Aspire Case Study
Corey Kuhn, Manager of Customer Success (CS) with Aspire, discusses making giant leaps in its CS progress with Gainsight, how automation has enabled significant CSM efficiencies, and how changes in processes have created an “Aspire Experience” for their clients.
OVERVIEW
Aspire has revolutionized the landscape industry by empowering contractors to transform the way their businesses operate. Aspire’s cloud-based platform offers the end-to-end functionality contractors need to gain full visibility into their business, make better decisions, and increase profit margins.
Corey Kuhn, Manager of Customer Success (CS) with Aspire, discusses making giant leaps in its CS progress with Gainsight, how automation has enabled significant CSM efficiencies, and how changes in processes have created an “Aspire Experience” for their clients.
CONTEXT
Aspire was experiencing significant growth and purchased Gainsight to help manage this growth and be its one record of client truth. “We knew it was a powerful tool and not one you can take out of the box and go with, so that is why we started working with nCloud Integrators’ implementation team. Their consultants helped us get to the starting line and beyond,” states Corey. “Going from no Gainsight to first implementing Gainsight was a giant leap in progress for our organization. Then we realized there was so much more we could do, so we worked with nCloud’s Expert Services team to take us to the next level, which has stretched us to use the real capabilities of the tool. It has transformed our team and our processes, and now we truly understand what Gainsight can do.”
OUTCOMES
Aspire wanted to focus on improving CSM efficiency with a more robust C360 layout that went deeper into client details. Now it is an Aspire-focused snapshot of the company. CSMs can go into the dashboard and instantly see what work they need to do with a particular client. In the past, it would take 10 to 15 minutes of prep time to check client status before each call. The company also wanted to automate various pieces within its customer journey.
“nCloud Integrators helped us with our playbooks and the automation of various tasks such as our NPS process,” states Corey. “The end result is that our entire customer journey has changed in a way that is great for our team and for our clients. Everything is standardized, and we are reaching out to clients on a consistent basis with a consistent message. It is now much more of an ‘Aspire Experience’.”
Each CSM on the Aspire team carved out at least an hour per week managing the NPS process with reach outs and personalized responses. After this process was automated, individuals on the team only reviewed responses for items that stood out. Overall, the CS team saves about 20 hours a week, and each CSM can manage a few more clients.
The company also automated its client onboarding process, which takes place after implementation. This process was administratively heavy, with the team sending out various communications such as reminders to attend webinars, links to its knowledge base, and emails with helpful information. Now the onboarding process is automated and standardized so clients get specific reminders and emails in a way that makes sense in their training journey. Depending on the client, this includes five to eight different communications. CSMs can now spend more time meeting with clients or reaching out with specific assistance.
THE PROCESS
“As a software company, we know that there is never a good time to implement software. There are always other priorities or responsibilities that come up. With Gainsight, we understood the importance, but it was hard to carve out time,” states Corey. “nCloud Integrators put us on an 8-week path to implementation with timelines and accountability. Every week, we had goals and things we needed to accomplish in that time.”
Corey continues, “Also, nCloud Integrators’ consultants probably answered thousands of questions for us, such as ‘Should we do it this way or that way, or What's your experience with other companies doing this same process?’ It really cleared the path, showed us which rocks not to trip on, and saved us so much time."
NCLOUD INTEGRATORS’ APPROACH
“During implementation, our consultant with nCloud had a very comfortable style. She brought us along, but also made sure we were accountable and learning along the way,” states Corey. “Sometimes if we were struggling, she would jump into the back end to help with setup, and then walk through the process later. Other times she held our feet to the fire, because we needed to learn the setup of a particular piece.” nCloud also suggested that Aspire bring in some experienced CSMs to walk through the process, provide feedback and understand the changes before the rest of the team. This helped get the entire team up and running quickly during the rollout process.
“There is often a hidden cost of implementing new software because you don’t realize how much time you are spending on discovery and education work. On your own, it takes four times as long to educate yourself, answer questions and figure out the right path,” states Corey. “The value of nCloud Integrators is that they helped us get to the understanding faster, and if we came to a fork in the road, we had a trusted partner that could help us make decisions that would take us down the correct path.”
Aspire continued its work with nCloud Integrators’ Expert Services team after implementation to take its use of Gainsight to the next level. The nCloud consultants made sure all of Aspire’s meetings were on-track and a good use of time for the team. Specific goals were outlined during the first meeting, and then at the end of each phase, Aspire and nCloud met to review what was accomplished and set new goals.
“At the end of the day, a good consulting relationship is about the people. It seems like nCloud Integrators really has their business figured out because everyone I’ve worked with is so great and knowledgeable about Gainsight and the industry,” states Corey.
ADVICE FOR OTHERS IMPLEMENTING GAINSIGHT
“I have generic software advice that I always like to give brand new clients: allocate twice as much time as you think you're going to need for the implementation process. The level of effort and what you do upfront multiplies exponentially on the back end and the quicker you will see the dividends,” states Corey. “That is really how I felt about our Gainsight implementation. Honestly, nCloud Integrators is worth double the price of what we paid for implementation because of the time and effort we saved on our end.”