1、State of Customer Success 2018 JANUARY 2018 Customer Success as a discipline has come of age. Organizations are realizing its importance in their own growth curve and have begun investing in Customer Success teams. What are these Customer Success teams striving to achieve? And how are they faring in

2、 meeting those objectives? What are the challenges they are facing? And what is the positive outcome that organizations are deriving out of their Customer Success initiatives? These are some questions that we decided to find answers to. So we spoke in depth to 100 senior Customer Success executives

3、in large and medium sized organizations in the technology space. Their inputs helped us shape this report. Introduction Industry Revenue Level Employee Size Respondent Profile Computer Software 10,001+ 5,001 - 10,000 1,001 - 5,000 501 - 1,000 201 - 500 51 - 200 11 - 50 $1B $501M - 1B $251 - 500M $10

4、1 - 250M $51 - 100M $11 - 50M $1 - 10M VPs Directors Managers Others Internet Information Technology and Services 61% 4% 8% 13% 17% 30% 25% 3% 12% 5% 5% 9% 14% 32% 23% 9% 10% 68% 13% 30% 9% 01 State of Customer Success 2018 72% of organizations have a clearly-defined Customer Success strategy while

5、28% dont have one yet. Reducing churn (66%) and increasing product usage (65%) are the top-ranked objectives of a Customer Success program. Upsell more involved metrics like customer referral rate (10%) and lifetime value (5%) are less popular. Email (88%) and phone (80%) are the most-preferred cust

6、omer engagement channels. Social media (12%) and website (10%) are the least-preferred customer engagement channels. Managing customer expectations (57%) and measuring customer satisfaction (52%) are the biggest challenges Customer Success programs face. Predictive analytics (67%) is the most-sought

7、-after technology in Customer Success; virtual only 39% said that they do. This perhaps is in line with our earlier finding wherein respondents placed referrals in the bottom half of the list of objectives that drove their Customer Success program. 25 State of Customer Success 2018 Do you reward cus

8、tomers for referrals? 61% No 39% Yes 26 State of Customer Success 2018 Predictive analytics is the most sought-after technology in Customer Success. 67 percent of respondents currently employ or hope to employ predictive analytics technology in their Customer Success program. Artificial intelligence

9、 & machine learning (38%) and chatbots (27%) were the other picks. Given the intense buzz around chatbot technology in recent times, its deployment in the Customer Success space seems surprisingly modest. 27 State of Customer Success 2018 Which of the following technologies do you currently employ o

10、r hope to employ in the near future in your Customer Success program? Predictive analytics AI & machine learning for automating processes ChatbotsVirtual & augmented reality for enhancing customer experience 67%38%27%10% 28 State of Customer Success 2018 29 State of Customer Success 2018 Key Recomme

11、ndations Have a clear Customer Success strategy, and invest in a dedicated Customer Success team Our research findings reveal that acquiring a new customer is considerably more expensive than retaining an existing one. A well thought-out Customer Success strategy can increase customer retention and

12、maximize profits for you. Expand the number of customer interaction points to increase engagement A majority of companies still remained too focused on email and telephone for their customer interactions, even though the number of customer interaction points has expanded to include social media, web

13、inars and other types of online activities. We have observed that companies which are present at all touchpoints where their customers are, take their engagement to a higher level. Increase Feedback from Customers Existing customers can add immense value to a business by providing honest feedback on

14、 products and services. By knowing what is working and what is not in its business offering, an organization can put itself in the sweet spot for future growth and profitability. Measure and maximize Customer Lifetime Value Thinking from a “Lifetime Customer Value” perspective helps an organization

15、understand the true cost of losing existing customers, and thereby, the critical importance of treating them right. 30 State of Customer Success 2018 Embrace Digital Transformation Many organizations are failing to grasp the significance and impact that digital technologies such as artificial intell

16、igence, machine learning, NLP (natural language processing) and chatbots can have on their business and customer success processes. We recommend that companies review their customer success processes to determine where automation, AI and machine learning can augment their employees efforts and help

