DecisionLink was thrilled to be Sponsors of Gainsight Pulse 2022. From incredible keynote speakers, to dynamic and thought-provoking breakout sessions and finally being reunited with the Puppies of Pulse in real-life, the conference proved to be two jam-packed days of inspiring and actionable content for customer success leaders and practitioners.
From all of our conversations in the booth and in the sessions we attended, there were a few key themes we heard over and over, which make up our top takeaways from the event this year.
In Wednesday’s opening keynote, Nick Mehta, Gainsight CEO, introduced Karl Rumelhart, Chief Product Officer and Executive Vice President at Gainsight, and Kellie Capote, Chief Customer Officer at Gainsight, to help companies not only survive the economic downturn but thrive during it.
In their session, Capote and Rumelhart unveiled a six-step framework: The Durable Growth Playbook.
In the playbook, they suggest that the companies who prioritize the empowerment of their customer success teams by giving them the keys to drive NRR and product adoption within their base will emerge strongest from this downturn. And gain stronger, more loyal customers in the process.
There are many transitions a buyer makes across the customer journey, yet, one of the most critical ones is once a deal has been signed. At Pulse, it was clear that the opportunity to operationalize the sales-to-customer success handoff is immense. Getting it right can make or break the customer’s experience with you.
In the sales process, the seller has spent weeks or even months uncovering a buyer’s key objective(s) in buying your product. And, as we learned, many times that information is never transferred to the customer success teams, who then start their first call with “So what goals are you hoping to achieve?”
As one booth visitor, a Customer Success Manager, put it: “I feel like sales throws me a football while I’m going down a giant slide and I’m just expected to deliver whatever they promised.”
Companies need to recognize that there is no such thing as a ‘handoff’ and instead, view the journey as a continuous cycle of aligning business goals, delivering against expectations and communicating the value realized. Companies doing this today are delivering a more positive customer experience and achieving higher NRR because they are better able to anticipate customer needs and be able to deliver against them.
The positive news for everyone at Gainsight Pulse is that in polls by Gainsight and Bain & Company, it’s clear that companies, investors and the C-Suite recognize the importance of investing in their Customer Success organizations amid the recession.
While new sales may decline, the importance of keeping current customers is critical.
Investment in Customer Success doesn’t necessarily mean hiring more CSMs. It could also mean investing in platforms, communities and frameworks that enable your existing team to better serve their customers.
The role of Customer Success has come a long way since its days of being technical support. With the rise of subscriptions and annual renewal cycles, customer success organizations have become the linchpin of a business and its ability to drive ‘durable growth.’ The need for companies to proactively deliver value realization amplifies this.
While NRR remains a North Star metric, it is crucial to arm customer success teams with the ability to identify, align and measure the key business outcomes. Not just the most strategic customers or the accounts with the biggest contract. But for every single customer.
In a time where every company looks to connect each investment with its business outcome, failing to proactively connect that line for customers puts every contract at risk of churn.
ValueCloud is a self-service, end-to-end value enablement platform. From attracting prospects, to helping sales teams win deals faster, to supporting customer through renewals and up-sells, ValueCloud is the key to ensuring your entire team delivers value across the customer journey.
Our Value Realization solution provides core capabilities in defining organizational objectives, success metrics, a review cadence, data capture, and packaged assets to deliver a structured framework for engagement with your customers from sales handoff to renewal.
Begin your Value Realization journey by quantifying the outcomes that your solution creates for customers.