Mehtaphysical Musings: Here are your CEO's priorities for 2023

Happy New Year! Unless you believe in a mid-month statute of limitations on that greeting—like the comedian Larry David. In which case, Happy January 23, 2023 instead.

Starting off a brand new year, I haven't felt this refreshed in a long time. And on top of that, the year kicked off with some of the most exciting news I’ve ever received in my 10 years running Gainsight… Gainsight was ranked #1 on Glassdoor's 2023 Best Places to Work!

Pretty darn cool if you ask me. Our purpose at Gainsight, “to be living proof that you can win in business while being Human-First,” has always been near and dear to me and this award is a culmination of everything Human-First stands for. Not only that, but it’s a huge testament to our incredible teammates, alumnus, customers, community, and of course, the power of Taylor Swift parody videos. I couldn’t be more humbled to be listed alongside other amazing companies Box, Bain & Company, McKinsey & Company, HubSpot, Adobe, Microsoft, LinkedIn, Atlassian, NetApp, Cisco, MongoDB, Workday, athenahealth, Palo Alto Networks, Twilio, and Hewlett Packard Enterprise (to list a few).

In fact, when Carol Mahoney, Gainsight’s Chief People Officer, and Kelly O’Blennis, Gainsight’s VP, of Teammate Success, shared the news with me, this was the reaction.?

FIVE TAKEAWAYS FROM SAAS CEOS ON 2023 PRIORITIES?

Given the uncertainty in the world right now, it’s hard to predict what will happen this January—let alone all of 2023. Besides the Taylor Swift Eras concert being epic, of course!

So, I decided to get the scoop. A couple of weeks ago, I sent out a survey to 100s of growth-stage SaaS CEOs to see what they were planning for in 2023—from what initiatives they are prioritizing to cost-cutting measures and go-to-market strategies in the downturn.?

Below are the top 5 takeaways.?

1. Customer Success Roles Are Among the LEAST Affected By Layoffs

It’s a tough environment in tech, with thousands of companies cutting staff. We asked respondents where they cut the most and least, as an indication of company focus. Sales and Marketing had the highest average, closely followed by R&D and HR. CS joined Finance, Professional Services, Support, and Legal as an essential line of business— with an average of only 2% of their headcount affected.

2. CEOs are Cutting Spend on Travel, Leases and Software

Beyond staff cuts and cost-saving measures across departments, respondents also listed what exact practices they are cutting back on in 2023, including making cuts to spending on things like travel, leases, and software. So if your software isn't showing value, it could be on the chopping block to get cut.

3. CEOs Anticipate Mixed Growth and Increased EBITDA

We asked respondents how their growth and profitability rates will change in 2023 versus 2022. Surprisingly to us, there wasn’t as much of a downward skew on growth rates as we would have predicted. Instead, the mix of growth rate changes reflects a classic Bell Curve distribution. Our read is that perhaps some of the more optimistic companies haven’t gotten the “memo” on the downturn.

But while companies might be overly-optimistic on growth, they are sober on costs. Nearly every company plans to increase EBITDA margins in 2023, meaning they are controlling costs massively as they grow.

4. Customer Success Headcount is Growing

It’s one thing to show how CEOs are not cutting back on CS, but it’s another thing entirely to hear that they are investing even more in it. We asked respondents to answer whether they are growing, maintaining, or reducing headcount in their respective departments.

48% are maintaining headcount cost in their CS Departments. But 44% are growing that headcount. Again, CS is being prioritized as a lifeline heading into the new year.

5. Scalable Growth and EBITDA will Lead the Way

A final section of the survey asked participants to write-in benchmarks and priorities they want to emphasize going into 2023, followed by what they want to de-prioritize.?

EBITDA and Scalable Growth reign supreme, and as we saw above—with CS headcount remaining a priority and EBITDA predicted to increase—investing in existing customer bases is the way to get there. Growth at all costs, new products, and risky ventures are simply not worth the gamble as we enter a possible recession. NRR and durable growth are the reliable, steadfast answers.

Read more about the takeaways here .

CURRENT MOOD

Don’t get me wrong—I’m ecstatic at all the opportunity 2023 brings our way. But unfortunately for my Steelers, their year ended shortly after the new year began. On the bright side, we ended on a very positive note. My faith remains in Coach T once we make it to the new season, but for now, don’t mind me coping with as much of T-Swift’s Midnights as is necessary.

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