Customer success for public sector/government

jdrigg200

Hi GGR community! Recently joined and excited to learn from this incredible community of experts. I have a bit of experience in CS but brand new to working with public sector clients and I'm interested in hearing from others with experience in this area as the customer journey is different in comparison to traditional B2B SaaS. 

Brian O'Keeffe

It is a bit different. Often it is easier, contracts are often much longer and expectations very different. The truth is they demand for immediate results are absent, they are used to mediocrity. The downside is that deployments are often much slower, decision making can be very obtuse and projects often take a lot longer. You have to be very patient and be prepared for slow going at times. I found myself spending a lot of time connecting internal resources, who I learned never spoke to one another, despite being critical partners! 

Abbey Byrne

I own our government clients and I *hate* it. I'd love to hear from someone who has had a positive experience or any tips for making it more bearable 

jdrigg200

What are some issues your experiencing working with government clients? 

Yuya at Commune

Hi @jdrigg200 !
From our experience, governmental/public sector clients are like huge enterprises.
It's so hard to acquire, but once you successfully partner with them, you don't have to worry too much about replacements or churns.
On the other hand, deployments are really hard and you can't really expect upsell/cross-sells. (in other words, it's as hard as acquisitions)
Hope this helps.

Brian O'Keeffe

Yuya at Commune said:

Hi @jdrigg200 !
From our experience at commune.us, governmental/public sector clients are like huge enterprises.
It's so hard to acquire, but once you successfully partner with them, you don't have to worry too much about replacements or churns.
On the other hand, deployments are really hard and you can't really expect upsell/cross-sells. (in other words, it's as hard as acquisitions)
Hope this helps.

When an expansion opportunity comes up it is often HUGE. It can take forever. Once I sat and waited years to watch one come in. When it did, it changed the fortunes of the company.

A big benefit is that working hours will generally apply to Government projects. No weekends or off-hours are expected and when the clock hits the end of the work day, there is no question about signing off for the day. 

Yuya at Commune

Brian O'Keeffe said:

When an expansion opportunity comes up it is often HUGE. It can take forever. Once I sat and waited years to watch one come in. When it did, it changed the fortunes of the company.

A big benefit is that working hours will generally apply to Government projects. No weekends or off-hours are expected and when the clock hits the end of the work day, there is no question about signing off for the day. 

Brian, I totally agree with you!

Brian O'Keeffe

Thanks Yuya!