Alistair Rennie’s Post

G2 Crowd just released its State of Customer Success Survey, and it’s juicy. As CEO of Catalyst Software, I want to unpack these findings and share why they’re critical for everyone in SaaS: 1. Sales Quotas for Customer Success—A Game Changer: A staggering 67% of customer success professionals now have sales quotas. This isn’t just a trend; it’s a revolution. Customer success is now fundamentally about driving revenue, and no longer just retaining customers. It's funny how many CEOs and CFOs still fail to realize this shift. If your CS team isn’t directly influencing revenue, you’re not maximizing their potential. 2. How Customer Success Professionals View Themselves Today—Vastly Different: Customer success is stepping out of the retention shadow. Over half (53%) of the CS professionals surveyed understand their roles now have a strong sales focus with greater priority than just servicing customers. The shift to customer-led growth starts with CSMs understanding they are much more valuable when they can influence "revenue" than simply renewals. Probably the most important takeaway here is that CSMs need to evolve their skill sets to avoid getting left behind in this evolution. 3. The Rise of Customer Success Platforms—A Strategic Imperative: If your CSMs are still manually researching each individual customer and physically determining when is the right moment to reach out, your business revenue is falling behind. Modern customer success platforms are not optional; they’re essential. They allow you to organize customer data into a singular view, anticipate customers' missing objectives, and automatically engage them at the precise moment well before churn. Better yet, programmatically engage customer when they are most likely to EXPAND! 4. The Expanding Horizon of the Customer Success Function: Probably the most AMAZING stat in the entire survey - 65% of businesses reported their CS department expanded, 45% report having an expansion of their responsibilities in the last year, and only 2% report reductions in responsibility. While the economy is still struggling - the CS industry is actually expanding! The future of successful businesses hinges on evolving customer success and leaders need to embrace this NOW. While these insights are great, we hear from many customers that it's still incredibly hard to unify Sales and CS. Head down to the comments to check out our EBook on how #CROs can align Sales and CS to drive stronger revenue #CustomerSuccess #SaaS #Innovation #BusinessStrategy #CLG G2 amazing report!

Edward Chiu Since when did ‘customer success’ become the new term for ‘sales’? We constantly hear about keeping up with change and change is the new norm etc. I’m fine with all that but if companies want/expect CSMs to drive revenue then call them sales people and let’s lose the facade. A good CSM should focus on achieving the customer’s outcomes first. Then if they do that job well, the renewals and additional revenue will follow. The moment you put sales quotas on CSM‘s, their focus will shift to revenue generation and straight out selling - it has to. In my opinion that’s not a CSM.

Over the past several years I’ve seen the role of a CSM change drastically in the SaaS industry. The G2 Customer Success Survey says it all: “ Regardless of what business structure their department falls under, over two-thirds (67%) of customer success professionals report having a sales quota to maintain as part of their job responsibility, showcasing a greater emphasis on maximizing customer lifetime value and the evolution of the customer success role.” It’s become more and more apparent that success can and should be a revenue generating department, not just a revenue protecting department. What is your company doing to keep up?  https://lnkd.in/ge-UFfpg

Did you know that up to 70% of your customers will churn within the first 100 days? 💥 In partnership with Gainsight, SABINA M. PONS, MA shares an article that highlights the critical need of mapping out a digital journey to target and tackle churn from before it is even a question. This great read "Digital Strategies to Help You Activate Your Customers" shares insights on how to map critical moments of truth during implementation and onboarding through correspondence of digital-led approaches, including who should be involved and what should be measured. Read more ⬇️ ⬇️ ⬇️

