Product Managers - your job is hard. We feel your pain. So, as one does, we made a music video*
*Also, I needed a way to explain what I do to my 9-year-old, so I channeled my inner Olivia Rodrigo.
bit.ly/3mZZLqw
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Nick Mehta
@nrmehta
CEO #customersuccess; family, football, philosophy, physics, fashion, Tay-Tay. "It's me, hi, I'm the problem, it's me."
Nick Mehta’s Tweets
Just got a prep video from one of our new super star CSMs who decided to prep me via freestyle rap. 🎤
I ❤️ my job!
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Buffett famously said "A rising tide floats all boats; only when the tide goes out do you discover who's been swimming naked."
This is what's happening in SaaS. SaaS businesses without strong retention and #CustomerSuccess are a shell game. And the shell game is over.
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TFW your mom forces you to confront the dark reality of the world
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You never appreciate retention and #CustomerSuccess more than when new logo sales slow down. And that appreciation is happening in 1000s of SaaS companies as we speak.
#CustomerSuccess keeps companies in business through downturns.
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Tough times in tech. Never been a better time to show gratitude every day for our teams.
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I'd really like to have Tony Romo do play-by-play for our Zoom meetings.
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These are two of the best QBs I've ever seen. Both deserve it. But I'm still rooting for fashion FTW.
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If you have to “get profitable” in SaaS, how do you do it?
There’s a simple but hard-to-achieve answer:
“Something” has to be cheap. Be it engineering, or marketing, or sales. One of them.
Just “doing PLG” isn’t the answer
A few examples: 🔽🔽🔽
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A final, huge thank you to everyone who helped bring this project to life. You can read the ultimate CCO job description here:
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We’ve seen a huge uptick in CCO hires and promotions as we turn to CS to weather the recession. I’m optimistic contributions like this will only keep the communal conversation—as we define our CCO leaders of the future.
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The CCO role is crucial for virtually every SaaS company. Hiring one moves #CustomerSuccess from a function to a company wide-strategy, offering a customer voice in the boardroom and a peer to your sales and product leaders.
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Several contributors asked us to emphasize cross-collaboration—with sales, professional services, and human resources. There is a growing expectation for CCOs to not only lead post-sales strategizing, but also to create a customer-centric company culture.
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Should CCOs own renewals? We listed this as an “optional” owned function, even though I would personally advocate for this. Many colleagues revealed that they’re seeing this function as a must-have now—which is proof that the CCO role is evolving.
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We synthesized input from CS leaders on , search firm executives, and fellow Gainsters. There are so many specifics up for debate, and we wanted to make this a collaborative effort.
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If you asked 100 CEOs to define the responsibilities of a #ChiefCustomerOfficer, chances are you’d get 200 different answers. Since #CustomerSuccess will be a lifeline in tech this year, we created a starting point for those looking to hire a CCO: a canonical job description. 🧵
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The ultimate lesson: If you’re just getting started, build an awesome product. But if you want to win long-term, that’s not enough.
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You Need to Be Sticky: To enter a market, you need a great product. To win it, you need a structural advantage. In economics, one of the principles of competition is that free-market competition erodes all “excess profit.” Without structural barriers, leaders fall.
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Competition Levels the Playing Field: Even if your product is “the best,” others will get better too. Just watch how closed the gap with - and Netflix’s stock price as a result.
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In SaaS, Outcomes Are What Matter: You can't be in the game without winning over end-users. But companies buy to achieve business value. Amongst comparable products, companies will choose ones with the highest ROI, the best ability to scale, etc.
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“Best” Gets Better: The original iPhone was mind-blowing at the time, and now it's a relic. If you don't continue to invest in R&D, “best” turns into ancient in a heartbeat.
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It all started with . We all use the products. And the naive lesson from Apple is “the best product always wins.” I mean - look at your Mac, iPad, iPhone, AirPods, and the like - they are awesome! Right? But I’d argue there is more to the story.
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“The best product always wins.” This was a common adage in the bubble, leading many entrepreneurs astray. But I believe that having a great product is NECESSARY but not SUFFICIENT. 🧵
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The cost of 💵 drives everything in SaaS:
📈 High interest rates ➡️
💨 Buyers need fast ROI ➡️
⏰ New vendors often take longer (research, procurement, etc.) ➡️
♠️ Double down on existing vendors ➡️
💡 Vendors shift spend from new business to retention/expansion ➡️
💰 PROFIT!
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How do you vary your approach based on the experience level of your client?
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🎯 For the expert, you may want the client to help define what they want and how they want to work together.
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🎯 For the slightly knowledgeable customer, you might switch strategies by making them feel heard first—but still trying to guide them as much as possible.
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🎯 For the rookie client who is open-minded, this is where you need the CSM to guide the customer and be very prescriptive.
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We all need to train our teams to adapt their approach based on the client’s experience. There are a few ways to do this.
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You’ve probably seen this with clients. There’s the client who has never done it before and is a sponge to learn. Then there’s the client who has a whopping 6 months of experience and thinks they know everything. And finally, you meet the expert who genuinely gets it.
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One of my favorite social phenomena is the Dunning-Kruger effect. In short: people with some-but-not-much knowledge tend to have unearned confidence, while those with more experience often underrate theirs. Which is a phenomenon w/ significant implications for #CustomerSuccess.🧵
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Mark Twain quote, tech edition:
"There are four kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, statistics and...
SaaS sales deals in 2023 forecasted as 'COMMIT'"
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I see so many people being impacted by #layoffs - my thoughts are with all those affected. While it may not be a solution for everyone, here's a list of job opportunities in #CustomerSuccess.
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Board calls today with four companies to iterate & finalize 2023 budgets. Never in 23 years have I seen founders & finance leaders struggle so much to set appropriate growth expectations and spending levels given highly uncertain/dynamic market conditions that exist
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Life's too short to not block trolls on twitter. 🧌
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