Cloud Software Association

Customer success can be a difficult thing to predict or influence. But some channels are finding that partnerships could be key to making this a reality.

Clate Mask, CEO and Co-Founder of Infusionsoft, discussed this at Saas Connect 2018. (Clate would return to SaaS Connect in 2019 to talk about Infusionsoft’s rebranding as Keap).

Here’s what businesses can take away from InfusionSoft’s journey.

Why was Infusionsoft struggling with customer success?

Infusionsoft’s goal was small business success — specifically, to simplify growth for small businesses via software.

A straightforward goal, but small businesses kept running into a similar problem: They would find it difficult to keep up with all of the tools created to promote growth.

The problem was known as “The Kludge.” Growth was difficult for these small businesses, as trying to manage different platforms caused a number of struggles.

Key pain points for customers were as follows:

• Tasks slip through the cracks
• Lost sales
• Lack of visibility
• Repetitive data entry
• Tedious, manual followup

So, Infusionsoft undertook what it dubbed the “Mars Mission” to help small businesses get organized and create order out of the chaos.

How did this mission intend to boost customer success?

This mission had three objectives: Sell, scale and serve. This meant building out partner ecosystems, which in turn underpinned the growth strategies of the small businesses Infusionsoft was targeting. 

For those small businesses to succeed, then, partners had to succeed, too. That meant focusing on the following:

• Business booster sales
• Partner webinars
• Partner onboarding
• Elite partner events
• Great products to empower partners

In addition, Infusionsoft learned to let partners specialize. They didn’t try to force partners into roles they weren’t built for. This ultimately made for a stronger partner ecosystem and longer-lasting partnerships.

What was the impact of this mission?

Thanks to the Mars Mission, Infusionsoft realized the following successes:

1. Partners were expanding the markets of small businesses.
2. Partners were serving customers with end-to-end solutions.
3. Partners delivered meaningful onboarding to Infusionsoft.
4. Partners positively impacted customer health and lifetime value.
5. More partners were scaling their businesses with Infusionsoft.

In other words, success for small businesses and partners directly translated to success for Infusionsoft.