REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Jan. 09, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- As companies shift to digital services1, customer success (CS) is emerging as a critical business function for driving customer retention and growth. A new study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Gainsight®, the customer success company, found that nearly 70 percent of companies with CS programs increased customer retention, while 91 percent of companies without customer success programs believe their customers suffer through issues that could be prevented or reduced through CS.
“The success of businesses providing digital services is inextricably linked to the success of their customers—that clearly puts customers in the driver seat,” said Nick Mehta, CEO of Gainsight. “That means companies need to proactively ensure customers are getting the experience and value they expect, while identifying issues and at-risk customers before the customer even knows there’s a problem. This requires a new mindset, new processes and the right technology to support it across the entire organization.”
According to the study, companies that already have customer success programs expect to further invest in the following areas of their programs:
- Staffing: Nearly 80 percent of companies will restructure their organization and staff the new roles.
- Alignment: 88 percent plan to create a customer-centric culture, which Forrester defines as “a system of shared values and behaviors that focus employees on delivering great customer experiences.”
- Processes: 83 percent will transform processes to align with the rest of the business, including building the customer lifecycle, and revamping the product development and product management processes.
- Technology: 80 percent of companies with customer success programs invested in technology and software to manage their operations. Of those with established customer success programs, 75 percent said they plan to focus more on technology and software in the next three to five years.
For the Gainsight-commissioned study, Forrester surveyed 160 organizations responsible for the net renewal rate or post-sale customer relationships at U.S. enterprises. The full study, Look To customer success To Drive Growth, is available here, along with recommendations for how digital businesses can implement and optimize customer success programs across their organization.
About Gainsight: Gainsight® is the customer success platform helping businesses retain and grow customers. The industry-leading solution provides valuable customer insights and analytics through a centralized view of customer health, builds outcomes-driven customer journeys, and helps prove the impact of customer success organizations in business. Companies that use Gainsight grow net retention by up to 33 percent. Learn how leading companies like Adobe, Box, GE Digital and Workday use Gainsight to increase retention, expansion, and advocacy at www.gainsight.com.
_________________
1 Forrester defines digital products or services as, software-driven or software-supported offerings that are sold as a subscription service and which customers can access through internet-connected devices.