Describing the Purpose of CS Platforms to Non-CS Groups

Bridget Lamb

I am curious to know how others would describe what a CS platform is to colleagues who are not in CS. It doesn't matter what platform (ChurnZero, Gainsight, Strikedeck, etc.) or what differentiates one from another. I'm really more interested in how to describe the purpose and value this tool brings, especially how it goes above and beyond a CRM. I have my thoughts but I'd love for others to chime in.

For context, I'm preparing to make my case for why our organization needs to invest in such a resource and how it provides more functionality than our CRM (Dynamics 365) -- e.g., customer health scoring, inputs from multiple sources, 360 view of customers, automation of tasks, playbooks, etc. I have a colleague who will be a "tough sell" and he happens to be on the exec team. 

Thank you!

Jordan Silverman

@Bridget Lamb this is an incredibly over simplified explanation but we describe it as Salesforce with usage data.

A CS tool like Totango has all the power of a full blown CRM like Salesforce, but it is directly integrated with our SaaS platform. So we can access usage data, health scoring, segmentation, etc.

It allows our CSMs to manage 2-3x as many accounts as a normal CRM would. This is how we sell it - by displaying how it lets us as a CS department scale.

Bridget Lamb

Thanks @Jordan Silverman! Bringing in our product usage data and incorporating it into health scoring, along with other inputs, is incredibly important to me. I appreciate your feedback!

Sana Farooq

Hi @Bridget Lamb

The way I typically describe it is that it provides CSM's with actionable data through an aggregate of our systems. This is above and beyond what a usage analytics platform like Pendo can alone- it provides the usage metrics, but not the email marketing automation. Salesforce gives you the customer data, but it's purpose isn't to store usage analytics data. 

The other benefit that I would highlight, that typically bridges the gap in understanding for other departments, is the ability to build qualitative health scores at a very granular level - combining different metrics such as Support tickets, usage, last outreach, etc. No other system or tool can provide that level of detail and holistic picture of customer health, and it is arguably the most impactful reason to have a CS platform as well. 

Hope that helps!

Bridget Lamb

Thanks @Sana Farooq! Yes, the ability to combine different data sources and use them for well-rounded health scores is huge. Thank you for commenting!