Thanks to customer data, I was able to increase recurring revenue by over $70K in 12 months!
Ah, it's that time of the year when numbers and data are collected and analyzed into a report.
This report is then shared with the company and its Leadership Team,
Which decides upon your team's goals and budget.
This can either be the most wonderful time of the year,
Or a very dreadful and exhausting time for you and your Customer Success Team.
So, which one is it going to be?
Well, the answer lies in your annual report,
Or more specifically, in the data you collect, analyze, and share.
By the end of this blog post, you will know what customer data needs to be collected to increase your influence and revenue.
Let's define the Annual Customer Success Report
This report provides an overview of all the projects, milestones, and data points of the previous year.
With this information, the company's Management Teams can determine the state of
The customers
The Customer Success Team
If you're the leader of the CS team, this report is your opportunity to showcase the impact of your team on the success of the company,
And to identify improvement areas that will further increase your recurring revenue and customer satisfaction.
An impactful report starts with the customer data
The annual report is based on the data you've collected throughout the year -
From customer usage data to customer feedback and contact rate.
You tie it all into one report and use it as your measurement for the success of your customers and your CS Team.
But, just before we jump into finalizing the report, we need to make sure we're collecting (and analyzing) the right data.
If you want to get a holistic understanding of your customers and how successful they are, you gotta keep track of two types of data:
Qualitative data = based on descriptions, feedback, and observations.
Quantitative data = based on measurable facts and statistical analysis.
Qualitative Data - what your customers say
Qualitative data is everything your customers say to you (via emails, chats, and phone calls) and about you (on social media).
As such, you already have access to this data through your CRM and your company's social media channels.
By analyzing it, you can learn about the subjective experiences that your customers have with -
Your customer-facing teams (CS, Support, Sales, etc.).
Your product.
Where to start?
#1 - Emails.
If you haven't done so already, I recommend instructing your CS team to use tags or categories when answering emails.
By doing so, you'll be able to quickly organize all of the emails based on topics and features,
Which will then allow you to identify repetitive questions about features that aren't clear enough to your customers.
Once you have it all written down, you can come up with ways to reduce the number of emails your CS Team gets on a weekly basis.
For example, would writing a guide about a specific question allow your customers to troubleshoot issues on their own?
If so, do it.
#2 - Customer Satisfaction Score.
Do you let customers rate their experience with your Customer Success Team? If not, you're really missing out.
From my experience as both CSM and Support Rep., customers tend to provide valuable feedback in their ratings.
In most cases, they will not only rate their interaction with the CSM but also their experience with the product and features they initially reached out about.
#3 - Feedback Surveys.
Surveys are a huge hit among CS Leaders and Customer Service Managers.
Why? Mainly because they have full control over the design and layout of the survey.
In your survey, you can include the following metrics & questions:
Net Promoter Score.
Customer Satisfaction Score
What would make their experience with your product better?
How would they feel if they had to stop using your product?
Quantitative data = what your customers do
Quantitative data is anything that can be measured and analyzed in statistical methods.
In other words, it's all about numbers and variables.
As a result, the only way to turn it from meaningless numbers into insights and results is through statistical analysis.
Before you exit this page, claiming that "it's too hard", please keep in mind:
There are many advantages to quantitative data.
For me, the main advantage is that:
It allows you to analyze a large amount of data in a matter of minutes.
Where to start?
#1 - Revenue Metrics.
Q: what's more important than what your customers say?
A: what they do.
The success of your Customer Success Team is measured by revenue metrics - churn rate, renewal rate, upgrades, etc.
If you want to learn more about the state of your customers and provide an accurate report to the company,
You NEED to start with your revenue and retention rates.
For example, if your Customer Churn Rate has increased in the past year, it probably means that your customers are unsatisfied with your product or/and with the service they received.
#2 - Customer Activity Data.
Staying in the category of actions, this activity data tells you how your customers use your product.
Thanks to the huge amount of data available, you can really play around with the analysis and focus on a specific group.
One of the groups I tend to focus on is my "silent" customers.
These are the customers who:
Don't respond to your emails.
Don't reach out when they experience any issues or challenges with your product.
It is, therefore, not surprising that the "silent" customers are at a higher risk of churn.
I mean, you don't really know what they're thinking and what their experience is like.
By going through the Customer Activity Data, you can learn more about what your customers are doing, including your "silent" customers.
Here's another recommendation:
Define successful vs. unsuccessful customers based on whether they renewed their subscription or not.
Then, try to identify what made your customers successful.
Use the answer to encourage other customers to take the same actions.
Final Thoughts...
Creating annual reports is not an easy task.
It takes a LOT of time and effort as you try to learn more about your customers.
That being said, these reports make you and your team invincible;
They show you how to serve your customers better and the areas in which your product can deliver better results and outcomes.