Customer success continues to be an emerging practice as both technology companies and nontraditional industries move to a new subscription revenue model. A maturity model framework helps companies establish their customer success organizations and initiatives, as well as allowing them to see where they stand and how they can improve as they move through the stages of maturity. www.tsia.com.

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Customer Success Maturity Model
Presented by:
Phil Nanus, VP Research, Customer Success, TSIA

2. www.tsia.com Source: TSIA Services Organization Study
“Customer Success”
is gaining ground
as the term to describe
the complete global
services organization.
Customer Success as a Theme

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Common practice for the following service lines to report into a Global
Services or Customer Success executive: Customer Success,
Consulting Services, Technical Services, and Field Services
3Source: TSIA Services Organization Study
SS
Support
Services
PS
Professional
Services
ES
Education
Services
FS
Field
Services
CS
Customer
Success
Customer
Success

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Answering the Key Questions of Customer Success
What
How
When
Why
Who
Customer Success is the intersection between the promise of a suppliers' technology
and the customers’ desired business outcome.
Customer Success is delivered through time, event, and value based interactions between
the customer, the supplier, and the suppliers’ technology.
Customer Success requires prescriptive customer engagement throughout the lifecycle
between the supplier and the customer to ensure the promises of the suppliers’ technology
are realized.
Customer Success organizations and/or initiatives are focused on effective technology
Adoption that leads to increased Renewal Rates and Expansion opportunities.
The people that are executing against all of the above are members of Customer Success
organizations and are commonly referred to as Customer Success Managers (CSMs).

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HOW
WHO
WHY
Customer Success Maturity
CS
Capability
Phase 1
‘Forming’
Phase 2
‘Storming’
Phase 3
‘Norming’
Phase 4
‘Performing’
Charter What is Customer
Success?
Customer Success is
thematic.
Alignment to one of three
core charters; Adoption,
Renewal, or Expansion.
Multiple Charters that
facilitate effective Adoption
leading to higher renewal
rates and expansion
opportunities.
Effective Adoption Supplier does not collect
any Adoption information.
Supplier collects limited
information about customer
engagement but it is manual.
Automated collection of
customer interaction with
supplier technology, but
low adoption.
Effective adoption practices
including information on
Who, Quantity, Stickiness,
Data Quality, Efficiency, and
Business Outcomes.
Prescriptive
Engagement
Supplier is acting in a
legacy model where they
sell technology and
Customer has
responsibility all delivery.
Begins to establish Voice of
the Customer feedback
programs including NPS,
Effort Score and CSAT.
Begins to establish
proactive activities
including Customer
Journey map, Onboarding
program, and QBRs.
Documented customer
success plans and workflows
and playbooks established
that align to Value, Event or
Time based triggers.
Economics/Metrics
and Scalable
Funding
XaaS pivot, and supplier
starts to evaluate if Churn
is a problem as recurring
revenue models become
increasingly more
important.
Funding customer success
on a Project basis to improve
Customer Experience.
Funding from existing
Support (COGS) or Sales
(S&M) organizations as
team is being established.
Measuring Renewal, and
Churn.
Monetizing Customer
Success funded out of COS.
Customer Success at scale
funded out of S&M.
Measuring CAC, CRC, CEC
and Expansion Rates.
Organizational
Structures and
Capabilities
Not documented, beyond
marketing customer
success stories or
references.
There may be a CS or CX
leader or there may be a
matrixed program between
other leaders and the rest of
the company.
CSM or analogous roles
exist, but are initially
reactive in nature. Limited
to no structured work
product.
More proactive CSM role.
Career Path Matrix, CS
organization reports directly
to CEO or into Customer
Growth team.
5
WHAT
WHEN

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Contact TSIA to learn more about
Customer Success research and
membership. Let’s talk! >
Phil Nanus
VP Research, Customer Success