Our Top 5 Customer Success Blog Posts Of 2021

2021: (Another) Year Of Accelerated Change

2021 was another year of radical and accelerated change for Customer Success (CS) and the business world as a whole. In fact, 91% of CS organizations said their team has grown in size and scope in 2021 (Totango, 2021). The true impact of the COVID-19 pandemic manifested itself in the form of hyper digitization, a hybrid work model and the great resignation. While these trends began to take shape in 2020, they were forced into hyperdrive this year and created a new normal for the SaaS world. 

Amidst this year of transformative change, what was top of mind for Customer Success leaders in 2021? We’ve compiled our top 5 most-read CS & SaaS blog posts of the year that reflect the key priorities for the industry in 2021 and give us a glimpse into the trends that will be shaping CS in 2022. From Customer Success Operations to the economics of CS, here are the year’s most popular pieces of thought leadership from the Valuize content library.

1. What’s The Real Difference Between Customer Outcomes and Customer Value?

‘Outcomes’ and ‘Value’ are currently the biggest buzzwords in the Customer Success domain and are often used interchangeably. But, outcomes and value are two different things – the same outcome will not mean value to every customer, but each outcome has the possibility to provide value. The relationship between the two is symbiotic and to unlock the value of each outcome, you need to understand what value means to each customer. In this SaaS blog post, we examine the difference between outcomes and value and how you can bring the two together to drive maximum customer value throughout your customers’ journey.

2. The 3 Pillars of A Cutting-Edge Customer Success Operations Model

Recurring revenue organizations that have kicked CS into hyperdrive all have one very important thing in common; an expertly-designed Customer Success Operations motion. To build a best-in-class CS Operations function, you need to master and marry 3 fundamental elements: Customer Success strategy, technology and data. These 3 pillars are inextricably linked and, together, they form a powerful trifecta that drives Net Dollar Retention. This article dives deep into these three pillars to outline how strategy, technology, and data will effectively serve as the foundation of your Customer Success Operations model.

3. Net Dollar Retention: The What, Why And How of Your Most Important Success Metric

Few metrics yield as much insight and impact on a company’s valuation as Net Dollar Retention (NDR). NDR captures and reflects the growth and performance of your overall business and revenue. There is also a direct and strong correlation between NDR performance and your company’s valuation. Given the criticality of this metric and its leading role in determining your company’s overall health and valuation, it’s no surprise that SaaS leaders are honing in on this key metric. Here, we closely examine the various constituents that make up Net Dollar Retention and provide a detailed framework for how to effectively measure your team on the leading indicators that drive best-in-class NDR.

4. The New Economics Of Customer Success: Showcasing The ROI Of Customer Success To Your CFO

Having the same conversations year-in and year-out about budgeting and investing in Customer Success just won’t cut it anymore. To keep up with increasing demands to drive NDR, you need to drastically update and improve how you measure your Customer Success motion to secure enthusiastic investment and buy-in from your Senior Leadership and Board. In this SaaS blog post, we introduce a new Customer Success metric to help you effectively measure the impact of your CS organization, definitively prove the ROI of Customer Success and garner eager investment from your CFO.

5. The Top 7 Qualities To Look For In A First-Rate Customer Success Operations Leader

Customer Success Operations is the scale-driving engine of your Customer Success organization. As a function, CS Operations ensures that your strategy, technology, data and processes are implemented effectively to drive long-term growth. To truly unleash the power of CS Operations and enable sustainable and scalable growth, you need a strong and technically-savvy leader who will improve the efficiency of your customer success team by providing tactical and strategic cross-functional support. Here are the 7 key attributes to look for when selecting the right candidate to build and scale your Customer Success organization. 

Are You Ready For 2022?

As we close out another transformative year, one thing is evident; we cannot remain stagnant as leaders and as an industry. Together, we need to transform how we serve our customers and our employees in order to survive and thrive in the new era of Customer Success. We hope these CS thought leadership pieces & SaaS blog posts help you chart a strategic new course in your organization and set you on an energized path to success in 2022 and beyond.

Start your year with a bang and join our new LinkedIn Live series hosted by Valuize’s Chief Client Officer, Emily Ryan. “On Operations, A Conversation with Emily Ryan” will host the top leaders in Customer Success to bring you cutting-edge insights into this rapidly growing industry.