Customer Success OKRs - 5 examples from top-performing teams

TL;DR

• Think of customer success OKRs as recipes for happy customers. They guide your team towards a customer-centric approach and prioritize initiatives that boost user satisfaction.
• These OKRs help you navigate the ever-changing customer landscape and achieve a balance between metrics and qualitative feedback.
• To set customer success OKRs, you must first define customer journey stages and set objectives based on growth and retention. Then, track progress using key results that include both quantitative data and customer feedback.

Customer success is the holy grail, right? You want happy, thriving customers who love your product and wouldn't dream of going anywhere else. But how do you get there? Enter OKRs, your secret weapon for setting epic goals and charting a course to customer satisfaction paradise.This article is your one-stop shop for understanding OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) and how to leverage them for customer success. We'll break down what OKRs are, why they're a must for customer success teams, and– best part!–we'll share some killer OKR examples to spark your creativity.So, buckle up, grab your metaphorical spacesuit, and get ready to launch your customer success to new heights!

What are customer success OKRs?

Customer Success OKRs (Objectives and Key Results), or as I like to call them, "Customer Happiness Recipes," are measurable goals created by customer service teams. They're like the special ingredient in your grandma's famous meatloaf recipe, designed to align customer success teams with a customer-first approach. Think of it as empowering the customer, while we're in the backseat with a map and snacks, ready to assist them.These OKRs help us prioritize initiatives, kind of like choosing between watching another episode of your favorite show or doing laundry. And the cherry on top? They improve customer satisfaction, making our customers extremely happy!

Why should you implement customer success team OKRs?

Setting customer success OKRs doesn't mean solely focusing on metrics. In fact, OKRs can be designed to include both quantitative and qualitative measures, ensuring that the overall customer experience is taken into account. By setting objectives that align with the desired customer experience and using key results that measure both quantitative metrics and qualitative feedback, customer success teams can achieve a balance between metrics and customer satisfaction.Without customer success OKRs, your job will be like navigating the Pacific Ocean without any guidance. Why, you ask? Well, clear objectives and measurable key results are essential for guiding your business, guiding you towards the land of global customer satisfaction.These OKRs help proactively meet changing customer demands and strategically solving problems. They're the superheroes of your business, swooping in to save the day with initiatives like improving the quality of support, improving ratings, and gathering customer feedback for product improvements. They also promote employee engagement!

Setting OKRs for Customer Success

When setting up customer success OKRs, it's crucial to define specific stages of the customer journey and communicate them to your teams. This enables your team to prioritize initiatives based on leading indicators at different stages of customer success.Set your objectives based on growth and retention cycles, with progress tracked using Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). This facilitates a proactive strategy by anticipating customer wants and needs. It also ensures that customer feedback is not only listened to but also acted upon.

Customer Success OKRs - 5 Examples from Top-performing Teams

Now, let's examine various types of customer success OKRs and their impact on your business:

1. User Activation

User activation is like a light switch for customers. When flipped on (activated), they see the product's value and become engaged users. This is crucial for customer success because:

• More engaged users = more revenue and happy customers
• Activated users keep coming back, reducing churn
• Lower customer acquisition cost (easier to convert sign-ups)
• Activated users are product advocates
• Shows if your product fits the market

Simply put, user activation turns new users into loyal fans.

Objective – Improve the onboarding experience for new customers

One of the key areas where OKRs can be instrumental is in improving the customer onboarding experience. For instance, setting a goal to ensure completion within 30 days can make the onboarding process more efficient, leading to a smoother customer experience.Here's how ClickUp uses UserGuiding for interactive customer onboarding flows to create memorable experiences:

Key Results

• Increase the percentage of new customers completing onboarding within 30 days to 90%
• Decrease time-to-value for new customers by 20%
• Triple the number of user trials in Q1

Objective - Increase adoption of new features by advanced users

The next objective focuses on advanced users and aims to increase their adoption of new features. This involves educating users about the benefits of these features and how they can enhance their experience with the product.

Key Results

• Decrease support tickets on new features by 15%
• Improve NPS score of new features within a month
• Increase use of new features per annual accounts by 20%

2. Customer Retention

Customer retention is like trying to keep a hyperactive toddler entertained. It's all about keeping the customers coming back for more. The goal here is to boost user retention, which, if done right, could lead to paid upgrades.You can achieve this by anticipating the needs of your customers, making the most out of the feedback they provide, and enhancing the overall experience they have with your customer support.

Objective - Increase user retention to drive paid upgrades

Customer-first management. That's all it takes to ensure you're off to a good start to drive paid upgrades. You may need to gently nudge them, of course, but nothing speaks louder than taking action and prioritizing your customers!

Key Results

• Increase free trial to paid plans by 35%
• Increase customer retention rate by 10% for enterprise plans

3. Customer Loyalty

We can describe customer loyalty as a customer's fondness for your brand. But there's more to that. They consistently choose you over competitors because of positive experiences. It's like having a favorite store - you trust them, like their products, and keep going back.

Objective - Increase customer satisfaction to generate more referrals and word-of-mouth

Amplify customer satisfaction to drive referrals and positive word-of-mouth.

Key Results

• Increase NPS (Net Promoter Score) by 10 points within a month
• Achieve a CSAT (Customer Satisfaction Score) of 90% for customer support interactions within Q1
• Increase customer referrals by 20% within the next quarter

4. Product Adoption

Imagine your product is like a cool new gadget you got your friend. Product adoption is all about helping them actually use it and discover all the awesome things it can do! The more they play around with it and see its value, the happier they'll be.When users understand and leverage your product's value, they're more likely to be satisfied and achieve their goals. Engaged users often use more features, leading to higher subscription value or product purchases, and they are less likely to abandon your product for a competitor.

Objective – Improve the depth of product adoption

Our last objective focuses on enhancing the depth of product adoption to empower customers. This involves going beyond basic product use and encouraging customers to explore the full potential of your offering.By tracking feature usage, task completion, and journey progress, the customer success team can adapt new strategies.

Key Results

• Increase usage of advanced reporting feature by 25% for active users by Q4
• Achieve a 20% growth rate in the completion of complex data analysis tasks within Q4
• Improve the completion rate for core customer onboarding journey by 15% by Q4

5. Customer Success Teams

In essence, customer success teams are the guardians of a positive customer experience. They play a vital role in keeping customers happy, maximizing their value, and driving sustainable business growth.You can think of them as houseplants who need constant care and attention to thrive. Your customer success teams are, therefore, like the resident plant whisperers, making sure your customers have everything they need to flourish with your product.

Objective – Build high-performance customer success teams

Our final objective is for customer success managers who want to cultivate high-performing customer success teams. You know the saying, "You're as strong as your weakest link," right? This OKR precisely emphasizes that!Building a strong internal foundation for exceptional customer experiences is crucial. It promotes a positive team culture, identifies and promotes talented reps.

Key Results

• Achieve a 95% CSAT score for all customer support interactions by Q4.
• Implement and complete 25 hours of product knowledge and best practices training for each customer success manager by Q4.
• Increase eNPS (Employer Net Promoter Score) by 15 points within the customer success team by Q4.

So, there you have it! These OKR examples are just a springboard to launch your own customer success rocket ship. By setting clear goals and tracking progress, you'll be well on your way to a galaxy of happy customers. 🚀Remember, the best OKRs involve your whole team. Get your customer success crew involved in brainstorming and picking the targets that matter most. Regularly track progress, celebrate wins, and adapt your approach as needed. With a commitment to customer success OKRs, you can cultivate a thriving customer base and propel your business forward.