On this month’s episode of The Customer Success Channel Podcast, brought to you by Planhat, I chatted with Maranda Dziekonski, Senior VP of Customer Success at Datasembly about the importance of viewing customer success as a revenue generator rather than a cost center.
With over 20 years of experience in both working in and building world-class operations, Maranda brings a wealth of expertise to the table. She has successfully built and scaled teams in early and mid-stage startups and has been involved in four companies that have achieved successful exits, including one unicorn. Now, Maranda is currently working on her 9th startup!
The field of customer success (CS) has been through a whirlwind of changes this year due to the global economy. As we near the end of 2023 and start planning for 2024, sustainability and revenue have become top priorities for every CS department. But why is revenue such a vital piece of the CS puzzle? And how can CSMs and CS leaders enhance their skills to adapt to the evolving market?
As we approach the end of the year, the topics of sustainability and revenue weigh heavily on the minds of leaders. However, if we were to go back 5 years and ask Maranda, and many other leaders, they would have advocated for keeping customer success pure and avoiding any involvement with revenue or owning a specific number. So, what is Maranda’s perspective on revenue in customer success today?
In our discussion, Maranda helps answer some of the tricky questions when it comes to implementing revenue into your customer success strategy:
- If CS is seen as a cost center at people’s companies what are your tips on how to shift that mindset to a revenue center?
- Sustainability and Revenue are on every leader’s mind as we finish off 2023 and start 2024. I have always had revenue in mind when I think of customer success…but some teams do not have revenue targets…What is your take on revenue in CS?
- If CS leaders are not using revenue targets right now, what are some KPIs they should start tracking to ensure revenue is part of
Some key takeaways from this discussion:
- My perspective has evolved and changed over time. Given the current state of the economy, I believe customer success teams need to embrace taking ownership of measurable outcomes.
- You should be able to demonstrate the CS team’s direct impact on revenue.
Make sure you listen to the full episode and let me know your thoughts in the comments!