Building a successful business requires laser-like focus. Companies need to hire the right people, find the right customers, and ensure they can keep those customers from churning. By necessity, some priorities, like what tools to integrate into your tech stack, can be pushed down the road. However, at some point, every organization must invest in more powerful, future-focused platforms if they want to sustain their growth.
Customer Success teams often believe their only choice is between a platform that can be implemented quickly and one that is powerful enough to grow with them in the future. But it doesn’t have to be an either-or decision. In fact, companies should not invest in a Customer Success Platform (CSP) unless it offers both.
If you’re thinking about integrating a new CSP into your tech stack, we can help you find the perfect fit for you based on today’s priorities and your goals for tomorrow. Here are the top three things to keep an eye out for:
Evaluate How AI Is Integrated
Companies in the middle of a growth spurt all face the same issue. Their current Customer Success Managers (CSMs) are swamped trying to manage their accounts, but there may not be room in the budget just yet to hire more help. The team knows there are opportunities to streamline workflows, but no one has time to step back and assess operations.
That’s why AI is critical in a CSP. As a tool, it always has a high-level view of inefficiencies and can work in the background to remedy them. But the real power of AI is how it can support CSMs to focus on their most impactful and meaningful work. It can identify expansion opportunities and churn risks, produce quality engagements, and ensure no information is missed on every account.
If the goal of your company is to grow every year, you will likely experience these growth spurts every few years. You need a CSP that is constantly improving and expanding the power of AI so that you can make each transition seamlessly.
Gainsight vs. Catalyst: Get the Strategic Comparison
Map Capabilities Against Your Growth Plan
Another key factor to deciding which CSP is right for your company is the depth and breadth of the features it offers, as well as their power. Some platforms can offer a wide variety of features, but they lack the power needed to serve hundreds of customers at once. Conversely, some platforms may work perfectly in a few ways, but don’t offer comprehensive support for your CSMs. These are platforms that you’ll grow out of in just a few years, as your operations get more complex,
When making an investment as crucial as your CSP, it’s important to find the one that offers powerful features that work together across the entire customer journey. Think beyond what your teams need right now and remember that the right tool will grow with you far into the future. What are the features you’ll need in three years? Five? Invest in what makes the most sense long-term.
Prioritize Streamlining Your Team’s Workflow
The final consideration to remember as you consider what CSP your company should use is how it works within the network of your existing tech. As your customer base expands, the amount of data stored by your tech stack will grow exponentially. CSMs will also rely more heavily on automated processes to provide exceptional customer experiences.
If your CSP doesn’t integrate seamlessly into your ecosystem, you risk loss of data, inefficiencies, and, ultimately, unhappy customers. In order to avoid those issues, look for a CSP that can work with your current tools on day one.
Ask about the features that come out of the box, the programs it already works with, and what is possible based on the tools you use today. You’ll find that most companies offer custom integrations, but the right CSP will automatically work with the most important tools.
Learn More in Our Buyer’s Guide
For more guidance on how to identify the right customer success platform for your organization, check out our Buyer’s Guide: Select a Customer Success Platform to Grow With.
