In an era when budgets are tightening, and every department is under the microscope, customer success teams must demonstrate their undeniable value. Gone are the days of unlimited budgets and value assumptions; today, customer success executives find themselves in the hot seat, needing to justify their operations’ existence and efficacy.

Some critical challenges and opportunities lie in defining and enhancing the value of customer success. That’s why we’re embarking on an in-depth Research Journey, and we want you to join us. Whether you’re a seasoned executive or a newcomer, your insights and experiences are invaluable as we explore organizations’ tried-and-true methods for substantiating their customer success efforts.

This journey isn’t just about discussions; it’s about actionable insights. You’ll delve into what measurements are essential, what strategies are most effective, and how holistic organizational capabilities can be harnessed to justify and maximize the value of customer success teams. 

This is more than just an opportunity to learn—it’s a chance to make your mark on the industry. Join this Research Journey to elevate your customer success team and prove their pivotal role in your organization’s success.

Define the Problem: Why Your Customer Success Team’s Survival Depends on Demonstrating Value

In recent years, customer success teams have enjoyed the luxury of ample budgets and minimal scrutiny. However, the financial landscape has shifted dramatically. With rising interest rates hovering around 8% to 9%, venture capitalists and private equity firms reevaluate their investments, scrutinizing every dollar spent, especially in sectors like customer success that historically received unchecked funding.

Today’s primary issue facing customer success teams is the urgent need to justify their budgets and prove their return on investment (ROI). The pressure is mounting, with financial backers demanding a substantial ROI and the economic climate remaining volatile.

Why does it need solving?

As a leader in your organization, you know the consequences of not addressing this challenge are significant. With a clear justification of customer success’s value, your department may avoid headcount reductions, mergers with other departments, or complete defunding. This is a pivotal moment when customer success must transition from being a cost center under scrutiny to a value center emerging more toward a profit center.

This issue touches everyone involved in customer success—from chief customer officers to customer success executives and other stakeholders like chief revenue officers and sales executives who oversee these teams. Your ability to communicate and quantify the department’s contributions is now more crucial than ever.

Addressing this problem is critical for securing funding and ensuring your customer success initiatives' strategic alignment and operational continuity. If you’re not part of this journey, you may not know if you have effectively equipped your customer success organization.

The risks of ignoring this challenge are dire. Failing to prove the value of customer success could lead to reduced influence within the company, diminished resources, and the inability to impact customer outcomes positively. In the worst case, it might result in the department’s dissolution altogether. This will negatively impact the customer’s experience and continue to avalanche.

As we move forward in our journey, remember that understanding and addressing these issues is not just about survival—it’s about thriving in a challenging economic environment and proving that your customer success team is an indispensable part of the company’s success. Let’s dive deep into how organizations handle these challenges and explore proven strategies to demonstrate and enhance the value of customer success.

Unveiling the Research Methodology: Mapping Your Path to Discovery

As we embark on this crucial journey to maximize the impact and efficiency of customer success teams, you need to understand how we’ll tackle the research and what you can gain by joining us. We are committed to providing a comprehensive analysis and actionable insights that can transform how you approach customer success in your organization.

How We Will Work to Solve This Problem

Our Research Journey is meticulously designed to be both thorough and engaging, ensuring that you are not just a participant but also a collaborator in this exploration:

• Polls: We will start with two brief polls containing five targeted questions. These polls are designed to capture your immediate insights and experiences, setting the stage for deeper exploration.
• Detailed Study: Following the polls, we’ll delve deeper with a comprehensive study consisting of 20 questions. This study gathers nuanced data to better understand various organizations’ challenges and strategies.
• Continual Engagement: Throughout this journey, we will share findings through blogs, webinars, and a culminating conference launch. Expect between three to six research papers, providing you with rich, detailed insights into the state of customer success today.

What Will You Get Out of Joining This Research Journey?

By participating in this research, you will gain:

• Thematic Insights: Discover critical themes and insights shaping customer success today. You will understand what is working, what isn’t, and where the industry is headed.
• Proactive Guidance: Receive reactive and proactive guidance on navigating these turbulent times. You will find valuable tips on handling potential red flags and roadblocks in your customer success operations.
• Strategic Empowerment: The main goal of this journey is to empower you to measure and communicate the success that your customer success team brings to your organization and your customers. You will learn how to showcase the value of customer success internally to stakeholders like private equity firms and board members and externally to your customers.

By joining us, you’re not just contributing to a study—you’re taking a step toward redefining the future of customer success in your industry. Engage with us, and let’s shape a compelling narrative that highlights the undeniable value of your customer success initiatives.