Customer Success for B2B SaaS Startups

1. Søren Harbo Madsen
Highlighted Customer Success experience
Support and Account Manager
Customer Success Manager and Lead
Director, Sales and Customer Success
Event Center Manager

2. ● LegalTech company based in
Copenhagen
● B2B SaaS
● Founded in 2018
● Team from Trustpilot
● 18 employees
The fully automated and no-
brainer privacy solution for
businesses everywhere.
To us Customer Success is:
● Doing the right thing
● Integrated across departments
● Founder-led
Trusted by

3. Customer Success
“To proactively drive and extend product usage to reach customer objectives and generate
ROI, while reducing churn and generating upsell opportunities.”
To build a successful Customer Success department you need
People, Processes & Technology.
To support the intention of a Customer Success as described
above, you need the Organisation and Culture supporting this.

4. Today’s topic
Insights and tactics: Customer Success as growth engine in uncertain times
Customer Success is under constant development…
I give 5 perspectives on Customer Success from within the
business in today’s market.
…and is exactly what you need it to be.
…and psst!

5. ● Executive commitment
○ Management support is essential
○ Starts with you
○ Match business strategy
1. People
● It’s a responsibility
○ On everyone
○ Company state of mind
○ A culture
● Make it your own
○ Get involved
○ Celebrate success
○ Founder-led sales and CS
Founder’s
mindset

6. 2. United
organisation
To create unique
experiences and value
for the customer
● CS - the Meeting Point
○ Information highway
○ Touchpoints, Customer Journey, Customer
Experience
● Understand the user
○ Product vs User Complexity framework
○ What does success look like
○ Where to invest
● Sales, Marketing, Support, Product
○ Processes to link together
○ Shared objectives
○ ICP, ICP, ICP…

7. 3. Focused
Customer
Success
● Know your customer
○ ICP, account mapping, executives
○ Go out there!
● Proactive problem solving
○ What is the mission-critical reason(s)
for the customer to use the product?
○ Strategic onboarding to reduce time
to value and lay foundation for growth
○ 80/20 pareto principle
● Create champions
○ Own CS - make it yours

8. 4. Commercial
Management
● Unified commercial department
○ Sales, CS, Support
○ Customer-focused metrics
○ Transparency on opportunities
○ Commission schemes
● Commercial strategy
○ Land and expand
○ Sell core product first
○ Pricing options
● Multiple fingerprints
○ Get CS in on the sales process
○ Avoid handover pitfalls
This is on you

9. 5. Data, data,
data…
5. Technology
Data, data, data…
● Tech foundation needed
○ Data visibility
○ Product development, pricing
strategy, retention, expansion…
○ Integrations
● Measurement
○ Classic metrics - do you need them?
○ Listening posts in customer journey
● Ask the right questions
○ What does success look like?
○ Are we solving the key pain point?

10. Takeaways
Insights and tactics: Customer Success as growth engine in uncertain times
● Founder: Get involved. Engage. Celebrate.
● Organisation: Unite around CS - the mindset.
● Customer Success team: Solve mission-critical problems.
● Commercial Management: CS as a growth engine is (also) on you.
● Technology: Data, data, data. Know it. Show it. Use it.

11. It takes strategy, time and effort to make it work.
When a customer attains their desired outcome while having a great
experience, they will inevitably buy more from you.
…and psst again!

12. shm@openli.com
Connect, poke or PM