Best Practices

  /  Best Practices

When you meet a customer’s expectations, you make them happy. That’s the basic concept behind customer satisfaction. Sometimes, however, the potential value of your product or service outstrips customer expectations. Though the customer may be content, you can find ways

As customers use your product, they generate data just by going about their daily workflow. And you would be missing out on a huge opportunity if you didn’t capture that data, analyze it, and organize it. Doing so gives you

The customer-centered economy has made it easier for customers to switch to a competitor if one company is not fully satisfying them. This has raised customer expectations; now, companies need to provide personalized services to stand out. If you don’t

Imagine you are planning to fly home for the holidays. How do you feel about the impending journey? What is your mood as you visualize the process of finding a flight, booking a ticket, getting to the airport, checking your

What’s better for your business to focus on: customer success or sales? Customer success is the practice of cultivating deep and lasting relationships with your customers, which can unlock lasting customer lifetime value for your business. And sales is, well,

Times are changing. The old sales idea of courting and closing a customer in a single effort and considering their value “bagged” from a one-off transaction is as antiquated as dial-up modems. After all, the digitization of business has empowered customers

Every business needs to be able to make and increase profits. We go to exhaustive lengths to find new ways to make our businesses more profitable, but sometimes the answer is right in front of your nose: if you want

The digital transformation of business has created a customer-centered economy where customers seek short-term commitments and value choice, flexibility, and personalized service. This has irrevocably changed how enterprises need to approach customers. Instead of capturing the bulk of customer value

You wouldn't throw your money away on the street, would you? Or drop it down the garbage disposal? If you’re not working hard to retain customers, you may as well—because you’ll be losing money. A one-time customer is a lost revenue

What’s your company’s most precious asset? It's not your inventory, your stock options, or your intellectual property. It’s your customers. Your business can’t exist without them, and if you want your business to last, you’ve got to make them happy.

Customer Success (CS) software helps your enterprise understand what matters to your customers. And what matters most to your customers should matter most to you. The reality of the unique relationship you share with your customers is captured in the raw

Imagine you’re a customer who’s just subscribed to a service or purchased a new product. In a perfect world, what would happen next? You’d probably begin using the product and discover it works exactly as described. The value of your

Renewal is a promise of future reward. In fact, an MRI study of the thought processes of loyal customers found that specific parts of the brain are activated when a customer sees a brand they like. Those illuminated parts of

When consumers decide which brand of product to purchase, they pick the one they have the strongest relationship with. As such, it’s critical that customer success teams emphasize the use of regular customer engagements to keep the customer relationship strong.

Culture is defined by actions. It is a tangible presence customers can see and feel in the way you engage them, respond to them, and present the product. Creating the right culture within your enterprise is, therefore, a matter of

Customer success initiatives are critical in ensuring your product gives customers the positive outcomes they're looking for. But how can you tell if your customer success team's hard work is paying off? One way is to use key performance indicators

The new customer-centered economy marks a fundamental change in the business/customer relationship. It’s no longer wise for businesses to focus the majority of their efforts on seeking new customers. After all, recurring revenue business models revolve around customer subscriptions that

Congratulations! You’ve won a new customer and helped them learn how to use your product or service. What happens next? In a perfect world, the customer would fully leverage it, then spread the word about your business to their friends

An illuminated “check engine” light is scary because it doesn’t offer any solution. There could be any number of reasons why that little beacon has been lit. For many, “check engine” may as well just say “car broken”—and that’s terrifying. The

Realizing lifetime value from your customers is about generating lifetime value for your customers. That’s the central tenant of the customer success approach to business. It represents a shift away from thinking of customers as point-of-sale pursuits and toward regarding


Think of them as your customers—even when they’re heading out the door. That’s the ideal approach when a customer lapses. Churn is built into every business model, but just because churn is expected doesn’t mean it has to be accepted. Today’s

Imagine you’re a customer. You’re enjoying a product or service and everything’s fine—until it’s not. Suddenly, your fresh food box was delivered containing spoiled meat, or the videos on your streaming service constantly skip. So, you turn to the service

In today’s digitally transformed business world, customers are empowered to shift their subscription loyalties at short notice and without repercussion. As such, there’s seemingly no greater crisis than a lapsed customer. But, as John F. Kennedy once noted, within each

Measuring product adoption by users is critical for SaaS and Cloud companies as this is the most telling indicator of the value customers are getting from products and services. And when it comes to preventing churn and driving growth, it

You should adopt a “time invested equals benefits gained” approach with your SaaS renewal best practices. With a focus on lifetime customer success rather than on quick revenue raising, you can turn your renewal process into a celebration of an

Recurring revenue is the lifeblood of any SaaS enterprise operating within today’s new subscription economy. The digital transformation of business has led to an explosion of demand for SaaS products, but the low barrier to entry and the fluidity it

The Customer Success for the Enterprise, luncheon held on Nov. 6th, in Palo Alto was an invitation-only event hosted by Totango, the leader in Customer Success (CS) software for the enterprise. The event brought together executives from leading enterprises in

We had a great time at the Technology and Services World (TSW) in Las Vegas networking, sharing ideas, and learning about the latest trends in technology services. It was a valuable and insightful event and the turnout at our booth from

We’ve had a very busy week full of exciting news at the Totango HQ and in Barcelona attending SAP CX Live!  First off, we are pleased to announce Totango Spark, our flagship software platform is now available. Spark guides enterprises through the successful

Customer Success for the Enterprise, held on September 18th in NYC was an exciting chance for Customer Success leaders from around the world to exchange their innovative ideas in this ever-changing space.   Four topics stood out from the discussion: enabling


After new customers are fully onboarded, they move along the customer journey into the growth stage (nurture or adoption stage). For most recurring revenue companies, this stage is the longest.  Looking at the representation below, customers typically spend 30 days in

For recurring-revenue businesses, retention and expansion are the key drivers of growth. To drive success for both of these metrics, an accurate understanding of customer health is crucial. Essentially, the foundation of customer success is an accurate understanding of customer

Onboarding is a crucial time to provide the training and resources that customers need to make the most out of your product. While many customers might be able to quickly ramp up after onboarding, there are some customers that are

Customer success is no longer a new revenue opportunity, it has become a requirement for any subscription business looking to remain competitive. As new teams are built and programs are scaled, we also see more established teams maturing their practices

The subscription economy has exploded over the last decade. Top SaaS companies with flexible, innovative technologies are in high demand.  The lower barrier to entry however, has created a myriad of competitive pressures on SaaS providers.  To dominate their markets, tech

Hiring the right customer success manager can significantly impact your business. The right customer success managers gracefully balance their own goals and customer relationships. It’s in their nature to be proactive and sensitive, but also to develop deep understanding for

Customer success is typically associated with SaaS businesses, helping companies grow and retain a customer base that can cancel and switch providers easily. But, SaaS companies are not the only ones using the subscription business model. Take Global Capacity, a 15-year telecom

  So we all know farmers. Source:   No, not that type of farmer…. the kind that grows trees. For thousands of years, they have been mastering a very simple, repetitive process - prep the soil, plant the seeds, water, provide nutrients, harvest,