In the previous post in this series on the Business Benefits of Customer Success Management (CSM), I talked about Revenue Expansion (up-sells, price increases, etc.) and how the data-driven nature of CSM can significantly drive top-line revenue growth.
Now I want to look at the second business benefit Forrester cites in their report “An Executive Primer to Customer Success Management.
” and this time it’s Preserved Revenue.
Preserve Revenue by Improving Customer Retention
When most people think of Customer Success, the first thing they think of is typically that it helps manage and mitigate customer churn by ensuring optimal product usage. That’s certainly not the only thing Customer Success is good for, but it is an important element that goes a long way toward ensuring a company’s success.
Forrester found that organizations are significantly decreasing churn rates by addressing customer issues as they arise, ensuring customers are properly on-boarded and engaged, that they’re trained using the product, and ultimately achieving the business results that were articulated during the sales cycle. When your customer achieves the business results they need to achieve, that is the definition of customer success.
As one CSM says in the Forrester report, “We make sure that our accounts are referenceable.” And of course, referenceable customers don’t just stay customers longer, they help bring in new customers, too.
In their report, Forrester breaks down the three main areas of Customer Success Management business benefit – Expanded Revenue, Preserved Revenue, and New Bookings – which I’ll continue to outline in the next post.
Or, you can skip ahead and read all of Forrester’s findings on Customer Success – including the process they used to determine their findings – by downloading “An Executive Primer to Customer Success Management” right now.
