One of the big reasons that we started Gainsight Essentials was to keep customers focused on building the strongest possible foundation to drive growth in their business.
The goal is to keep things focused on the implementation and application of core tools that can create immediate impact. At the same time, customers have confidence that they can grow into the full capabilities of Gainsight over time within the same system.
Since its launch in March, Essentials’ “less is more” philosophy is already helping dozens of businesses start their customer success journey with a focus on efficiency and scalable growth. But, there is one area where we believe that “more is more”—the strategic guidance, support, and resources required to initiate your customer success powerhouse.
When building out Gainsight Essentials, we purposely went beyond simply offering a new set of product packages—we also developed a program that surrounds your business, regardless of size or stage of maturity, with resources that enable you to start fast and grow quickly. That is why all of our Gainsight Essentials customers are automatically enrolled in the Essentials Accelerator.
Why An Accelerator?
When I founded my own software company about a decade ago, one thing was certain—I didn’t know what I didn’t know. That’s why I applied and was fortunate to get accepted into Acceleprise, a unique B2B SaaS accelerator program based out of Silicon Valley. And to this day, I’m so incredibly thankful for the opportunity. The accelerator gave me access to experts across different functional areas of business and startups, each of which helped me identify the key strategic priorities, metrics, and best practices to help me feel more confident and prepared as I set about starting and growing my SaaS company. That experience was also what led me to make customer success a core principle of my company from day one—and one of the first hires I made after graduating from the program and raising my first round of capital.
Even more beneficial was what I learned from the other members in my cohort. They were entrepreneurs and dreamers, just like me. The collegial spirit shared amongst the other founders in the program gave me the reassurance that I needed at the time. It made me aware that I wasn’t alone in trying to address all of the new challenges I was trying to tackle in my own business. And I was able to glean useful insights from real people who were applying and experimenting with the same best practices and concepts we were learning about into the minutiae of the businesses we were building.
What’s involved in the Essentials Accelerator?
Gainsight is known for its depth of resources and the most engaged customer community in the industry. The Essentials Accelerator goes even deeper to ensure the success of Gainsight Essentials customers regardless of their size and stage of maturity, right alongside a cohort of their peers. Here’s a sample of the things that Essentials customers are experiencing through the program:
- Live Bootcamps: Expert-led sessions that guide customers on applying CS best practices to their program.
- Office Hours: Interactive sessions with Gainsight experts.
- Webinars + Events: Live and on-demand opportunities to learn and share your learnings with others.
- 1:1 Mentorship: Guidance and advice from experienced Gainsight customers and partners.
- Digital Community: An exclusive forum for Essentials customers to share, collaborate and learn.
Each Essentials Accelerator cohort will consist of a year-long journey where we help you lean in and proactively engage with all that the program has to offer. We’re also planning beyond your first year so that Essentials Accelerator alumni have a path for both continued learning, and also the opportunity to give back to future cohorts.
Customer Success Is Bigger Than Software
Yes, the goal of the Essentials Accelerator is to help our Gainsight Essentials customers speed up their time-to-value by aligning a world-class customer success and product strategy with the robust functionality of our platform. At the same time, we also want to make sure that the momentum around customer success grows deeper and farther, to new industries and types of businesses.
In order to achieve that outcome, we’re intent on advancing the skills and careers of each cohort member who will become the next wave of leaders, advisors, and mentors in the industry.
The Essentials Accelerator just wrapped the kickoff boot camp for our inaugural cohort. The key outcome for participants was the creation of a one-page strategic plan that they will now use to create clear alignment in their business around customer success. The tool will also help them to keep their teams focused on the activities that will help them achieve the outcomes that matter most for their business.
Customer Success isn’t a self-service endeavor. We’re excited by the fact that the next time any Essentials Accelerator member runs into a challenge that has them scratching their head about what to do next, they’ve got experts, and other cohort collaborators, to lean on for quick advice and guidance.