✨ 𝗚𝗿𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝗹𝗲. ✨ If you’re a small business owner or entrepreneur, you’ve probably mastered the basics of marketing and sales – maybe even dabbled in data. But here’s the real game-changer: Customer Success. For businesses looking to build strong, recurring revenue streams, Customer Success is the way forward. 🎯 💡 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗶𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. It’s not just a bunch of numbers; it’s your roadmap, helping you understand where you are and where you’re going. With data, you make smarter decisions, track what really works, and deepen your understanding of your customers. 🌱 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗜 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗶𝗻. As a fractional Customer Success leader, I help businesses like yours keep customers engaged long after the sale. I’m offering openings for 𝘁𝘄𝗼 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 who are ready to leverage Customer Success and data to drive sustainable growth. 👥 𝗖𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗦𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗶𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗮 𝗯𝘂𝘇𝘇𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗱 – it’s a proven retention methodology. Through onboarding, support, and proactive customer engagement, you build loyal fans who keep coming back, creating a foundation for true growth and repeat business. If you’re ready to tap into the power of #CustomerSuccess and #data for your business, let’s talk! 📈💪 👉 DM me or visit BeDataLit.com to learn more about how we can work together.

Navigating Economic Downturns: The Unsung Hero of Customer Success In the face of economic uncertainty, businesses often resort to cost-cutting measures, overlooking the pivotal role of customer success. Yet, it’s precisely during these challenging times that customer success teams can shine, steering companies through the storm with a focus on retention and loyalty. Recent studies underscore the significance of customer engagement and retention strategies in maximizing ROI during economic downturns. For instance, increasing customer retention rates by just 5% can boost profits by 25% to 95%. This is a stark reminder that nurturing existing customer relationships is not just a cost-saving tactic but a growth strategy. The 2008 financial crisis taught us that companies prioritizing retention over acquisition experienced higher growth rates. Fast forward to today, and we’re seeing similar patterns. With marketing budgets under scrutiny, it’s crucial to remember that acquiring a new customer is often more expensive than retaining an existing one. Engaged customers are more likely to recommend your brand, leading to organic growth without the hefty price tag of acquisition. But what does this mean for your business? It means that a slight shift in resources from acquisition to retention can have a substantial impact on your bottom line. The key is to understand the actual value of user retention and evaluate your spending on customer acquisition to determine its ROI. As we navigate uncertain times, let’s not forget the power of customer success. It’s not just about weathering the storm; it’s about emerging stronger, with a loyal customer base that feels valued and heard. So, let’s put our customer success teams at the forefront, where they belong, and watch as they turn challenges into opportunities for growth. #CustomerSuccess #EconomicDownturn #BusinessStrategy #RetentionIsGrowth

In a recent Bain survey, 75% of software companies saw a decline in net revenue retention (NRR), even as nearly 60% boosted their customer success investments. Why the disconnect? Customers want a different approach. The survey reveals that customers prefer a technical contact as their main point of interaction, yet many vendors still assign non-technical customer success managers. This gap is contributing to declining NRR despite increased efforts. To bridge this divide, leading companies are adopting outcome-based success plans, asking customers to define what success looks like for them. This approach allows vendors to craft tailored, post-sales services that align more closely with specific customer needs. By focusing on individual outcomes rather than one-size-fits-all solutions, companies can improve efficiency and deliver real value to each customer. This is a critical shift for any business looking to elevate its customer success strategy and strengthen long-term relationships.#improveNRR, #customersuccess

Are you struggling with Customer Retention? Despite high scores and positive feedback, renewals often fall through. Do you hear, "We love your product, but can't quantify its value to renew"? 📉 The struggle is real: Many SaaS companies face such customer churn, impacting revenue forecasts and straining success teams. Our latest research at GTM Partners shows that focusing solely on customer retention is a narrow approach that often leads to high churn and low Net Revenue Retention (NRR), ultimately stalling growth and devaluing company valuations. 💡 A new approach: Consider shifting from isolated retention efforts to a holistic strategy of customer growth. This involves integrating customer success into all department objectives and creating valuable outcomes. This will significantly increase your customers’ time to value! 🌟 Why it matters: This strategy can turn customer relationships into long-term growth engines, securing revenue and aligning teams with a mission beyond retention. We’ve got data points to show the impact this new approach can have. 👉 Learn more: Read our report to implement this strategy in your organization. — 👇🏼 Subscribe to GTM Monday for weekly insights. Join 50,000+ leaders mastering their go-to-market strategies with us! #CustomerGrowth #GTMonday

