Customer Success and the "seat at the table"

For many years, various Customer Success leaders and thought leaders in this field have highlighted shortcomings in their companies' sales processes, handovers and product offerings that do not align with true Customer Success. The focus has often been on customer journeys, engagement models and other elements aimed at improving the post-sale customer experience.

If 2023 taught us one thing, it is that we must regularly challenge the status quo. I always advocate for looking at the "big picture". A colleague once remarked: "One of your strengths is stepping back and looking at the overall picture." This comment sparked my curiosity and reinforced my habit of regularly taking a macroscopic view or, as he put it, "looking at the meta."

When we pause to reflect on the achievements of the Customer Success community over the years and evaluate the various initiatives we have launched, we begin to recognize shortcomings. These do not always lie directly within Customer Success responsibilities, but might be embedded in the broader Go-To-Market (GTM) strategy or even across the entire corporate value chain. The heavy focus on aspects like "handover improvements", "customer expansion potential" and "churn drivers" raises an important question: Wouldn't our path have been smoother if company founders and subsequent executives had considered a comprehensive customer experience right from the start, from product development to GTM? Instead of waiting for a "magic moment" to initiate a Customer Success strategy for managing churn, identifying growth potential or finally understanding how customers use our tools, why not integrate a Customer Success mindset into every team's activities right from day one?

Dave Jackson, one of the most influential voices in this field, wrote an insightful book that reflects these thoughts. In "Customer-Led Growth: A CEO’s Guide to Building a B2B SaaS Company", he repeatedly challenges conventional wisdom.

The path forward is clear: We must move beyond debates about the nuances of different approaches and instead collaborate to drive the success of our companies. I am determined to support both ends of this spectrum: helping founders at the beginning of their journey and guiding executives beyond their silos into the boardroom.