What are some of the *worst* KPIs to commit to achieving?

I've found two KPIs to be difficult to commit to: Customer Health. If you have a robust algorithm to measure customer health (influenced by a number of inputs ), it can be hard commit to a certain outcome. To frame this another way, I've often observed customer health scores as being a bit of a black box where it's hard to tie the actions you take to specific outcomes when there could be a number of variables outside of your control that influence the ultimate score. I much prefer to commit to l ...Read More

I think the single worst KPI is 'customer touchpoints.' Customers don't want to be bothered unless you have information that is valuable to them that commands them to stop what they're doing and spend time with you. It's not enough to go about talking to every customer every month in a 'check-in.' It's much better to hold off for 3 months until you can have a value-driven conversation. Additionally, I find certain CS SLAs to be sub-optimal KPIs. If CSMs are supposed to be proactive, that means t ...Read More

Committing to certain KPIs in customer success without considering their broader impact or relevance to overall business objectives can lead to misguided efforts and low outcomes. The metrics needs to be aligned in every phase of customer lifecycle, reviewed and alter accordingly to the goals of the organisation. Example: 1. Attain 0 Churns - GRR is important but it doesn't mean that you can over emphasize on 100% GRR, instead take it slow and have a projection considering all aspects, be it mac ...Read More

Here are the most problematic KPIs to commit to, especially as CS leader: Pure Satisfaction Metrics Raw NPS/CSAT targets "Customer happiness" scores Why: Too easy to game, often doesn't correlate with business outcomes, and heavily influenced by factors outside CS control Zero-Tolerance Metrics "0% churn rate" "100% renewal rate" "No escalations" Why: Creates a culture of hiding problems versus addressing them. Activity-Based Metrics Without Outcomes "X QBRs per quarter" "Y customer touches per ...Read More

I wouldn't say that there are universally worst KPI's as what works or does not really depends on the industry , product maturity , customer base and the specific outcome you are trying to achieve via the Customer Success team. The key here is to understand the context in which you are operating and to maintain flexibility.   A KPI that makes perfect sense for a high-growth SaaS startup might be irrelevant  or even counterproductive for a mature enterprise organization. The danger lies in commit ...Read More

It is important to focus on KPIs that are actionable, aligned with strategic objectives, and within the scope of what the Customer Success team can influence and control. Here are some of examples of not good KPIs to commit to achieving: Revenue Growth of the Company Why It's Bad: Revenue growth is influenced by many factors outside the control of the Customer Success team, such as market conditions, sales effectiveness, and pricing strategies. Better Focus: Customer retention rates or upsell/cr ...Read More

Is there such a thing as a bad metric !! I think once you measure, you are doing something right and have an ability to take action. What you might thinking about how you measure, AND how you communicate So a brain dump of questions to ask yourself Are the measurements related to the company goals? Can you actually measure what you want with accuracy? How is the data that inputs to the metric - good bad, messy? Are you clear that if you measure the metric, you'll be in a position to click down a ...Read More

In my experience, committing to and driving an increase in customer utilization is one of the most challenging KPIs to meet in my industry. If I had a dollar for every time I heard leadership say, “Yes, but it’s a lagging indicator!” I’d be retired by now. I work at an AI tech startup that provides manufacturing companies with solutions to capture subject matter expertise, digitize and update outdated PDF SOPs, and create task verification and certification processes. One of the most common refr ...Read More