17、them create personalized and contextually relevant customer interactions, provide faster resolution to problems, and reduce customer acquisition and support costs. Listen and respond to what your customers are saying Monitor your customers sentiments on social media and thank them for sharing their

18、opinion. Recognizing both negative and positive sentiments is a great way of demonstrating to your customers that feedback matters. We believe this will improve CSAT scores and help you in building customer loyalty. Reward fans and champions Identify, cultivate and reward champion customers and fans

19、 who act as advocates for your products and services on social and other media. Celebrate them publicly and you can be sure referrals will follow. Measure the right metrics to gauge the success of your Customer Success Program We recommend that companies expand the number of metrics they use to meas

20、ure their customer success programs beyond the traditional ones of renewals and churn to include quantum of upsell and cross-sell, customer referral rates and lifetime customer value. These will provide a more accurate representation of current and future success of such programs. Customer Success h

21、as caught the imagination of marketers in recent times, and not without reason. There are enough studies on the subject that show that acquiring a new customer is considerably more expensive than retaining an existing one and that increasing the customer retention rate increases profits. Keeping in

22、line with these findings, its heartening to see that marketers have begun to realize the importance of having a clearly-defined Customer Success strategy and the relevance of investing in a dedicated Customer Success team. What came out in our study, however, was that while marketers have invested i

23、n Customer Success programs, they were still primarily driving them to reduce churn and increase product usage. While these are commendable initiatives by themselves, we belive marketers can benefit a lot more by digging deeper into such programs. Upselling and cross-selling of products and services

24、 and building referrals are some of the more immediate benefits that marketers can hope to gain. Measuring and maximizing Customer Lifetime Value, a performance parameter that marketers dont seem to be actively tracking would probably be the next logical step. Knowing your customers better is all ab

25、out engaging with them actively. To do this, organizations need to look beyond email and telephone. Webinars, online events and social media immediately come to mind. Harnessing the inherent power of these media can take their engagement with customers to a whole new level. Existing customers can no

26、t only deliver profits, but can add immense value to a business by providing honest feedback on products and services. By knowing what is working and what is not in their business offering, an organization can put itself in the sweet spot of future growth and profitability. Final Thoughts 31 State o

27、f Customer Success 2018 Regalix Research focuses on helping organizations across the globe to augment their marketing, customer satisfaction and retention initiatives. Headquartered in Mountain View, California, the organization boasts an extensive network of top business executives. It employs prac

28、titioners for in-depth analysis of industry data for meaningful insights that answer the whens and whys of disruptive trends. The research methodology employed by Regalix filters scores of data sets, making them insightful and enables industry leaders to arrive at impactful business decisions. About

29、 Regalix Research 32 State of Customer Success 2018 About the analysts Arunh started his career with consumer product marketing, moved to brand management, and been involved in new product launches. In his various roles, he has had deep involvement with consumer and product research. Arunh is curren

30、tly involved in studying emerging trends and understanding consumer behavior in the digital space. Arunh Krishnan Senior Analyst Nimish Vohra SVP, Principal Analyst Nimish, works with CMOs and senior marketing professionals. His research focuses on customer success management, predictive analytics,

31、mobile enablement and other emerging trends that help customers leverage technology as an enabler of marketing and business outcomes. 33 State of Customer Success 2018 (US): 1-888-683-4875 (India): +91 80-49445010 Email: researchregalix- inforegalix- For more information To find out how we can help

32、you, please contact us, or visit us at 2301, Leghorn Street, Mountain View, CA 94043 Regalix is a Customer Success company that re-imagines customer experiences across hi-tech, ad-tech and retail domains. It is headquartered in Silicon Valley with branches across Europe and Asia. The company has par

33、tnered with some of the biggest global B2B organizations in their efforts at customer acquisition, growth and retention. Regalix, with its roots in data-driven and ROI-oriented marketing, is a full-fledged Customer Success company, delivering seamless customer experiences in todays subscription-based economy. The company combines technology and human intelligence to boost efficiency, while improving CSAT. About Regalix