It's time to think about account-based customer success, account-based retention and renewals, account-based partner ecosystems even. The same discipline we've adopted for net-new acquisition can be used in other key segments of the customer journey with equal or greater complexity. For example, the buying committee post-purchase becomes the user committee. This includes some members of the buying committee as well as new people who weren't involved in the initial decision. There are still multiple relevant constituents inside your customer's organization that need precise, persona-centric messages, reinforcement of and validation for why they committed to solving the problem in the first place, role-based evidence and confidence builders that reinforce and strengthen the relationship. Not to mention that over time those up-front buyers leave, move on and/or get replaced. What messages and triggers and sequences need to be enabled to ensure the new person sitting in that persona seat is committed to change and on board with the value your product and brand represent? And with existing customers, what intent signals are you watching for that give you evidence they might be ready for an upsell or expansion? And what signals (internal and external) could be early warning signs that that account is at risk? Partners work the same way. If you want sustained momentum and results with a partner, it's not just the one "partner manager" you need to convince and convert. Who else is in the partner's "buying committee" with a vested interest in a mutually-beneficial relationship?
The signals for expansion/upsell should be aligned with the client success process. Embed onboarding and in-depth customer interviews. Track customer satisfaction and the outcomes they are getting. Whenever you see they get results, invite them for a debriefing call. You can create a case study and get insights about key initiatives + validate upsell hypotheses. Most B2B companies never do it and just passively wait until the client requests more licenses. Another point: until the customer will get results from a purchased product, you won't be able to expand the business. There should be inhouse justification and use case.
Matt Hensler
1y
Critical strategy! I think customer success pros would say that this is inherent to a CS program. However, I don't think it is well operationalized *yet* to the extent it needs to be, particularly when it comes to operationalizing across the entire #GTM team. Existing platforms can enable this. Gainsight functionality like People Maps, Timeline and CSQLs support this account-based concept.
Denise Brown
1y
"Retention is the new acquisition'
Love the way you articulated the importance of ABM. Roles change, people move on, need to have multiple relevant relationships!
Will Milano
1y
Sales and marketing doesn't stop when you acquire a new client. It starts.
Danny Nail Lisa Snider-Perry this is up your streets - great positioning of abm/abx 😊
Danie Zaika
1y
Love this Brit Morse Thompson Maria Colacurcio
Reel Mahmoud
1y
Karla Sanders and Michelle Voznyuk - like obe of our conversations in 2022 Q4!
Well-stated and well-framed, Matt. High time for this issue to rise to the forefront.
CMO :: GTM Strategy and Revenue Accelerator :: Fractional Executive :: Marketing Mentor
1yBig topic of discussion and desire for the last 5+ years (always on the road map and plans). But yet our focus is still primarily on "closed-won" despite the capabilities. This is a both a cultural and organizational change that must happen. I think this is why you see more "account managers" (sales minded) and not just customer success now focused on existing customers. The same thinking can apply to partner / channel managers.