BIG RYG: Key Takeaways

Chae Stewart, Digital Customer Success Manager

Conversations & Product Engagement Score

Attending the virtual BIG RYG event was easily a highlight of my year. The conversations were engaging, relevant, and applicable, but, most importantly, they were conversations. There was even a debate session, which managed to be both hilarious and informative. However, I was most inspired by Pendo’s Product Engagement Score (PES). As someone who tends to disagree with the complete and total dependence of Success organizations on Net Promoter Score (NPS), learning about PES was a breath of fresh air. Finally, a metric that tackles and mathematically pins down the complexity of actual product usage! Breadth, depth, and frequency represent the trifecta of PES, and the way Pendo Founder and CEO Todd Olson broke it down simply made sense. I’m excited to pair PES with NPS, then incorporate both into future Customer Success projects.

Gary Gatio, Education Subscriber Experience Agent

Meaningful Audience Engagement

While all the BIG RYG sessions I attended were impressive to say the least, I must admit I found myself getting a little distracted by the conversations happening in Chat. When I first noticed it, I read a dozen or so comments and questions from my CS peers, and found myself wondering if I was missing out on questions or links the presenter may be providing by not following along with that conversation as well as the presentation itself. What I saw throughout the day was something I have not seen in previous online seminars. Attendees were commenting on the quality and relevance of presenters’ discussion points and relating various next steps to their own environments. What blossomed during the presentations was an impressive collaboration from these Chat groups. To me, it pointed to a group of Customer Success professionals that had become fully engaged in the content with genuine enthusiasm, generating a simultaneous discussion that went far beyond a typical trade show experience.

Jennifer Kolle, Customer Success Manager

Refreshing Perspectives with a Confidence Boost

I really enjoyed the level of engagement in the live chat throughout the BIG RYG sessions I attended. It was refreshing to get new and different perspectives from outside of our organization, and at the same time felt validating to give feedback that other people agreed with or read that they do something similar. Also, seeing the questions being asked and being able to answer them on my own was a real confidence boost!

Jiho Han, Business Development Manager

Industry Predictions & CS Compensation

While I found all the BIG RYG sessions insightful and interesting, the one that really caught me was the opening keynote, “Gainsight, G2, and Pendo CEOs Discuss the Future of the Customer, Moderated by ChurnZero”. All three CEOs gave predictions on the next wave of CS. Gainsight CEO Nick Mehta‘s prediction has really stuck with me. He predicted that in the next 3-5 years, compensation between Customer Success and Sales will become close to equal. This rings so loud for me because I come from a background in sales, and am now becoming immersed in the world of CS and am completely sold on the incredible value it provides. Due to CSMs’ responsibility for retaining the customer, their role is hyper critical to any business. That is why I agree with Nick and think that the compensation between CS and Sales will even out in the coming years.

Justin Garlock, Customer Success Analyst

Insightful & Relevant Meets Lighthearted & Fun

Admittedly, I only intended on joining a couple select sessions I had identified before BIG RYG began, but I found myself so intrigued as the day went on, I ended up staying online for the whole conference, and finding it hard to choose between which sessions to attend. (Thankfully they are all available now On-Demand!) The conference as a whole provided a nice balance of insightful, relevant content mixed with lighthearted, fun moments—the Oxford-style Debate definitely seemed to be a fan favorite in that regard; I imagine mostly because the CS community as a whole tends to have varied and passionate opinions regarding who owns the business relationship with the customer. I also loved hearing the predictions of leaders in the Customer Success community regarding the near future of the industry, specifically the idea of compensation of sales and CS equaling out, showing the value CS has on the overall health, stability, and predictability of company revenue.

Madeline Evans, Digital Customer Success Manager

Inter-Departmental Collaboration

As Customer Success continues to evolve as an industry standard, I found that the BIG RYG conference offered many beneficial solutions and ideas regarding the integration and iteration of CS for business impact. A few conversations surrounding building lateral relationships within the organization have stayed top of mind for me. CS initiatives to increase efficiency for business success should include: setting up regular cross-team meetings, pre-planning with departments, understanding what’s important to other departments, demonstrating the value of the customer experience through insights, information, or help resources, finding cross-functional initiatives for collaboration, and asking for support. CSMs can implement these best practices at a company level with a shared goal of better serving the customer – in addition to offering data-driven decision making and customer-centric understanding – for overall business success. I’m always intrigued with conversations around how CS can make the a meaningful impact from an organizational standpoint – especially as I continue to progress in my career as a CS professional and advocate.