As B2B companies are on the verge to innovate their respective business models, they have come to learn more about the interminable power the customers have. With the convergence of data availability and business needs, these innovators are taking a notch up beyond the mundane support and service and proactively driving enterprise customer success. 

To ensure that your customers achieve their actual desired outcomes, it is you who has to work them towards the goal. Here in this blog, we discuss how client success works within an enterprise and how is all that managed in totality. Let’s dive in. 

To begin with Client Segmentation 

While the best of customer success management strategies begin with segmenting the clients, it is considered a very logical step that mostly all the SaaS companies look up to. Although it is not incorrect to claim that still a lot of segmentation is based on the payment, be it ARR, LTV, or ACV. 

But now enterprises segment based on the appropriate experiences. Simply put, they segment on the type and level of coverage, such as the required skills, facets, technological skills, etc. 

Defining the Starting Pont

It is seen that mostly the newer innovations take place of two things; one, when you have an interactive group, pumping with great ideas. And two, when it is your sheer desire to revamp. The starting point of any given customer success company should delve into a couple of terms like product knowledge, Task orientation, Strategic thinking, Domain Knowledge, etc.

Of course the Communication 

It is more than obvious that a massive part of enterprise customer success has to do with a perfect blend of communication. It does not only limit to the team member but also with the users, sponsors, and other related peers. 

Aside from this, there are times when the customer has not taken any necessary action to reach their next desired milestone. In such a case, enterprises do more than just communicate to build client success. And that is where customer marketing comes into play. 

They market their existing customers to increase the landscape of usage and they strive to drive adoption. As it sees a huge influence by customer success management, they use their clients in case studies or testimonials. 

Instrumentation to the Rescue 

Sometimes, when you purchase a piece of software without knowing a lot about its operations, you might just end up cooking your strategies in and around the software. But in enterprise customer success, the chapters look into taking you closer to where should you veer. 

This process of collecting relevant data from the customer’s interactions throughout their lifecycle, with your company is Instrumentation. It is now a critical step that helps to leverage technology to guide clients along the path of success. 

Knowing the Relevant Data

Data tends to be a great challenge for most of the industries. Storing, interpreting a value, and ensuring no misuse is a big deal. For this, smart enterprises chalk out what data needs to be drawn out. To begin with, entitlements, what are the services under a time bidding contract. Over and above, the billing, are the accountants doing enough? And how about the marketing, are you tracking your clients’ webinars or emails?

All these questions can be brought to answer when it is coupled with data taken from customer relationship management and put into judicious use. That is exactly what the enterprises are up to these days. 

Measurement of Success

When it comes to measuring the quality of success we have, there are two things that seen. First, how well are we performing as a SaaS company, and second, how loyal are the customers. While, if the latter is not based on the former, you might have a big reason to worry. If customer stickiness is something that hasn’t been put up yet, you might have to burn the midnight oil. 

Additionally, it will simmer down to zero if we are not aligning with the enterprise customer success, in spite of hitting the expansion goals. That is when financial metrics such as NRR, Net Revenue Retention, and even specific metrics like Success vector do their job. 

Yes to Renewals 

It is often told that cross-selling and upselling happen only when a customer is successful. Rather, in practical scenarios, for the clients to achieve their desired outcome, they will most likely have to stay past renewal or might consume more of the core products. 

Note: Renewals and expansions are not only from the company’s perspective only. Account management can go horribly wrong if the customers are treated more like account numbers. There is a vast difference in it all. 

The Right Definition of Success

Often, leading indicators set up expectations upfront of the achievable metrics that can measure customer success. Some of these include the percentage of customers. Or maybe the number of customers who were brought back from the verge of churn, score on the customer satisfaction metric like NPS, Net Promoter Score, and many alike. The culmination of all these points on a scorecard decides what real success is. 

Final Take

It is almost of umpteen importance that you get a clear picture. Know what is an appropriate experience for various customer segments. Creating a blend of human and technology, can sometimes not turn out to be quite appropriate, per se. Goes without saying, refrain from over-delivering. Instead, deliver an experience that is just appropriate. 

Enterprise customer success need not be an initiative that is based out of pure technology. Understand what customer success is. And also how customer success management is useful. And what are the do’s or rather what the don’ts in an enterprise are? When these above notes are followed, you will always a step ahead to receive the best of customer success. 

WRITTEN BYKaustubh Sangam

Kaustubh Sangam is a Customer Success Analyst with 2 years of experience. Committed to delivering exceptional customer experiences and driving business growth. Proficient in leveraging data analysis to optimize customer success strategies.

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