The Customer Success Imperative: It’s a Race Against Time

By now you’ve probably seen this statistic from SiriusDecisions: 80 percent of B2B customers say that customer experience is the most significant reason behind the decision to work with a particular provider. It’s also been reported that if a customer doesn’t see value within 90 days of purchasing a product, there’s only a 10% chance they’ll remain loyal.

Findings like that are powerful, and they’ve had a big impact on Cisco and our decision to transform for customer success. The importance of customer success is also why we can’t stop talking about digitization. The two go hand in hand, because digital touchpoints drive a great deal of the value realization that is tied to customer experience today. As a partner, you either have the capability to deliver those touchpoints at scale and in a timely and personalized way—or you don’t. Partners that don’t are missing out on the windfall of profits, revenues and renewals that come from customer relationships that stand the test of time.

Nov. 14 Webinar: Join us as we discuss the customer digital experience. Register Now for “Digital: It’s Now Or Never”

Our Battle Cry: Not If but When

It’s easy to see why customer success has become our battle cry at Cisco. It’s no longer a question of if our partners should implement it in their own organizations, but a question of when. With time to value now more critical than ever across our installed base, the important thing is to get started, and the good news is that Cisco is here to help.

I’m proud to say that we’re unique in the industry in enabling our partners with everything that’s needed to effectively address the evolving requirements of today’s connected customers throughout the post-sale lifecycle. We’ve developed a comprehensive library of free digital assets on SuccessHub, along with platforms, tools and programs, such as Lifecycle Advantage, to help you create value across each phase of your customers’ post-sale journey. As you plan, build, scale and monetize a customer success practice, if you haven’t already done so, we invite you to explore these partner-focused offerings—all designed to drive growth, streamline digital engagement, and create customer stickiness for your business.

At Cisco, we believe that ensuring customers are successful is the most strategic approach to a strong future in the subscription economy, so much so that we’re betting our business on it. We are continuing to modernize practices across our organization with customer success top of mind, and we are equally committed to helping you forge stronger, more mutually beneficial customer relationships that are steeped in value.