How to Get Executive Buy-In for Customer Success Software
How to get executive buy-in for customer success software: lead with account growth and lower churn, then tie it to engagement, NPS, and client health.
TL;DR
- The strongest case for customer success software to executives is the bottom line: it increases account growth and decreases customer churn by giving CSMs visibility into revenue opportunity and at-risk accounts.
- Additional operational objectives to raise with executives include driving platform engagement, increasing NPS, cultivating customer referrals, and building an overall picture of client health.
- A dedicated CS platform — rather than forcing CS onto the sales team's CRM — streamlines operations and gives CSMs the tools to deliver better customer outcomes.
Customer success is a unique department within a SaaS organization. While it engages with nearly every single other department on a daily basis, it is still sometimes considered a ‘younger brother’ to the flashier sales team. In the past few years, however, SaaS organizations – including executives, decision makers, and board members – have started to realize that a strong customer success department is critical to the long-term success of an organization.
Even with this newfound realization of what has long been a critical part of SaaS strategy, investing in customer success software can still require some heavy lifting from customer success teams. Some executive teams may want customer success to fall in line with a sales team and use their CRM solution instead of looking for one built specifically for customer success itself. Here are a few key areas of focus to keep in mind when driving executive buy-in for a customer success platform.
The bottom line: increase account growth and decrease customer churn
The main benefit of a customer success software that executive management should be aware of is the fact that it can increase account growth and decrease customer churn. CSMs and account managers can be better informed on the revenue opportunity of every account and make strategic decisions based on this information. At the same time, CSMs can set up alerts and benchmarks that can identify accounts that may be at risk of churning. With this level of visibility, CSMs can be more agile and address issues faster.
Additional operational objectives to address:
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Drive platform engagement: SaaS platform engagement is tied back to everything from product enhancements to new functionality to revenue. By having insight into product usage, CSMs can make better strategic decisions and relay this information on to other internal departments.
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Increase NPS scores: NPS and other industry standards can impact a brand’s reputation and image to customers, prospects, and partners. A dedicated customer success platform can increase NPS by allowing CSMs to deliver better service.
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Cultivate customer referrals: Identifying customers who are willing to talk to prospective customers is a key responsibility of a CSM. With the right numbers in front of them, CSMs can identify the right referral candidates and connect them with the marketing or sales team members.** **
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Build an overall picture of client health: Client success goes well beyond customer sentiment or revenue. A dedicated customer success platform gives an entire team – from executives down – a clear picture of account health.
A customer success software solution makes it easier for CSMs to do their jobs better
At the end of the day, a customer success software platform streamlines operations for CSMs and gives them the tools and resources they need to deliver better experiences to customers and end users. A customer success platform is a necessary investment any modern SaaS organization needs in order to operate at the highest level and drive the best business outcomes.
You can learn more about driving executive buy-in for customer success softwarehere.
Frequently Asked Questions
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