Introduction

Despite the growing importance of Customer Success (CS), CS teams often struggle with excessively complex and often inadequate tools, inefficient processes, and difficulty proving material impact on profitability. After speaking with hundreds of CS leaders, we identified three major roadblocks that prevent CS teams from reaching their full potential and securing budget support.

1. Complexity and Cost

One of the biggest frustrations CS leaders face is the complexity and cost of existing CS platforms (CSPs). While these tools promise better customer management, they often come with significant downsides:

• High Costs – Many CS platforms require hefty investments, making them inaccessible to smaller teams or resource-constrained companies.

• Difficult to Use – Instead of simplifying workflows, these platforms add layers of complexity that slow down customer-facing teams.

• Data Silos – When CS tools don’t integrate well with other systems (CRM, analytics, support), teams are forced to jump between platforms, leading to inefficiencies and lost insights.

The challenges are different for the 90% of SaaS vendors that don't have a CSP. These organizations settle for CRM features, spreadsheets, and dashboards, all of which lack the capabilities needed to build a high-performing CS program.

2. Slow Time to Value

Another common pain point is the lengthy CSP implementation process. Many legacy solutions take months to configure, integrate, and deploy. This creates several challenges:

• Delayed Impact – CS teams can’t afford to wait months to act on critical customer insights.

• Complicated Integrations – Connecting CSPs with existing tools often requires IT resources and custom development.

• Steep Learning Curves – Legacy systems often require lengthy onboarding and training, leading to slow adoption.

• Heavy Playbook Creation Effort – Many CSPs require teams to build detailed playbooks covering the entire customer journey, adding up-front effort and delaying results.

A slow time to value increases the risk of failure—something decision-makers are often unwilling to accept.

3. Measured Impact

A major challenge in the customer success (CS) industry is proving the measurable impact of CS teams on profitability. Most CS platforms fail to demonstrate CS team revenue contribution, leading to budget cuts and downsizing. Common struggles include:

• Lack of Clear Metrics – Many CS platforms track engagement but fail to measure revenue impact.

• Difficulty Determining ROI – Without clear ROI metrics, CS teams struggle to justify their value to executives.

• Budget & Staff Reductions – When impact is unclear, CS teams are often the first to face cuts during uncertain times.

Moving Forward: The Need for a Better Approach

Customer success can be a critical driver of profitability, but these challenges make it harder for teams to operate efficiently and prove their worth. To move forward, CS leaders need modern, lightweight, and impactful solutions—not heavy platforms—that:

• Reduce complexity and cost by eliminating unnecessary features and improving integration.

• Accelerate time to value by offering plug-and-play capabilities and intuitive workflows.

• Clearly measure impact with real-time reporting that ties CS activities to revenue outcomes.

By addressing these challenges, customer success teams can secure their role as an efficient revenue driver rather than just a support function. The future of CS lies in agility, efficiency, and measurable results—and the companies that embrace this shift will gain a powerful competitive advantage.