The role of Customer Success is dramatically changing as SaaS solutions drive pervasive accountability to ensure the customer gets value from your solution. In this presentation Paul Teshima (original SVP of Customer Success at Eloqua) walks through 13 years of learnings and a framework for a Customer Success Maturity Model, in the hope to take what was once an art and turn it into more of a science.

1. Customer Success:
Moving From Art to
Science
Paul Teshima
Co-founder and CEO
Nudge
@pteshima
neednudge.com
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2. How Many of You:
Are Billable?
Have a Quota?
Ever Received a Cape From a Customer?
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3. neednudge.com 4

4. “Looking back it always
seems like a well thought out
plan, but really it was just a
bunch of smart people
begging, borrowing and
stealing resources to help
customers be successful”
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5. A Customer Success Maturity Model
Learn to
Scale
Make it
Work, Then
Drive Value
Get to
Product
Market Fit
Grow the
Base
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6. 0-20 Customers
Get to Product Market Fit
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7. neednudge.com All Rights Reserved Paul Teshima 2014 @pteshima

8. A Customer Success Maturity Model
Customers
0-20 20-100 100 – 1,000 1,000+
Stage
Get to Product
Market Fit
Make it Work,
Then Drive Value
Learn to Scale
Grow the
Base
CSMs 0 1-3 <8 By Segment
CSM Role N/A
Product
Engagement
Value
Adoption
Best Practices
Variable
Comp
N/A
50% Corp
25% Renewal
25% NPS
30% Corp
30% Ren/NPS
30% Upsells
30% Corp
30% Ren/NPS
30% Upsells
Systems CRM
CRM
CSP
CRM
CSP
Marketing
CRM
CSP
Marketing
AMs N/A 0 By Quota By Quota
AM Role N/A N/A X-Sell X-Sell
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9. Professional Services
Customer Success
Customer Support
User Experience
Market Maturity
Solution Complexity
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10. Product Improvements
Product Training/Support
Customer Success Managers
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11. How to Build the Business Case?
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12. Experiment in Phase 2
1, 1, 1 1/3, 1/3, 1/3
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13.  Ensure you look at all
factors to drive product
engagement
 Start building a business
case with what you have
 Every customer matters
do whatever it takes
X Hire a CSM, just yet 
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14. 20-100 Customers
Make it Work,
Then Drive Value
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15. “Culture eats
Strategy for
Breakfast”
- Peter Drucker
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16. A Customer Success Maturity Model
Customers
0-20 20-100 100 – 1,000 1,000+
Stage
Get to Product
Market Fit
Make it Work,
Then Drive Value
Learn to Scale
Grow the
Base
CSMs 0 1-3 <8 By Segment
CSM Role N/A
Product
Engagement
Value
Adoption
Best Practices
Variable
Comp
N/A
50% Corp
25% Renewal
25% NPS
30% Corp
30% Ren/NPS
30% Upsells
30% Corp
30% Ren/NPS
30% Upsells
Systems CRM
CRM
CSP
CRM
CSP
Marketing
CRM
CSP
Marketing
AMs N/A 0 By Quota By Quota
AM Role N/A N/A X-Sell X-Sell
neednudge.com All Rights Reserved Paul Teshima 2014 @pteshima

17. The Anatomy of a Great CSM
Great at Storytelling Naturally Curious
“Have” Domain
Optimistic, But Cynical
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18. CLUBSM
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19. “Storytelling works because the
best ones are memorable”
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20. Why Do You Need a Customer Success
Platform Now?
SALES CUSTOMER
SUCCESS
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21.  Start customer success
storytelling sessions to
drive culture
 Hire for motivation and
teach the skills
 Start implement key CS
practices now, to impact
future growth
X Put account managers on
accounts to upsell
X Let your CSMs become
Tier 1 support
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22. 100-1,000 Customers
Learn to Scale
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23. How Many of You Measure:
Attrition by MRR?
by Customer Count?
By Net MRR?
Average time for new customers to be fully
on-boarded?
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24. HOW WHAT
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25. A Customer Success Maturity Model
Customers
0-20 20-100 100 – 1,000 1,000+
Stage
Get to Product
Market Fit
Make it Work,
Then Drive Value
Learn to Scale
Grow the
Base
CSMs 0 1-3 <8 By Segment
CSM Role N/A
Product
Engagement
Value
Adoption
Best Practices
Variable
Comp
N/A
50% Corp
25% Renewal
25% NPS
30% Corp
30% Ren/NPS
30% Upsells
30% Corp
30% Ren/NPS
30% Upsells
Systems CRM
CRM
CSP
CRM
CSP
Marketing
CRM
CSP
Marketing
AMs N/A 0 By Quota By Quota
AM Role N/A N/A X-Sell X-Sell
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26. I have a hard time
saying “no” to
anyone
CUSTOMERS
SALES
PARTNERS
MARKETING
PRODUCT
SERVICE
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27. “Few races are won at the start, but many races are lost there”
- livestrong.com
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28. Hold Sales/Services/Partners Accountable
Onboarding Watchlist
< 30 Days 30 – 60 Days > 60 Days
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29. Set an Actionable Plan Based on Your
Product Value Lifecycle
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30. Find Hunters That
Should Be Farmers
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31. Our “Ideal” Customer Lifecycle
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32. Avoid the Sample of One
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33. Grow Exec Support by Developing a
Customer Success Cadence
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34.  Map our your customer
product value lifecycle
 Put pressure on other
groups to do their part
 Develop a customer
success cadence with
your executive team
X Stop CSMs from leaving
the team to other roles
X Hire AMs without domain
and product knowledge
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35. 1,000+ Customers
Grow the Base
(faster, better, cheaper)
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36. neednudge.com All Rights Reserved Paul Teshima 2014 @pteshima

37. As You Grow You Need to Upsell
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Source: Pacific Crest SaaS Benchmark Report

38. Cost to Renew/Upsell 5x Lower Than New
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Source: Pacific Crest SaaS Benchmark Report

39. However New ASP is Still Too Low
Source: Pacific Crest SaaS Benchmark Report
neednudge.com All Rights Reserved Paul Teshima 2014 @pteshima

40. A Customer Success Maturity Model
Customers
0-20 20-100 100 – 1,000 1,000+
Stage
Get to Product
Market Fit
Make it Work,
Then Drive Value
Learn to Scale
Grow the
Base
CSMs 0 1-3 <8 By Segment
CSM Role N/A
Product
Engagement
Value
Adoption
Best Practices
Variable
Comp
N/A
50% Corp
25% Renewal
25% NPS
30% Corp
30% Ren/NPS
30% Upsells
30% Corp
30% Ren/NPS
30% Upsells
Systems CRM
CRM
CSP
CRM
CSP
Marketing
CRM
CSP
Marketing
AMs N/A 0 By Quota By Quota
AM Role N/A N/A X-Sell X-Sell
neednudge.com All Rights Reserved Paul Teshima 2014 @pteshima

41. Running the Machine
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42. The Organization Was Complex
Me
(92)
Consulting
and
Education
(14)
Professiona
l Services
(28)
Account
Mgmt
(4)
Product and
Premier
Support
(34)
Customer
Success
(12)
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43.  Leverage upsells/x-sells
as a growth lever
 Document, train and sell
the value of the
“machine”
X Underestimate the value
of over communicating
X Stop storytelling about
customer success
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44. #thebestmarketersintheworlduseEloqua
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45. neednudge.com All Rights Reserved Paul Teshima 2014 @pteshima

46. THANK YOU
Paul Teshima
Co-founder and CEO
Nudge
@pteshima
neednudge.com
neednudge.com