Customer Success is Clearly Underserved
Chris Taylor
Founder B2B Software GTM Consultancy | Operations Executive | Scaling Hyper-Growth | US Navy Veteran | Angel Investor
The following is coauthored by Greg Peters . Greg is an accomplished senior GTM executive with 20+ years in hypergrowth companies including Incorta, Alteryx, Tableau and SAP.
In the ever-evolving landscape of B2B software, the birth of customer success (CS) emerged hand-in-hand with the transition to SaaS and subscription sales. Acknowledging the volatility of software usage, companies recognized that the key to sustained success lies in nurturing existing customer relationships. A missed signal indicating potential churn or an underutilized product jeopardizes customer loyalty, leaving them susceptible to the alluring advances of competitors – a landscape brimming with innovative, well-funded alternatives unburdened by legacy customer demands.?
Navigating the Uncertainties: Mission, Metrics, and Budgets
Over the past decade, the availability of inexpensive capital fueled rampant headcount growth within CS. However, this prosperity led to bloated organizations grappling with ambiguous missions, inadequate tooling, and elusive metrics. We see this in the unsettling dance of renewals shifting between sales and CS and in blindsided churn of vital customers. The ramifications of this lack of clarity create significant pain for B2B software companies. In an era marked by tightened budgets and a laser focus on efficiency and ROI, CS finds itself in the crosshairs of cost-cutting initiatives.
Unraveling the Tangled Threads: Roles and Expertise
The dilemma extends to the very roles within CS. Often, teams find themselves more aligned with break-fix customer support, staffed with highly technical individuals who may lack an understanding of customer value and product positioning. Leadership can be entrusted to recycled professional services leaders navigating a landscape they may not fundamentally comprehend. Some CS representatives morph into presales engineers, struggling to strike the delicate balance between resource mobilization and avoiding a constant sales pitch that leaves customers skeptical.?
A Complex Tapestry: Technical Aversion to Growth
Complicating matters further, highly technical staff may harbor an aversion to supporting sales growth, or may not understand the fundamentals of customer value and positioning products, and driven by an imagined conflict of interest in juggling the roles of trusted advisor and revenue target bearer. Conversely in some organizations the CS associate may be the profile of a sales associate which may be met by skepticism by the customer who’s wary of constantly being sold to. This disconnect poses a formidable challenge in aligning the goals of CS with the overarching growth strategy of the organization.?
Fixing Customer Success
My coauthor, Greg Peters, sees the solution in the transformation of Customer Success. It requires a strategic realignment and prioritizing operational efficiency, establishing crystal-clear missions, streamlined roles, and a harmonious blend of technical expertise with customer-centric understanding.??This isn't easy change but it is critically necessary.
领英推荐
As Greg puts it, In redefining the narrative of Customer Success, we can set the stage for a future where businesses not only thrive but forge enduring connections with their customers. The strategic realignment becomes not just a strategy but a commitment to excellence, positioning businesses at the forefront of innovation and customer satisfaction. In this evolution, Customer Success becomes the catalyst for a new era of sustainable success.?
Only by addressing these challenges head-on can B2B software companies unleash the full potential of Customer Success by reducing churn and increasing expansions in a landscape perpetually teeming with innovation and competition.?
A16Z Philosophy
As a side note, in researching this article, I came across the following diagram that speaks not only of CS but helps to frame the CS value in how it supports a hierarchy of customer needs.
The Andreessen Horowitz blog has this advice: "If you can't connect your CSMs activities to a layer in this hierarchy, then they shouldn't do it."
CS Executive | Sales Executive | Ex-Salesforce Employee #127; #5 Hire for Named AE Team | 1st CSM @Salesforce | Pre- IPO@Elastic | Investor | TeamBuilder | Customer Centric | Results Oriented | Problem Solver | Mom
7 个月Chris Taylor This is a HOT topic with most, as you know. The Customer Success I grew up on 20 years ago is drastically different than it is today. The CS strategy needs to align with the Product maturity. Success needs to be a company-comprehensive initiative rather than a team. This is my 2 cents. Happy to connect on the topic.
Customer Success and Services Executive
10 个月Thanks Chris! This article makes great points. I believe Customer Success plays a pivotal role in GTM for SaaS companies. Customer adoption is the main driver for successful renewals and for increasing ARR. As part of the evolution around technology consumption, there is a convergence of traditional field roles such as Sales Engineer, Enterprise Architect, Professional Services, and Tech Support, with the goal of getting customers deployed successfully. CS embodies aspects of all those functions and drives the overall customer experience.
Director, Global Renewals and SMB Sales at Veracode
10 个月Great post Chris! I have been thinking about this topic a lot recently and I’ve personally experienced this at multiple companies.
Thanks for sharing, Chris. One other challenge that CS orgs face now is value attribution. How do we measure the value that CS resources are bringing to a business?
Strategic C-Suite Leader | Driving Customer Success & Technical Innovation | Scaling High-Impact Solutions for Growth & Differentiation
10 个月The Customer Hierarchy is a great reference but I would offer that delivering measurable business value is by far the most critical thing Customer Success can focus on. If you do that then sponsors will willingly want to share the wealth and introduce you across the organization, feature gaps won't be as important/impactful, and renewals and expansions get a whole lot easier.