Trim Size: 6in x 9in  Mehta572763 c01.tex V1-04/03/2020 11:45pm Page 18 18 WhyCustomerSuccessBecameStandard Law#8:Obsessively Improve Time to Value Whydopeople or companies buy? They think they’ll get value from their purchase. If you’re a consumer, this might mean spending a lot at a fine restaurant because you hope to get an outstanding meal. In that scenario, you find out pretty much right away if the expenditure was worth it: The foodis either delicious or not. Based on that, you can decide whether you’ll return. But when you’re selling business products and services, it’s often tough to show value so close to the expenditure. Buyers know that, but they still expect to see value in a reasonable time frame. For SaaS vendors, that time frame is the length of the subscription: If the customer hasn’t seen real value bythetimerenewaldiscussionsbegin,they’re far less likely to renew. Work- ing against the vendor is how long it might take to get the customer up and running with the solution. Obsessively improving time to value is the way to address this challenge. And the time-to-value point is important throughout the customer lifecycle, not just in the initial onboarding phase. Every time a new release  happens, for example, the process starts again in helping the customer  derive value from the new features as quickly as possible. Obsessing over time-to-value needs to become a constant mindset for successful companies. Law#9:Deeply Understand the Details of Churn and Retention Successful subscription-based companies must understand the details of churn and retention in order to maintain and accelerate their revenue growth. Nothing slows your company’s growth rate faster than having revenue from your installed base evaporate. As your installed base revenues grow, even a 1% increase in churn can make a huge difference in your company’s velocity. To sustain a subscription-based company for the long term, your com- panymustgrasptheconceptofchurnfromthestandpointofunderstanding whyandhowoftencustomers leave, and the concept of retention from the standpoint of why and how often customers stay. The earlier in your com- pany’s lifecycle churn and retention are addressed, the easier the problem is to solve.