When we first planned the Pulse Conference back in 2013, nothing could have prepared us for the response from the community. You see, other departments within a business have their own traditions. Sales has Dreamforce or the annual President’s Club trip for high-achieving reps. Marketing has the Marketo Summit, countless meet-ups, and even national organizations like the Business Marketing Association (BMA) or American Marketing Association (AMA). Customer Success needed a home, and we’re very proud to have built the Pulse brand to serve as that connective tissue for our emerging practice.
But you’ll notice that other job functions have much more than just an annual conference to attend—there are networking opportunities, local meet-ups, and even function-specific professional associations. The other departments have an ecosystem of resources to learn, network and grow their careers, and it’s time that Customer Success had the same.
Over the course of the next several months, we will be releasing our broader vision for the Pulse brand that we’ve been building that goes beyond our annual conference in San Francisco. The first evolution will be an initiative that we’re calling PulseLocal, which I’m excited to share a little more about in this post.
PulseLocal is a group of local networking communities of Customer Success leaders that meet monthly to network, share their experiences, and develop great programs and relationships to lead their world in Customer Success. We have already “soft-launched” PulseLocal in 12 cities across the country and are actively working on new expansion markets. The inaugural “class” of PulseLocal chapters includes networking groups in San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles, Boston, Atlanta, Phoenix, St. Louis, Pittsburgh, Dallas, Portland, Chicago, and Seattle.
Why PulseLocal?
One of the most exciting aspects of the Pulse Conference are relationships that are made in Customer Success. Frankly, they don’t happen enough, and for the folks who are yet to make the trip out to San Francisco, those opportunities have not emerged at scale at the local level. This goes beyond listening to guest speakers and case studies, but jumping headfirst into the conversation with your peers at home, sharing your experiences, and developing the kind of relationships that tend to follow you throughout your career.
What is PulseLocal?
The promise of the Pulse brand continues to be one of building the framework of the growing Customer Success industry without a vendor pitch, and PulseLocal will inherit that same commitment as the network-effect expands from city to city. In fact, no one from Gainsight will even show up to the events!
Each city is managed by a chapter president who has demonstrated local leadership in Customer Success. The chapter presidents are supported on the backend by Gainsight for any operational duties like community management, event planning, and communications. They, in turn, can diligently focus on a) their day job, but b) facilitating the relationships and discussions at the community level.
As a member of a PulseLocal community, you can benefit from:
- Local meetings and networking receptions every month, always free to join.
- Dedicated online discussion community for your peers, locals only.
- Discounted registration for Pulse 2015 this May in San Francisco, CA.
- Network “homecoming” reception at Pulse every year to celebrate in style.
If you would like to join an active PulseLocal community, please find your city link below and sign up today. If your city is not listed, and you’re interested in becoming a chapter president, please email pulselocal@gainsight.com to learn more.
- PulseLocal New York (join now)
- PulseLocal Boston (join now)
- PulseLocal Atlanta (join now)
- PulseLocal Phoenix (join now)
- PulseLocal St. Louis (join now)
- PulseLocal Pittsburgh (join now)
- PulseLocal San Francisco (Coming in Oct)
- PulseLocal Los Angeles (Coming in Oct)
- PulseLocal Dallas (Coming in Oct)
- PulseLocal Portland (Coming in Oct)
- PulseLocal Seattle (Coming in Oct)
- PulseLocal Chicago (Coming in Oct)
This is only the beginning. Stay tuned for more exciting news about Pulse and new ways to get involved in shaping the future of Customer Success!