Building or managing a Customer Success team? 😅 Here are three insights from our conversations with CS leaders: ✅ 𝗟𝗲𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗖𝗦𝗠 𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗹 𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘄𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀. Some companies try to keep CS as a “trusted advisor” by having sales handle renewals and pricing. It doesn’t work. Customers trust their CSMs because of the relationships they’ve built, not their job titles. Dropping in someone new every 12 months to pitch renewals undermines trust. Your customers want consistent relationships—for both commercial and product discussions. Splitting these responsibilities causes confusion, and no one claims it works. ✅ 𝗙𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗵𝘂𝗿𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀. Vendors often pitch health scores as the ultimate churn predictor, but they rarely tell you: • Health scores based on product usage need spotless underlying data. • Product usage is rarely a leading indicator of customer health. This is the “watermelon problem”—green on the outside, red on the inside. The best teams look beyond health scores. They track leading indicators from customer conversations, external data, and product usage—and build reliable processes to operationalise this data. Fancy dashboards won’t fix churn. Good data might. ✅ 𝗔𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗱 𝗺𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗶-𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗖𝗦𝗣 𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗸-𝗶𝗻𝘀. We’ve heard horror stories about CSP vendors locking customers into multi-year contracts without delivering value or accountability. Many CS leaders are stuck with tools they can’t use because of data challenges. While other software categories have moved on from this practice, CSPs cling to it—and it’s why so many people dislike their CSPs. Few learnings to start with. More to come. Did I miss anything, Huey Le?

📣 Here are all the top LinkedIn posts on customers success from 11/15 to 11/21. Customer Success Collective - Customer Success Salary Report 2024 - https://lnkd.in/gUf_Qqzs Amarachi Ogueji - preparing for QBRs - https://lnkd.in/g7ggb8Fh Arit Nsemo - who CS reports into - https://lnkd.in/gZRQJ8kq Chad Horenfeldt - takeaways on how to best leverage your customers to drive demand in B2B during these times - https://lnkd.in/giYAP6WJ Daphne Costa Lopes - 5 reasons customers are ignoring your emails - https://lnkd.in/gffQGc7Q Daphne Costa Lopes - how to become a trusted advisor - https://lnkd.in/gvyt-GrH Dave Blake - how to position your CS for success in the budget discussions - https://lnkd.in/g-dWbM4F Elizabeth Italiano - don't get stuck in the friend zone - https://lnkd.in/gSe9DUJi Elizabeth Italiano - top behavioral traits of CSMs that I prioritize in hiring and coaching to build a high-performing team - https://lnkd.in/gXM7xhQX Emma Lampert - things I've learned chasing that perfect onboarding experience - https://lnkd.in/gUWAZShB Kristi Faltorusso - how CS leaders can manage up effectively and drive true impact - https://lnkd.in/gAuTPHCK Mara Simonson - trends strongly supporting the need for Digital CS - https://lnkd.in/gGziPFiJ Maranda Dziekonski (she/her) Dziekonski - things to consider before bringing up a price increase during renewal - https://lnkd.in/gG9gS7k7 Marley Wagner - how a digital strategy is more than just emails - https://lnkd.in/gutGNBbV Noah Little - how building trust is like growing a seed - https://lnkd.in/gUXG47AS Parker Chase-Corwin - how CSMs can bridge the gap between expectations and reality - https://lnkd.in/gv7-hq6W -- 🚨 Did we miss a post? Let us know in the comments to make sure others don't miss it either ❤️ Was this helpful? Make sure to follow the Matik page to continue seeing these weekly roundups! -- What is Matik? Matik automates the personalization of content, including data-driven elements like tables, charts, and insights. Compatible with Google Slides, Microsoft PowerPoint, Google Docs, Microsoft Word and emails. See it in action: https://lnkd.in/gmWedmqb #customersuccess #csm