- Chief Customer Officer Newsletter
- Posts
- this story is getting old
this story is getting old
Jay Nathan & Jeff Breunsbach
August 28, 2024
The Middle from GrowthCurve.io
Three ideas to level up your week.
Hey Reader,
Welcome to The Middle, your midweek rundown of the most interesting things we've read this week.
Summer is winding down, and so is a big backyard project we started — what started as a 2 week, low-budget affair has turned into a multi-month money pit.
But it's finishing up this week, so I’ll enjoy a bit more time outside writing by the firepit.
Cheers.
Jeff
The best $225 you'll spend on career growth this year
Interacting with executives and board members can be rattling. Especially if you don’t know your metrics.
Cover Your SaaS is a self-paced SaaS financial literacy course to help you avoid anxiety and grow your career.
(10% off for newsletter subscribers)
This story is getting old
For so many years, SaaS was the belle of the ball.
It makes these recent years really stick out.
OnlyCFO released benchmarks for SaaS companies, and several metrics are down across the board - the one that stuck out was NDR, and they had this to say:
It’s hard to grow fast when the easy expansion opportunities are declining and churn is increasing.
Seems like this correction is emphasizing critical systems versus luxuries.
CRM = need that for survival
Productivity tool = let’s get back to pen and paper
Make sure you know where your product stands.
Financial levers in SaaS
One thing I’ve learned over the years is that many reasons behind decisions relate to the financials of the business. CJ Gustafson reminded me of this when he wrote about where customer success belongs on the P&L
“There are no free lunches, and if you want to take pressure off your gross margin and put Customer Success into the more financially forgiving Sales bucket, then the resources have to do just that - sell.”
It’s a stark reminder that in SaaS, the lines between teams can blur based on financial needs.
When businesses need to boost margins, customer success might shift toward sales activities.
It’s not just about keeping customers happy—sometimes, it’s about strategically aligning resources to where they can make the most financial impact.
Time will tell if companies that move on the P&L perform better than those that prioritize the customer.
Everyone loves Health Scores, let’s see what AI can do
Prompt:
"Develop a model using historical customer data to identify churn indicators such as a drop in product usage, reduced engagement with customer support, or negative feedback. Once identified, the model should trigger alerts and recommend specific actions like reaching out with a special offer, scheduling a check-in call, or providing additional support resources.”
If your team is using AI in your day-to-day work, press reply with a specific tool or prompt that you use so we can highlight you.
Put the blinders on
James Clear has a way of stopping me in my tracks. His writing and ideas cut through the noise.
I read this line last night:
"The strategy required to find a great opportunity (lots of saying yes and exploring widely) is different from the strategy required to make the most of a great opportunity (lots of saying no and remaining focused).”
He summed up the difficulty of being a leader in one (run-on) sentence.
First, we must figure out what to do. And then we must go to the nth degree to get that done.
I want to state out loud the part that he is insinuating: Everyone in the company will do their best to distract you from that strategy.
It's not out of malice (maybe), but because everyone thinks what they’re working on is more important than it actually is.
So, help your team put the blinders on.
 Jeff Breunsbach |  Jay Nathan |
Whenever you're ready, there are 2 ways we can help you:
CoverYourSaaS is a financial literacy course for SaaS leaders. It teaches you the fundamental language of business, SaaS metrics, and how to maximize your impact. This course sets the stage for you to make informed, focused, and profitable decisions. Purchase the course here.
Promote your business to over 3,500+ SaaS leaders by sponsoring our twice-weekly newsletter. We send The Middle each Wednesday and The Level Up every Sunday.
Your Email Preferences:
Your email address is Reader
113 Cherry St #92768, Seattle, WA 98104-2205