Customer Success

Chapter 11

Law 7: Obsessively Improve Time-to-Value

Author: Diane Gordon, Chief Customer Officer, Brainshark

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Executive Summary

Why do people or companies buy? They think they'll get value from their purchase. If you're a consumer, this might mean spending a lot of money at a fine restaurant because you hope to get an above average meal. And you find out pretty much right away: it's either delicious or so-so. Based on that, you can decide whether you'll ever return.

But when you are selling business products and services, it's often tough to show value that close to the transaction. Although buyers know this, they do expect to see value in a reasonable time frame. For SaaS or subscription-based vendors, that time frame is the length of the subscription. If the customer hasn't seen real value by the time renewal discussions begin, they're far less likely to renew. Working against the vendor is how long it might take to get the customer up and running with the solution. Obsessively improving time-to-value is the way to address this challenge.

A big part of any sales process is convincing prospects that they will get real value from your product or solution. In the world of SaaS or subscriptions, delivering that value quickly is key to retention and expansion. Customers don't renew or stay with you or buy more unless or until you deliver value to them.

If you're implementing ...