From Fragmentation to Enterprise Value: How HPE Built and Scaled Customer Success Across the Business
“ESG didn’t just advise – they executed alongside us. They anchored our focus on what actually moves the needle: customer needs, team alignment, and prioritized action. The result was a materially faster transformation from legacy technology company to modern SaaS operating model.”— Carlos Quezada, VP of CX Strategy, Automation & Enablement, Hewlett Packard Enterprise Overview HPE was […]
read moreWhy Customer Success Complexity Erodes Enterprise Value
Customer Success rarely starts with a fully designed operating model. It starts with urgency – smart people doing whatever it takes to keep customers moving. Roles are loosely defined. Handoffs are informal. Customer ownership is often fluid, shifting depending on the account and what’s needed in the moment. As the company grows, those early patterns harden. Exceptions become habits. Habits become […]
read moreCase Study: Redesigning Implementation to Reduce Cost-to-Serve and Restore Retention for a PE-Backed Software Company
42% Onboarding Reduction 90% Escalation Reduction 71% Faster Time to Kickoff The Situation: Revenue and Margin at Risk A private equity-backed technology company approaching a valuation event faced mounting retention pressure driven by stalled implementations. More than 20 customers sat in an implementation backlog, most well past their planned timelines. Sales communicated a 12-week onboarding […]
read moreThe Financial Literacy Gap in Customer Success
Most customer success teams work hard. Many deliver consistent activity. Far fewer improve financial performance by design. The gap is rarely effort or intent. It’s literacy. Inside many technology companies, customer success leaders responsible for retention and expansion are not fluent in how their work translates into financial outcomes. They know what they do. They […]
read moreThe New Standard for Enterprise Value
Most technology leaders already sense that the environment has shifted. For private-equity-backed technology companies, the change is no longer debatable. New logo growth has slowed materially. Across SaaS, growth rates today are roughly two-thirds lower than pre-COVID levels, and steadily declining. Budgets are tighter and more closely scrutinized. Conversion rates are down. Customer acquisition costs […]
read moreCase Study: Driving Exit Readiness for a PE-Owned Tech Company Approaching Valuation Event
The Situation: Exit Risk Emerges Late in the Hold A private equity–owned digital health company entered the final stage of its investment cycle. With more than 6,000 SMB customers, the segment represented a growing source of risk as the company prepared for exit. Six-month revenue churn climbed from 6.7% to 14.2%, eroding renewal predictability and […]
read moreCase Study: Transforming Onboarding for Enhanced Efficiency, Improved Adoption, and Increased Retention
Client Overview ESG’s client in this case study is a leading provider of advanced analytics and patient management software specifically tailored for SMB health practices. This digital health management platform includes a suite of products designed to streamline operations, enhance patient care, and ultimately drive revenue growth for small practice professionals. However, as the company […]
read moreAI can be many things – making it work for employees can be the key to your success as a leader
At this point, it’s an obvious understatement to say that there’s recently been a lot of excitement about Artificial Intelligence (AI). But let’s be frank. Its more of a feeding frenzy. Which reminds me. I read a report this week that said that all the great white sharks have left South African waters. […]
read moreAdvanced Digital Modalities in Customer Success
Everybody loves to think about the exciting technologies our future might hold. From eagerly anticipating the flying cars of The Jetsons to imagining algorithms like ChatGPT taking the business world by storm, people love dreaming about possibility. In Customer Success, we don’t always get the opportunity to think too far ahead. CS leaders usually focus […]
read moreThe 5 Key Areas of Responsibility for Customer Success Operations
The 5 Key Areas of Responsibility for Customer Success Operations Customer Success Operations is a hot topic these days for good reason. Teams are learning to do more with less as economic challenges clash with new opportunities in the digital space. Having a CS Ops team is no longer the exception; it’s the rule. As […]
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