When teams are asked to do more with less, they often turn to SaaS startups and companies to help them automate and streamline their business processes.

That means big opportunities for B2B customer success teams to shine, says Natasha Evans, Salesloft’s VP of Global Enterprise Customer Success.

“Our customers are sales teams, and they are feeling the pressure right now more than a lot of other functions within technology companies,” Evan told Hypepotamus. “They are coming to us and asking: How do I touch more accounts? How do I touch more contacts using the technology that I’ve got at my disposal? How do I get more efficient? And, most importantly, how do I deliver an exceptional buyer experience at the same time.” 

Atlanta-based Salesloft is now a giant in the sales automation space over the last decade, having reached a $2.3 billion valuation during its most recent funding round. 

Evans, a “self-confessed success plan superfan,” leads a team of more than 50 Saleslofters across Europe, the Middle East, and the Americas. She’s seen the world of B2B customer experience and customer success change over the years, particularly as businesses tightened their belts and look for ways to do more with less. 

She talked with Hypepotamus about how Salesloft built out its customer success playbook and offered some tangible advice to B2B teams looking to better engage their clients.  

Her big takeaway: customer success teams have to focus on building relationships and driving home the value of their product to customers.  Here are her tips: 

1. Open Up Doors And Talk To Customers Directly

“[My team] is really focused on helping our customers navigate through this current turbulent market,” she added. 

During times of economic uncertainty, Evans said her team has ensured their phones and webcams are on. it is all about being as accessible as they can be to their customers. 

Tangibly, that means putting on multiple “office hours” each day should customers have specific questions they need answered immediately and directly. Evans said this is a tangible way to drive home the value of the sales automation and CRM products they offer. 

2. Create High Value, High Impact Touch Points

“I think there is nothing better than building out a success plan with your customer and then showing them how you’re going to get to the value that they care about,” Evans told Hypepotamus. 

Evans said that on top of talking directly to customers about their potential problems and specific software needs, Salesloft has added additional layers of value, such as writing quarterly executive business reviews to keep their customers informed of the changing market landscape. 

3. Expand Your Definition of Memorable Experiences 

In-person events have roared back over the course of 2022, as businesses and individuals emerged from lockdown ready to connect. 

But the pandemic’s lasting legacy is certainly in the rise of hybrid event experiences. Salesloft’s customer success team now relies on both in-person and remote options to connect with their clients. 

For Salesloft, that recently looked like putting on a “Women In Revenue Leadership” Event in person to create more meaningful networking opportunities. 

What This Means For You
So what if you aren’t running a customer success team as large as the one Salesloft has in place? These are still valuable and tangible practices, says Evans.

“Most companies that are super small think about scale later,” she added. “They think really early on that [they’ve] got a small base of customers, so how can I show them tons of love and lots of high-touch activities? But I think that if you can build to scale from Day One, you are going to make your life an awful lot easier. If you don’t yet have a full customer success team, I would be investing in some of the most scalable things like putting on webinars, running workshops, or delivering office hours. Those add a lot of value to multiple customers all at the same time.” 

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Since 2020, a work-from-home wave has washed across the country. Professionals who spent years commuting to an office and driving to in-person meetings every day, suddenly found themselves juggling their responsibilities from home. While the pandemic that sparked this remote work revolution is fading, it’s clear that many businesses will never return to the office full-time. For small business owners, managing a remote or hybrid workforce can be a balancing act. Small businesses often operate on tight margins, and many leaders have found themselves wondering if remote work will impact team productivity or hurt their bottom line. Fortunately, small businesses can lean on cloud-based CRM solutions and other tools to effectively manage their workforces no matter where they are.

Get the Basics Right

Despite the differences in venue, there are universal characteristics shared between remote and in-person work. In both cases, the quality of the work is only as good as the people who do it, and the tools they use. As a starting point, small businesses should confirm their work-from-home employees have fast internet and properly working devices to ensure they can access online resources and be seen and heard clearly on video calls. Beyond that, cloud-based applications can be utilized to ensure a team is able to work cooperatively and efficiently.

CRM and the Cloud

CRM software is often the backbone of a small business, moving client lists from Excel spreadsheets and old-fashioned rolodexes into a centralized system. CRM solutions can track every interaction a business has with its clients, providing team-wide visibility into their needs and ensuring nothing slips through the cracks. A CRM solution with marketing automation capabilities can also step-up client communications, making it easy for businesses to automate clear and personalized messages with just a few keystrokes. Many small business owners already rely on an on-premise CRM solution to help keep their business organized. Embracing the cloud means giving employees access to the organizational benefits of CRM no matter where they are.

Better Peace of Mind

Cloud computing apps are designed for business continuity and disaster recovery. While businesses of all sizes should have appropriate backup solutions in case of data loss, this often proved to be an expensive mission for small businesses and the partners they use to manage their IT infrastructure. With cloud technology, even the smallest businesses can enjoy a future-proof backup solution that saves time and reduces large upfront expenditures.

Always Up to Date

Traditional IT also requires constant upgrades of hardware and software. This “rip and replace” mentality means prohibitive costs and an overwhelming amount of work every three to five years when systems need an upgrade. Since cloud-based solutions are hosted entirely by third-party companies like Amazon Web Services or Microsoft Azure, they take care of all the maintenance, bug fixes, and other annoyances. All small business owners and their teams need to do is click on an update, restart their computers, and reap the benefits. With no hassle (or extra costs) from an IT department, small businesses can have the very latest technology available at their fingertips in seconds, whether working from home or the office.

Better Integrations

Cloud-based apps are often designed to work nicely with each other. Most cloud-based CRM solutions have integrations that allow applications commonly used by small businesses – like QuickBooks, Calendly, and Microsoft Outlook – to easily communicate. When these tools work together, they can create a centralized hub for business operations that is accessible and easy to navigate for all employees, no matter where they are.

Making the jump to hybrid work is a challenge for businesses of all sizes. The challenge can be particularly steep for small businesses, where time and resources are often hard to come by. However, small business owners that take the time to implement a cloud-based CRM solution will reap the rewards, unlocking new levels of flexibility and productivity for themselves and their employees.

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