Measuring customer outcomes Pinned Featured

Value realization is one of the biggest factors in customer retention. How can we help customers identify their business outcomes, track progress, and measure results?

Bonus "food for thought" from Gain Grow Retain:

• Measurable results
• Not enough perceived value
• How to measure customer outcomes

Ingredients:

• 1 multi-list attribute
• 1 custom flow 
• 1 custom touchpoint reason 
• 1 SuccessPlay per business outcome

Preparation:

Identify outcomes

As the old saying goes, "What gets measured gets managed." The first step is to identify customer outcomes.

1. Prepare a list of the top business outcomes your customers can achieve with your product. Group them into high-level items (recommended 3-8 total). For example, Cost Reduction, Time Savings, Expansion, Safety, Loyalty, etc. 
   
   
2. In Data Modeler, create a new account attribute (multi-list). For example, "Business Outcomes." Add a list item for each of the outcomes you identified.
   
   
3. Within Settings > Customer Engagement > Flows, add a custom flow. For example, "Business Outcomes."
   
   
4. Within Settings > Customer Engagement > Touchpoints, add a custom touchpoint reason. For example, "Value Realized."
   
   
5. Within an account profile, click the Gear icon to modify the Key Info/Header section. Add the new Business Outcomes attribute (for the appropriate team).
   
   Result: Your team can now track the outcome(s) that each customer hopes to achieve using your product. Ensure that all accounts have at least one value specified.
   
   Tip! Your customers will likely want to achieve all of the outcomes listed! As a best practice, encourage customers to focus on the top 2-3 that are highest priority.
   
   

Create an action plan

Next, let's provide workflows to help our customers reach their outcomes. The most consistent way to do this is through SuccessPlays, tells your team when to engage and which tracking tools to use (e.g., success plan, objectives, touchpoints).

1. Open the SuccessBLOC where you want to build workflows for business outcomes. Some suggestions include, Deliver QBRs (Manage Business Reviews) or Engage Stakeholders.
   
   
2.  On the canvas, add a new track for Business Outcomes. Within that track, add a new SuccessPlay for your first business outcome. Trigger the event-based play on the selected "Business Outcomes" multi-list item, and include the tasks the CSM should complete.
   
   
   Here are some suggested tasks to include in the play:
   
   1. Set the baseline and target ➡ Due date: 14 days
   Collect and record data for the baseline. For example, if their desired outcome is to improve customer loyalty, find out from the customer:
   • Current average NPS score | Target
   • Number of referenceable accounts | Target
   Record this information in the Plan Summary to go deeper in collecting data about what the customer is hoping to achieve. Use the "Business Outcomes" flow for a post-completion touchpoint.
   
   Tip! Don't get too caught up in quantifiable ROI that you pass up the quicker, simpler wins of verified outcomes. It's much simpler for a customer to say, "Yes, we got the average delivery time from 40 minutes to 30 minutes, and your solution played a role in that.”
   
   2. Review configuration ➡ Due date: 21 days
   Ensure customer has the appropriate feature set enabled in your product that will assist with their desired outcome. Review their implementation, and make note of recommendations to optimize their usage/configuration, including training resources if needed. Use the "Business Outcomes" flow for a post-completion touchpoint.
   
   
   

   3. Consult and collaborate ➡ Due date: 45 days
   Set a meeting with the customer to provide consultation / strategy on their approach. Recommend best practices and next steps, including adding an "Objective" and task(s) to their shared success plan. As you check in with the customer on progress, continue using the "Business Outcomes" flow for touchpoints.

   
   4. Outcome achieved! ➡ Due date: 180 days
   When the goal identified by the customer is met, add post-completion touchpoint (mandatory) using the "Business Outcomes" flow. Send the touchpoint to Executive Sponsor, and use the "Value Realized" touchpoint reason.
   
   
   
   
3. When you're ready, activate the SuccessPlay(s) with an ongoing schedule.
   
   Tip! Ensure your team knows what to expect, such as what they should do if they don't need all the steps or whether any of the plays are manually triggered (and if so, when to trigger).  

Track progress

Finally, let's provide visibility into how our teams are driving progress on these outcomes. On the scorecard of your BLOC, create new KPIs to track customer progress and results.

Tip! Use the filters at the top of the scorecard to drill down by Success Manager.
 
Some suggestions include:

• Percent of accounts that don't have a business outcome identified ➡ Identify your focus (target 100%)
  
  
• Distribution of outcomes identified ➡ See which outcomes are most popular
  
  
• Percent of BO accounts that have a success plan  ➡ See which accounts are making progress (excluding accounts that finished)
  
  
  
  
• Percent of BO accounts who realized value  ➡ See which tracked accounts completed their goal
  

Cook's note:

Use caution when adding touchpoint filters to account segments. Touchpoints are a collection, which mean conditions are looking at individual rows within a collection, rather than between account objects. In the example above, we're looking for paying BO accounts that have had ANY touchpoint with the reason specified. If we want to look for the inverse, use the "Is not in segment" account filter rather than the "exclude" option on a touchpoint filter.