Imagine being a tax lawyer in your past life. Straight-laced, numbers-driven, adhering to a rigid set of rules. Now imagine leaving all of that behind to enter the world of customer success. That’s the story of Stijn Smet, Head of CS at Whale. As he jokes, he’s the least “tax lawyer-like” person you’ll ever meet, and despite being well-versed in contracts and clauses, it’s customer relationships and growth that make him tick. His goal in life? In his own words, “To be a real housewife”. In this article, we’ll explore how Stijn transformed Whale’s customer success strategy from traditional support into a proactive, revenue-generating powerhouse. Let’s dive in!
How it all went wrong
In 2023, Stijn and his team at Whale faced a massive hurdle. CS was only contributing 33% to the company’s ARR. The reason was simple yet painful: there was no real strategy. CS lacked a commercial mindset, something Stijn was uncomfortably aware of. After all, he had previously left his first CS role because he hated the idea of being a salesperson. Hard sales tactics felt like a betrayal of his ethos. “I was there to make customers happy, to make sure they renewed, not to sell them more stuff,” he admits.
But in 2023, sCS needed to generate more revenue. Yet Stijn, resistant to turning into a sales machine, couldn’t just flip a switch. Instead, he kept doing what he did best, ensuring customers were satisfied. But that meant avoiding the larger issue: CS needed to drive expansion.
2024’s spaghetti strategy
When 2024 arrived, the pressure was on. Stijn found himself staring at ambitious goals without the tools or tactics to achieve them. “We were just throwing spaghetti against the wall,” he says. Nothing was sticking, and it felt like they were resorting to inauthentic, hard-sell techniques that didn’t align with his or his team’s style.
This led him to a pivotal realization: CS needed authenticity. Stijn couldn’t suddenly become a smooth-talking salesperson, and he shouldn’t have to. CS, after all, is about long-term relationships and meaningful value. But how could he prove that value without resorting to traditional sales tactics?
From selling dreams to proving value
Stijn took a step back and noticed something interesting. Sales teams often use ROI calculators to paint a dream scenario: If a prospect buys the product, they’ll see massive returns. But what happens after the sale? How often do companies actually measure the ROI they promised? Stijn had a lightbulb moment: What if CS could quantify real, post-purchase ROI? Instead of selling a dream, they’d deliver tangible proof.
One of Whale’s biggest value propositions is the time it saves users. Think of those long, labyrinthine 50-page manuals you sift through, unable to find what you need. Whale simplifies that process, making information easy to access. To measure this, Stijn’s team built a CS portal that tracked exactly how long customers spent searching for information on Whale. The data was shocking: while it took 15 minutes on platforms like google drive or sharepoint, Whale brought that time down to 2-3 minutes. The value was clear – 12 minutes saved per task, per person, every day.
Building the ROI formula and simplifying the numbers
Stijn and his team didn’t stop at collecting data. They needed to turn those minutes into money. Here’s how they did it:
- They calculated the average hourly rate for Whale’s ideal customer profile (easily found through tools like ChatGPT or online salary research).
- They multiplied the saved time by the employee cost and subtracted Whale’s subscription fee.
Suddenly, Stijn had a formula that wasn’t just numbers on a page, it was a clear, credible ROI. And here’s the beauty: this ROI wasn’t hypothetical. It wasn’t “if you buy, you might save this much.” Instead, it was “here’s exactly how much you are saving.”
Relationship first, metrics second
Armed with this new approach, Stijn leaned into what he knew best: relationships. “As a CS manager, the relationship with your customer is sacred,” he explains. “It’s like a mother nurturing her child, giving them all the love they deserve.” By proving value with ROI metrics, conversations became easier and more meaningful. Clients weren’t just hearing about benefits; they were seeing them, backed by data.
But what truly set this apart was the authenticity. Stijn wasn’t pushing products or upselling services. He was showing genuine results, turning CS into a trusted advisor role rather than a sales extension. Customers even began telling his team, “We have more time for our projects now,” validating the very essence of Whale’s platform.
The beauty of screwing up
Yet, it wasn’t all smooth sailing. Stijn’s journey is littered with moments of failure. One memorable blunder? Sending a customer a three-page, overly complicated ROI report. “They were like, ‘Great, but what does this mean?’” Stijn laughs, noting that simplicity always wins. Realizing this, his team pivoted to short, impactful emails.
Another experiment involved creating a google chrome extension powered by ChatGPT. This tool analyzed a client’s current setup, calculated ROI, and suggested ways to maximize Whale’s value. It even personalized best practices by industry. This innovation came from trial, error, and a relentless drive to improve.
The biggest aesthetic screw-up? A garish pink-and-yellow color scheme that made dashboards unreadable. But even this mistake taught valuable lessons in presentation and user experience. Here’s a closer look:
A year of transformative growth
By the first quarter of 2024, the results were pretty impressive. Remember that 33% ARR contribution from CS in 2023? It had soared to 54% by mid-2024. Bar charts that once stagnated were now climbing steadily. Stijn’s authenticity-driven approach was paying off, proving that CS could be a major revenue driver without compromising its core values.
And the key takeaway? “Don’t turn CS teams into salespeople,” Stijn says. “Just give us the tools to do our job the best way we can.”
This experience isn’t just about turning numbers into narratives or finding smarter ways to prove value. It’s a story of embracing vulnerability, learning from missteps, and redefining success with a sense of humor and grit. As he puts it, “Anyone who doesn’t invest in CS can have several seats, darling.” It’s a memorable takeaway, showing that in the world of customer success, the real magic lies in authenticity, and the courage to make it work your way.
