Stay ahead with customer value thinking.

In the digital age, there are metrics and KPIs that are tremendously important to any business. I could provide a list of them, but they are readily available on the Internet. In the SaaS business in particular, customer lifetime value is by far the most critical one. And the term itself contains the words that are essential in making sure a business is profitable and sustainable over the long run.

Since the early 2000s, there has been an interesting trend, especially in the technology industry, to install a Chief Revenue Office instead of a CSO. It started off as a large, but by no means exclusively, Silicon Valley trend and focused on SaaS providers. Most SaaS start-ups were led by CEOs with product and engineering backgrounds and many of them quickly realized (or were advised so by their investors) that they needed further executive leadership with revenue and customer DNA to complement those skills and interests — but more than just a sales leader because SaaS success is about more...

By Joanne Moretti and Mike Maxey