Quick Summary: 2026 will be a year of stabilization and deliberate growth in customer success. The key customer growth trends: retention recovery, smarter GTM resource alignment, compressed buying cycles, and deliberate AI adoption, say these seasoned SaaS execs.
New ideas emerge in customer success every year, but few are grounded in data from the people shaping the field. The Customer Revenue Leadership Study is different. It’s the definitive look at how top-performing organizations are structuring their customer teams, adapting to new market realities, and driving growth from their base.
Now in its sixth year, the study has expanded beyond customer success to the full customer go-to-market ecosystem: account management, sales, and post-sale operations. It captures how companies are balancing efficiency with impact, stabilizing retention, and incorporating AI into their workflows.
To explore the results, ChurnZero CEO and co-founder You Mon Tsang invited two more of the industry’s most respected voices: Kerry Cunningham, VP of Research and Thought Leadership at 6sense, and Rich Gardner, President of Pavilion, the leading executive community for go-to-market leaders.
Watch the webinar in full here, and find our top customer success tips and trends below.
The top customer growth trends for 2025 into 2026.
Together, Rich, Kerry, and You Mon cut through the noise to explain what the numbers mean, and what customer revenue leaders need to do next.
1) Retention is stabilizing and should soon trend up.
After three years of downward pressure, both NRR and GRR have leveled off. As the steep declines of 2022–2024 (linked to overbuying and experimentation during the zero-interest-rate era) finally normalize, customer leaders can concentrate on fit, fundamentals, and repeatable success.
“If what we’re doing now is working, says Kerry, “retention should go up. We’re seeing a tighter focus on fundamentals—on what actually drives results—instead of throwing money at experiments just to see what sticks.”
The experts recommend: Use this stabilization period to reset your retention baselines. Focus on customers with the highest potential for long-term value, and prioritize proven processes rather than diluting resources through too much experimentation.
2) Two shifts could be driving retention’s stabilization.
Retention gains are being fueled by two shifts, Rich suggests. First, companies are finally using tools purchased in prior years more effectively. Second, companies are moving more customer engagement inside their products.
The experts recommend: To capitalize on both trends, double down on customer enablement to maximize platform ROI, and operationalize in-app engagement as part of your customer journey. When your customers see value faster, stability will follow.
3: Recalibrate your customer GTM team to better serve the base.
One reflection of growth being powered by the customer base—in most companies, at least—is that CS teams seem to be expanding faster than sales teams. Meanwhile, AI is reshaping sales development by automating parts of SDR roles.
“AI has traction replacing parts of traditional SDR work,” says Rich. “I’m not saying there’s no role for human SDRs, but many businesses probably need fewer than before.”
The experts recommend: Double down on retention and expansion and rebalance your resources for impact. Strengthen your customer revenue function—CS ops, enablement, analytics—while keeping one eye on how AI can absorb everyday tasks without sacrificing quality.
4: Buying cycles have compressed… so move fast when the window opens.
Many deals are still delayed. When customers do buy, however, they’re often doing it quickly to secure budgets or capture early results. This customer growth trend means a sharper need for speed on your end.
The experts recommend: Build readiness for short decision windows by preparing materials, ROI models, and approvals in advance. The organizations who can respond fastest will convert more of these rare buying windows into wins.
5: Consider different swimlanes for renewal and expansion ownership.
While customer success increasingly owns renewals, account management is taking the lead on expansion. It’s less of a turf war than a recognition that these motions require different skillsets. CS excels in protecting the base, while AM is better equipped to build relationships in new buying centers.
“Customer success sees existing buying groups really well,” says Kerry. “But, if expansion means selling into parts of the organization that aren’t yet customers, CS isn’t in the best position to start from scratch.”
The experts recommend: If separate swimlanes are right for you, clarify ownership early and align incentives accordingly. Define how and when CS hands opportunities to account management, and ensure that both teams collaborate on the customer lifecycle without duplication or friction.
6) Don’t wait for a wave; create one.
The chaotic stretch of 2024 and early 2025 has forced GTM teams to get disciplined. Rather than waiting for market momentum, the strongest organizations are engineering their own growth through operational excellence and tighter control over execution.
The experts recommend: Use this moment for a reset. Design business models that perform regardless of external headwinds, align your tech adoption to measurable outcomes, and ensure that every piece of your GTM model connects directly to customer impact and retention.
7: Don’t let customer marketing, ops, and analytics be your “missing muscles”.
Despite a clear link to stronger retention, customer marketing, CS operations, and data analytics roles remain underrepresented. It’s a major opportunity, particularly with customer marketing.
“Most revenue comes from existing customers, and they don’t experience your marketing like prospects,” says Kerry. “Not having a dedicated function designing communication for customers is a big miss.”
The experts recommend: Rethink your leverage structure and invest in scalable functions to improve reach, consistency, and insight across the base. Customer marketing and CS ops deliver impact far beyond their headcount.
8: Build a tech stack that moves NRR.
This year’s study correlates specific technologies with better NRR outcomes. Four stand out: CRM, customer success platforms, support systems, and learning management tools. The findings show each contributes meaningfully, with a missing CRM having the greatest negative impact, followed by a missing CSP.
“Treat these as equivalent contributors to better NRR. You need them all.” says Kerry.
The experts recommend: Ensure these foundational systems are in place and connected! Each drives retention in different ways, and together, they’re the backbone of a stable customer operation. Learn more about why a customer-centric tech stack correlates to higher NRR here.
9: Become deliberate about your AI adoption.
The most common use cases for AI among customer teams are practical: summarization, research, content creation—and even modest productivity gains are proving valuable. However, even though CEOs and boards are pushing for faster progress, most customer teams remain in the early stages of AI adoption.
The experts recommend: Respond with clarity, not haste. Define the tangible outcomes AI will deliver for your teams and customers—then, start small, prove impact, and expand deliberately.
10: Get ready to play offense in 2026.
The second half of 2025 represents a new baseline of stability, even though it’s still unpredictable. Make 2026 your year to reassert control by defining your own plan, using AI to reveal insight, and acting with purpose.
The mandate is clear: lead proactively. Own the plan, make smart bets, and guide your teams toward the next stage of growth. Stability is the starting point, not the finish line.
Dig into more essential customer growth trends in 2025’s Customer Revenue Leadership Study here.
