The Importance of Continuous Learning in Customer Success for SaaS Cast your mind back ten or 20 years, and companies offering software as a service (SaaS) didn’t even exist. Today, the number of SaaS businesses and startups continues to grow, having not only carved out a niche in an existing market but created an entirely new market for companies to compete in. Moreover, leading SaaS businesses are redefining how we think about business. The introduction of the concept of customer success is one example of these companies’ capacity to innovate. To be effective, customer success strategies need to

When Should a Startup Build Its CS Team and Strategy? With today’s customers being smarter and more demanding than ever, customer success has become critical, especially if you have a SaaS product where most interactions with users are likely to occur post-sale.  Read on and find out more about: when’s the right time to build a customer success strategy how to start a CS team and its core structure the top 4 most important elements in a customer success strategy When Should a Startup Develop Its Customer Success Strategy? As you probably guessed by now,

How to Drive Your Customer Success Team to Excel 4 Ways to Improve a Customer Success Team Managing a successful customer success team can be a challenging task. The needs of your team will change as it grows and matures, and so of course will your customers' needs. Often, strategies that once worked when the requirements were simpler to understand and to perform and less diverse in their range of knowledge and skill requirements might begin to falter. For example, new recruits might increasingly struggle with onboarding, and the team fails to meet the demands of the

We are thrilled to share that over 50,000 students (in fact 63,520 to be precise) have successfully completed our Customer Success Fundamentals online self-study training course on LinkedIn Learning, and our learner community has now reached an incredible milestone of over 150,000 in total between all our LinkedIn Learning courses! 🌟👏 We would like to express our deepest gratitude to each and every one of you who embarked on this learning journey with us. Your dedication and commitment to enhancing your skills in customer success is truly commendable. Together, we are shaping the future of customer success in

Book Club The Chief Customer Officer Playbook in Action: How to Have Better Goal Setting Discussions with your Manager Join Rod Cherkas, author of the best-selling book The Chief Customer Officer Playbook, as he shares actionable strategies you can use to have better goal setting discussions with your manager. He demonstrates that by following the tips he shares in his book, you can achieve more repeatable, predictable results for your company while accelerating the development of skills you need to grow faster in your career. The Book Club Live Conversation was hosted by Gillian Taylor and

Unlocking Success with Customer Engagement  How a Customer Success Manager Knows What Works Best!  What is Customer Engagement? Customer engagement is a process of fostering meaningful interactions between customers and the organization. It is the ongoing cycle of nurturing customer relationships to ensure they receive maximum value from their purchase. Through customer engagement, an organization can better understand its customers’ needs, wants, and preferences while developing trust between both parties.The goal of customer engagement is to create an experience that encourages loyalty and repeat business. This requires being proactive in staying connected with customers before, during, and after their

Address Your Client’s Current Priorities Eight Things the Customer Success Team Should Do in a Recession - Part 2 Overview There were a lot of great points made in my recent interview with Nick Mehta, CEO of Gainsight, but there was one aspect of the interview in particular that I think was particularly important. This was the part of our conversation when we discussed the role of the Customer Success Management team during a recession, or during any period of uncertainty where businesses are tightening up budgets and only performing essential activities due to fear of an

6 Ways Emotional Intelligence Can Make a Positive User Experience Improving Customer Satisfaction and Experience through Customer Success Management Emotional Intelligence: What is it?  Emotional Intelligence (EI) is the ability to recognize, understand, and manage our emotions and those of others. It includes self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skills, which makes it very different from IQ in that it focuses on our emotional lives rather than cognitive ability.  In our personal lives, it enables us to better empathize with other people and recognize their feelings and behaviors. Through this, we can understand how we feel and

Effectively Handling Customer’s Renewal Objections in Customer Success Management Customer objections are a common occurrence in Customer Success Management. A customer who objects against renewing their contract definitely has a reason for doing so. Some clients may be unsatisfied with the value they received or lack thereof, while others may have seen a better offer or service from other companies. Others may be looking for a specific function or capability which they believe is missing from your solution and which they can get from a competitor’s offering. Yet others might simply feel that they cannot afford your solution

Proactively Offer Your Help Eight Things the Customer Success Team Should Do in a Recession - Part 1 Overview There were a lot of great points made in my recent interview with Nick Mehta, CEO of Gainsight, but there was one aspect of the interview in particular that I think was particularly important. This was the part of our conversation when we discussed the role of the Customer Success Management team during a recession, or during any period of uncertainty where businesses are tightening up budgets and only performing essential activities due to fear of an impending

5 Factors Affecting Customer Satisfaction Customer satisfaction is one of the most important elements to consider for Customer Success. Companies need to understand what factors can impact a customer’s experience to ensure that they are satisfied and have a positive experience. Companies can make informed decisions on improving their customer service, ultimately leading to greater customer satisfaction. Studies conducted by Salesforce have revealed that increasing customer satisfaction results in a 23% reduction in customer churn rate, while improving customer experience can result in an average increase of 17% in revenue over the long term. In addition, research

Maximizing Community in Customer Success Management Effective Customer Success Managers know that creating and maintaining a strong sense of community among their customers is essential to ensuring long-term success. But what does it take to build and foster a healthy community? In this article, we'll explore some best practices for maximizing community in Customer Success Management. We'll discuss ways to develop a strong community identity, cultivate meaningful interactions, and keep your community engaged over time. Before that, let's go ahead and review what Community is in Customer Success Management. The definition of community

Why Frameworks Succeed   Reproducing Great Outcomes Einstein is supposed to have defined insanity as 'doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results'. So logically, sanity is doing the same thing repeatedly and hoping for the same result; in other words, a framework! Now, I can almost hear you saying to yourself, "my projects are too complex and varied to benefit from a framework' and reaching for your mouse or a new tab on your screen, well before you do, give me a little more of your attention, and I may be able to change

How can Customer Success Management Training and Certification Help YOUR Company to Grow Revenues?  What is Customer Success Management? Customer Success Management is an approach to managing customer relationships that ensures they obtain value from the services or products they have purchased. It involves understanding customer requirements, providing timely and effective support, as well as identifying opportunities for upsells or cross-sells. Customer Success Managers, Teams, and Leaders strive to create a positive and lasting customer experience. At its core, Customer Success Management can be seen as a proactive approach to relationship management that encourages customers to get the most out of

Thinking Like a CEO How Smart CS Leaders Foster Success Are you a Customer Success Leader looking to take your team and customers to the next level while making an impact on your organization's objectives?  Unlocking the next level of success for your Customer Success team and organization is achievable with a CEO mindset. In this article, we'll examine how CS Leaders can successfully foster success by adopting key strategies from CEOs such as revenue growth, cost management, goal setting, performance measurement, and data-driven decision-making.  Ready for an exciting journey toward reaching new heights in leadership? Read on! What are CEOs Concerned