidance and best practices.
D. To ensure the customer successfully achieves the specific business outcomes they are aiming for with the product or service.

Correct Answer: D – Outcomes customers are trying to achieve

Explanation:

The core purpose of Customer Success is to ensure that customers achieve the business outcomes they set out to accomplish when they invested in a product or service. This is not limited to using the product effectively or being satisfied with support — it goes far deeper into delivering real, measurable value that aligns with the customer’s goals.

In today's subscription-based and outcome-driven economy, success is no longer defined by the sale or even the deployment of a solution. Instead, it is defined by the impact the solution has on the customer’s business objectives. This could include increasing revenue, improving efficiency, reducing costs, enhancing customer experience, or accelerating innovation.

Option D is correct because Customer Success Managers (CSMs) act as strategic partners, not just support contacts. They work to:

Understand the customer's desired outcomes (goals, KPIs, and success criteria).
Align solution usage and adoption with those outcomes.
Monitor progress and proactively adjust strategies.
Demonstrate value regularly through metrics and conversations.

Why the Other Options Are Less Accurate:

A (Return on Investment) is important, but it’s one possible outcome — not the overarching goal.
B (Product Features Education) is part of enablement or onboarding, not the ultimate objective.
C (Risk Reduction) may be a benefit of good Customer Success, but it is a means, not the end.

The main objective of Customer Success is to help customers achieve the outcomes they purchased the solution for (Answer D). Everything else — ROI, adoption, retention, loyalty — follows when that core objective is fulfilled.

Question No 10:

What is the primary value proposition of the Customer Success function from the customer’s perspective?

A. Receiving incremental rewards and incentives for usage and engagement.
B. Gaining support in achieving their broader business vision and strategic objectives.
C. Getting prioritized access to technical assistance and product support.
D. Receiving external publicity or recognition through vendor-led marketing initiatives.

Correct Answer: B – Business vision support

Explanation:

The value proposition of Customer Success for customers lies in the support they receive in achieving their business vision and realizing the full potential of their investment. Unlike support or sales functions, which focus on resolving issues or closing deals respectively, Customer Success is strategically focused on ensuring long-term value creation.

Today’s customers are not just buying products — they’re investing in solutions that help them reach key business outcomes. These outcomes could include increasing efficiency, scaling operations, improving customer satisfaction, entering new markets, or transforming legacy systems. Customer Success helps bridge the gap between the product’s capabilities and the customer’s strategic goals.

Option B is correct because:

It reflects the strategic partnership role that Customer Success plays.
It aligns with the customer’s business vision, not just their technical needs.
It ensures the customer is continually progressing toward long-term success, not just short-term adoption or satisfaction.

CSMs work closely with customers to understand their vision, track progress through success metrics, and continuously adjust strategies to ensure alignment between product usage and business goals. This helps customers maximize ROI, reduce friction, and extract continuous value — all of which support their broader objectives.

Why the Other Options Are Less Accurate:

A (Incremental rewards) may be used in engagement programs, but they are tactical incentives, not a strategic value proposition.
C (Technical assistance prioritization) is part of support services, not the core mission of Customer Success.
D (External publicity) may appeal to some customers, but it's a secondary benefit, not a driving reason for Customer Success engagement.

From the customer’s perspective, the true value of Customer Success lies in supporting their business vision and enabling them to achieve strategic outcomes (Answer B). This builds trust, fosters long-term relationships, and ensures mutual success.