Your customers are your best advocates

I’ve heard from great Go-To-Market (GTM) leaders like Dan O’Leary, Senior Director of Partnerships at Box, that the best time to start a partner program is now.

I believe that’s true, and one of the best approaches is utilizing your customer base.

As Jill Rowley always says, “Your customers are your best advocates.” They already possess credibility, experience, results, and trust. They speak the language of your buyers.

But how do you make your customers happy and turn them into advocates? Here’s where nearbound customer success comes into play.

Nearbound customer success is a strategy that helps you increase retention by leveraging the people your customers already trust.

Eleanor Thompson giving the best advice for partner pros!

Successful CS looks different than before

SaaS companies have redefined success. Now, when you think about success, the first things that come to mind are integration, education, training, support, and retention.

 “In the Nearbound Era, customer success is about understanding your customers and the world they inhabit.”

—Jared Fuller, Chief Partnerships and Ecosystem Officer at Reveal and Co-founder of nearbound.com 

Nearbound customer success = understanding and solving your customers’ problems with the technologies and service providers they trust.

So to build a successful customer success motion, you need to answer the following questions:

• Who is my customer using?
• Who do they trust?
• Who is assisting them?
• Who else is addressing the same challenges your customer is facing?

Renewals are not automatic

During their Nearbound Summit session, The 7 Deadly Sins of Customer Success in the Nearbound Era, Mark Kosoglow (advisor and previous CRO at Catalyst) and Kevin Chiu (Co-Founder & Chief Operating Officer of Catalyst) explained that: 

“Renewals are not automatic, people just think they are.

You can’t stop creating value for your customers. The minute you do, they become at-risk…even if you’re still project managing that account well.”

Customers need partner support throughout their lifecycle, including co-marketing, co-selling, integrations, and service partnerships, which are crucial for acquisition and retention.

• Companies that partner experience a 28% higher compound annual growth, attributed to improved retention and customer base expansion. 
• Strong partner programs in B2B SaaS companies lead to a 15% higher renewal rate and 20% increase in upsell revenue. 
• Customers collaborating with partners are 57% more likely to renew contracts than those who don’t.

A happy customer is more inclined to advocate for your brand, aiding in acquiring new customers.

For CS teams, implementing a nearbound strategy is crucial for several reasons:

• Integrated products become deeply embedded in customer workflows, making them difficult to replace.
• A robust partner ecosystem creates barriers for competitors and provides resilience against market challenges.
• Partnering allows access to strong workflows, bridging product gaps and ensuring customer satisfaction.

Partnering with communities, service providers, and influencers amplifies customer advocacy and fosters customer loyalty, making it challenging for customers to switch.

All that to say, if you’re a partner pro, prioritizing your relationship with CS is important.

Your CS team knows your customers inside and out. They’ll give you intel, point you toward the best partners, and help you succeed.

Learn more here. 

Keep and win back customers

Isaac Morehouse (CMO at Reveal and nearbound.com) and Delphine Le Person (Reveal’s Lead Services) teamed up to explain why partnering with trusted individuals and companies is key.

They share stats, explain the retention advantages of nearbound, and explore how you can preempt churn and maximize customer lifetime value.

Click here to learn how to keep and win back customers.

Calling all partnership leaders in Austin!

On March 28th join us for a specialized Partner Management Workshop and a networking event.

What to look forward to:

• Meet the top partnerships people in your area
• Connect with leaders like Jared Fuller (Chief Ecosystem Officer at nearbound.com and Reveal) and Antoine Roubaud (VP of Partnership Activation and Success at Reveal)
• Learn about building a nearbound overlay in the workshop

Register here.

Send this to a CS leader

Do you know CS leaders who would love to learn more about nearbound? Send this to them.