5 Takeaways from Customer SuccessCon Seattle

This week we attended and exhibited at Customer SuccessCon Seattle hosted by The Customer Success Association. It was a day packed with great thought leadership and real-life examples of how organizations are addressing the fundamental reality of the recurring business model. It also provided a setting for customer success leaders across different industries to learn from each other and share their experiences.

Our very own Customer Success Manager, Chase Tinkham, listened in on sessions and engaged with peers in the practice, and here are 5 takeaways from the conference we wanted to share:

 1) Customer Success is More Than Just a Buzzword

Customer Success groups are rapidly growing in businesses around the world. For a long time- to be successful businesses have had to build exceptional sales teams, and have exceptional marketing teams to help build growth. But today companies can no longer take their current customers for granted because the cost of losing them is, well, just too costly. Customer Success is the new growth engine, and it’s here to stay.

2) Customer Success Best Practices are Still Being Defined

Although Customer Success is growing and teams are being built- the roles, functions, and best practices are not so well defined. This is a newer discipline so it’s going to take some time. That’s why forums like this are so great. It allows everyone to share what’s working for their organization and also very important what’s not working.

3) Data is Going to Be Your Friend

While the territory of building out a Customer Success team is uncharted territory for most, having a data driven approach is going to help you. Data can help back your justification for investing in new technology and getting additional headcount.

4) Customer Success is Not the Magic Bullet

Though Customer Success Managers play a very important role in an organization, they can’t make magic happen and compel customers stay if they are truly unhappy with your product.

5) Customer Success is Branching Outside of SaaS

With the expansion of the “Internet of Things” and the vast amount of consumer product usage data the practice of customer success has leapfrogged from strictly SaaS organizations to other consumer industries. With this shift we can learn from giants like Amazon and Apple.

After plenty of discussions about customer success and how it is integral for businesses, it’s more clear that in order to succeed, you need a good foundation of the right data to truly have a gauge on your customer’s health and you need that information in real-time. That’s where we come in. Our platform is uniquely designed to integrate with CRM systems and your application. In doing so, ChurnZero helps you understand how your customers use your product, assess their health and their likelihood to renew, and gives you the means to automate and personalize the customer experience through timely and relevant touchpoints, including in-app content.

If you want to learn about the ways we can help you fight churn and expand your current accounts, take a look at the impact we can bring. When you’re ready, contact us for a free demo.

Hope to see you all at other industry conferences and events throughout the rest of the year!

Customer Success Around the Web

• Leading Indicators of Customer Churn, And What to Do About It – You’ve been acquiring a ton of customer lately for your SaaS company. On the surface, this seems awesome. More customers, more money. So, you throw your energy into your customer funnel. However soon after signup, they seem to fly out the back door. Find out what you can do about this problem on Business 2 Community.

• The Right Financial Marketing Model: Sales Funnel or Customer Journey? – The traditional sales funnel has been around for decades, but the time has come to flip this model around and shift to a customer journey mindset. Read more on the Financial Brand.

• 6 Incredibly Effect Ideas to Improve Customer Retention – In a world replete with competition and various options that are readily available to the customer, it is critical for companies to assume a proactive role in maintain their current clientele. Check out these ideas for customer retention on Customer Think.