GTM 123: Customer Experience Fuels Business Growth, Build a Customer-First Culture with Kim Peretti
Nov 26, 2024
auto_awesome
Kim Peretti, a seasoned Customer Success executive with over 25 years in tech, shares her insights on building a customer-first culture. She emphasizes the importance of aligning sales, marketing, and customer success teams to foster business growth. Kim discusses the role of data in understanding customer health and encourages companies to shift focus from acquiring new customers to retaining existing ones. She also highlights the value of shared compensation goals in enhancing collaboration and dispels the myth that customer churn is solely the responsibility of customer success managers.
Establishing a customer-first culture from the onset enhances collaboration across sales, marketing, and customer success teams.
Implementing shared compensation goals simplifies team alignment, driving accountability and significantly boosting customer retention and expansion efforts.
Deep dives
The Importance of Customer Success Beyond CSMs
Customer success encompasses more than just the role of Customer Success Managers (CSMs); it is a comprehensive organizational culture focused on customer engagement, support, and ongoing relationships. Effective onboarding, implementation, and partner collaborations significantly contribute to a customer's initial experience and their potential for future expansion. Establishing trust immediately after contract signing is crucial, as customers expect seamless implementation to achieve their desired outcomes. By recognizing that post-sale success relies on a collaborative effort across the organization, companies can foster stronger relationships and capitalize on growth opportunities.
Navigating the Complex Tech Stack Landscape
Many organizations are currently reevaluating their technology stacks, questioning the necessity of numerous disparate solutions. A streamlined tech stack not only reduces complexity but also enhances efficiency in operations. Apollo has emerged as a leading option for businesses aiming to consolidate their revenue tools, integrating best-in-breed data with AI for improved performance. Companies like Rippling and Stripe have recognized the value of simplifying their tech stacks and have made the switch to Apollo for a more cohesive approach.
Building Relationships for Long-Term Success
Cultivating relationships within and beyond an organization is essential for both individual growth and overall success. Networking within the workplace can lead to unexpected opportunities, with informal connections often paving the way for professional advancement. Engaging with colleagues across different departments can foster collaboration, ensuring all teams are united in their approach to customer care. By investing time in building a robust professional network, employees can enhance their impact and contribute to the organization's larger objectives.
Shared Goals and Collaborative Success
Implementing shared compensation goals across sales and customer success teams enhances collaboration and accountability, directly impacting retention and expansion efforts. Simplifying these goals to a few key metrics ensures clarity and maximizes team alignment. Companies should prioritize consistent communication and integrated approaches between departments to bridge the gaps that previously led to inefficiencies. This shared commitment to a customer-centric culture not only strengthens relationships but also drives sustainable long-term growth.
Kim Peretti is an experienced Customer Success executive with over 25 years in the technology industry. Her most recent role was as Chief Customer Officer at Klaviyo, where she transformed the customer success organization during the company’s hypergrowth, and played a key role in preparing the company for its IPO. Prior to Klaviyo she was the Group Vice President of Customer Success at DocuSign, where she built and lead successful strategies that delivered key customer outcomes and results. Kim's extensive background also includes leadership positions in Customer Success at renowned technology companies such as Adobe, Qlik, and Symantec. Her career reflects a strong commitment to driving customer impact and achieving business results.
Discussed in this Episode:
The importance of building a customer-first culture from day one
Strategies for aligning sales, marketing, and customer success teams
The role of data in understanding and driving customer health
How to implement an effective voice of the customer program
The misconception that customer success managers alone can solve churn
The impact of shared compensation goals on cross-functional collaboration
Highlights: (1:56) Kim's journey through top tech companies and the power of networking. (5:39) The importance of customer experience from the first marketing touch. (8:38) Shifting focus from new logos to customer retention and expansion. (15:10) Implementing shared compensation goals across teams. (20:37) Building a voice of the customer program. (35:17) The role of partnerships in customer success. (40:37) Using data to understand what makes customers healthy. (45:58) One thing revenue leaders believe to be true that Kim thinks is bull$***. (47:58) One thing that is working for Kim in go-to-market right now.
Product Recommendation: Apollo "The revenue tech stack is messy right now.
If you are one of those leaders, I would recommend that you take a look at Apollo. Maybe you think you know Apollo, maybe you’ve taken a look at them in the past but I’ve looked under the hood recently and if your goal is to reduce and simplify your tech stack AND have best in breed data layered in with AI - they would be at the top of my list. There’s a reason Rippling and Stripe switched over.
We worked with their team to create an interactive demo page. You can check it out at: https://www.apollo.io/gtm
Almost all I hear these days is “we need to figure out how to best leverage AI in our sales process” and “how can we consolidate/simplify our tech stack.” With Apollo I believe you can accomplish both." - Scott Barker
The GTM Podcast The GTM Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Scott Barker, GTMfund Partner, featuring interviews with the top 1% GTM executives, VCs, and founders. Conversations reveal the unshared details behind how they have grown companies, and the go-to-market strategies responsible for shaping that growth.
Visit gtmnow.com for more episodes and other interesting content.
Get the Snipd podcast app
Unlock the knowledge in podcasts with the podcast player of the future.
AI-powered podcast player
Listen to all your favourite podcasts with AI-powered features
Discover highlights
Listen to the best highlights from the podcasts you love and dive into the full episode
Save any moment
Hear something you like? Tap your headphones to save it with AI-generated key takeaways
Share & Export
Send highlights to Twitter, WhatsApp or export them to Notion, Readwise & more
AI-powered podcast player
Listen to all your favourite podcasts with AI-powered features
Discover highlights
Listen to the best highlights from the podcasts you love and dive into the full episode