So we’ve got a load of MSP’s that take care of the entire life cycle of the customer. They offer support packages, they manage the software and infrastructure on behalf of the customer and they are generally out of the reach of the vendors that are supplying the software because it’s mediated by the MSP.
Customer success here sits with the MSP and it is up to the MSP to handle all support and needs of the customer to ensure that they renew at the end of the term.
In resale, referral and affiliate, we have a different model here. The success of the customer is typically in the hands of the vendor after the sale has been conducted.
Even though the reseller may transact the deal, that’s where the deal stops with them until the point of renewal.
They are just transacting.
With the customer success being on the side of the vendor, the vendor has to increase their headcount for customer success people to support direct as well as indirect business.
Everything else is outsourced except the support and customer success side.
Why don’t we have partners that are just involved in keeping customers happy?
They could be partners of the VAR that has transacted the deal or partners of the vendor for taking care of the success of the customer after the point of transaction.
The process
Customer purchases licence from VAR → vendor issues licence to customer → Vendor refers customer to CS partner who onboards and maintains the customer (CS partner takes %age of total revenue from the customer) → CS partner renews the customer at time of renewal and earns margin on the renewal.
The more the renew, the more seats they have under management, the more customers they need to support, the more they earn.
How can it be monetized?
The customer success partner can be an expert at support for the vendors that they work with. Billing out to the end customer for support packages as well as bonus payments from the vendor at point of renewal.
On monthly billing items, the retainer money comes from the vendor for the amount of seats under management at the CS partner.
This drastically reduces the need for headcount at the vendor on the CS side of the business and also allows for customer success to be handled in country to where the customer is and in their local language.
The more customers are under the management of the CS partner, the more they make. The more direct support contracts they can implement, the more revenue they make.
At no point in time is the customer success partner involved in new business generation so they can partner with VAR’s to offer this service on behalf of the VAR which creates the value add for resellers.
Separate partnerships for different moving parts.
Do you expect your partners to handle customer success at the moment?
Would you ever consider outsourcing your customer success to a new partner type?
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