Sue Nabeth Moore, Co-founder of Success Chain - Planning for Customer Success in 2024
Dec 15, 2023
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Sue Nabeth Moore, Co-founder of Success Chain, discusses the future of customer success and planning for 2024. They talk about the challenges and successes of the industry, positioning customer success as a growth engine, implementing KPIs and artificial intelligence, and favorite SaaS products and learning resources.
Position customer success as a growth engine by focusing on proving its value in driving net revenue retention and using leading indicators related to customer outcomes.
Connect customer ROI to business growth by focusing on activities and metrics that demonstrate value, and redefine the perception of business growth as a collaborative relationship with customers.
Deep dives
Positioning Customer Success as a Growth Engine
Customer Success should be positioned as a growth engine, with the focus on proving its value in driving net revenue retention (NRR) and contributing to the company's bottom line. This can be achieved by using leading indicators related to customer outcomes, such as time to value and detection of promoters. Proactive conversations with customers should center around value and outcomes, going beyond the surface level of features and functionalities. Frameworks like AMPM (activity measurements, performance measurements) can help CSMs map out customer journeys and guide discussions on tangible KPIs. Additionally, it's important for CS leaders to vocally communicate the impact of their work and promote customer success as a strategic function within the company.
Connecting ROI to Business Growth
CS professionals can connect customer ROI to business growth by focusing on activities and metrics that demonstrate value. This includes providing frameworks and dashboards that correlate customer outcomes with business success. Vocalizing and sharing success stories internally is also crucial in aligning ROI with growth. The fine line between driving value and pursuing revenue growth can be navigated by being transparent with customers about the mutually beneficial nature of the customer-vendor relationship.
Overcoming Taboos and Walking the Fine Line
To overcome taboos around revenue and upselling, CS leaders should redefine the perception of business growth and emphasize its collaborative nature. This can be done by proposing tangible KPIs to measure customer success and ROI, and actively engaging in conversations about value and outcomes rather than solely being churn-focused. Putting frameworks and processes in place, like AMPM, helps CSMs prioritize proactive conversations and break away from reactive firefighting. It's important to emphasize the holistic benefits of customer success and consistently communicate the impact of CS efforts.
Driving Proactive Value and Outcomes
CSMs can shift from being churn busters to value-focused by guiding conversations towards intangible aspects and the submerged part of the customer's business context. Implementing frameworks like AMPM helps CSMs drive proactive discussions about customer outcomes and measurable value. By understanding their customer's business goals and mapping activity and performance measurements, CSMs can proactively support customers in achieving their objectives. Being proactive involves doing thorough research, creating dashboards that connect customer outcomes to ROI, and offering customers tangible KPIs to track progress.
As we approach the end of the year, it's crucial to begin strategizing for customer success in 2024. Despite the hurdles we've encountered recently, we must now pave the way for a successful year ahead. So, what should be the key focus areas for customer success in 2024? And how can we strike the perfect balance between customer ROI and fostering business growth?
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