So Churn Zero put out a great new report surveying 1,037 customer success professionals. The average size was 51-200 employees, so when things are taking off. Grab it here.
A few things stood out to me:
#1. 53% of VPs of CS report to the CEO or COO, and then 17% to CRO/VPS. Some good data on this split. I generally see CS reporting to a CRO as a recipe for conflicts, but sometimes it’s the best option:
#2. There is almost no software and non-headcount budget for CS. This data is interesting. 64% of CS teams spend $200,000 or less a year on non-headcount, with growth stage companies spending the least, just 0.1% of revenue. No need to throw money away on tools you don’t need, but folks, please support your CS teams!
#3. 34% of CS Teams Have a Veto on Bad-Fit Customers. I do love this. It can be a bit tricky to implement if you don’t have high alignmment between your VP of Sales and your VP of CS, but you should still try to do this. Churn-and-burn deals help no one except the AE getting a commission.
#4. 50% of CS teams own renewals — and 50% (of course) don’t. This was helpful to see. I love making renewals as pain-free as possible. Having Sales own them usually creates the most pain. Having it be somewhat automated by accounting is my favorite, when it works.
#5. 41% of CS Teams Own Revenue Expansion — More Often Than Sales. This really surprised me. I rarely see CS own expansion when it’s more than 10% of revenue, i.e. when it needs to be negotiated. I see them support expansion, but not own it, generally.
and finally:
#6. 58% of SaaS companies surveyed have a real Customer Marketing function. I love it! And 71% of the time, it reports straight into marketing. More on Customer Marketing here.
A really great report! Thank you Churn Zero!
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Jason Lemkin, Khareem Sudlow
