Gainsight for Professional Services

We tried to use Success Plans to mimic an implementation project plan (Objective CTAs = project milestones; Tasks = tasks) but found it to be pretty limited compared to basic functionality in PM tools like SmartSheet, Jira, Trello, and even spreadsheet. I don't blame GS though. Shame on us (me) for trying to use the wrong tool for the job.

We're still interested in using GS for PS/Implementation.

We are building a Customer Success Framework for Professional Services/IT Services firms. 

We are ourselves a customer success consulting firm, and have seen the need for a SaaS type Customer Success framework for the Services industry. 

There are quite a few differences between the SaaS and Prof Services industry
- Subscription - the Services industry generally doesn't use the 'subscription' construct, instead its mostly Projects. Though there are segments where SaaS and Services industry are converging.
- Churn - since engagements are Project based. when a project ends on its scheduled date, its not a churn event. But if the project terminates prematurely, or if the project was expected to be renewed with a new PO but it didn't happen, that would qualify as a Churn event
- Growth - every account will have multiple open Project opportunities at any point in time, and growth happens through new Project wins. 
- Service Delivery vs Product (service delivery team constantly interacts with Customer, maybe more than Account Managers) 
- Adoption - its difficult to measure adoption, since the industry doesn't track 'Users' the way SaaS does
- Value creation - measuring value creation for the end-customer is very different in Services compared to SaaS 

The Plays in the Services industry are also very different. 

Will be happy to discuss, if you are interested. 

Thanks,
Nilendu
nilendu@WisdomTreeConsulting.com 
www.WisdomTreeConsulting.com