When your customer base triples, it’s easy to lose sight of what made people love you in the first place.
That’s exactly where Teamleader found itself.
A growing SaaS company helping thousands of SMEs manage projects and clients efficiently, Teamleader had scaled fast. But as VP of Sales and Customer Success Lies Rotthier shared at SaaSiest Amsterdam 2025, that growth came with a hidden cost.
“We were so focused on efficiency that we forgot the human part,” she said.
“Our customers didn’t care about our scaling goals. They just wanted to feel seen.”
Within a year, Teamleader’s NPS dropped, reviews fell to an all-time low (2.8/5), and churn was climbing.
Something had to change.
When scaling breaks connection
It started with good intentions: streamline workflows, automate touchpoints, do more with less.
But as processes multiplied, empathy got lost.
Lies described a “scaling paradox”—balancing efficiency with emotional connection.
The team had become so process-driven that success meant checking boxes, not creating value. And while everyone liked to say the silos were gone, the truth was different.
“We kept telling ourselves we were working cross-functionally. But in those leadership meetings, it was clear we weren’t.”
Then came a message from a long-time customer that hit home:
“We chose Teamleader because we felt like we were talking to people who knew us. Now it feels like we’re talking to a different company.”
That was the wake-up call.
Reframing success: Winning back hearts, not logos
Teamleader launched a company-wide initiative called “Winning Back the Hearts of Our Customers.”
It wasn’t about revenue recovery or churn reduction—it was about restoring trust and emotional connection.
The first step was a mindset shift:
Customer success isn’t the job of one department.
It’s everyone’s job.
Lies reframed it across all teams—from engineering to marketing to finance.
Every KPI, every company value, every cross-functional project had to link back to customer experience.
“We printed it into our heads,” she said. “Customer success is a company-wide priority.”
Five moves that changed everything
1. Make the customer journey your compass
Before, the customer journey lived in the CS team’s documentation.
Now, it’s the company’s operating system.
The team mapped every touchpoint—from first contact to renewal—pinpointing both “aha moments” (where customers felt real value) and friction points (where frustration spiked).
Then came a crucial perspective shift: combine inside-out thinking (how you believe customers experience you) with outside-in validation (how they actually do).
Teamleader did this through customer interviews and data mapping, revealing early-stage experiences that predicted long-term success or churn.
The insight?
Most pain points appeared before renewal.
So improving early touchpoints was cheaper and more impactful than reacting later in retention.
2. Create shared ownership across teams
Customer success metrics like NPS, NRR, and reviews no longer belonged to the CS department alone.
Every function now shared accountability.
If NPS dropped, it was everyone’s problem—from product to support to sales enablement.
That shared ownership broke silos faster than any re-org could.
3. Anchor customer focus in company values
Every one of Teamleader’s values—like “Think ahead” and “Make it happen”—was reinterpreted through a customer lens.
When new processes or touchpoints were designed, teams asked:
“How does this help our customers feel known, supported, and successful?”
Those values became design principles guiding both digital and human interactions.
4. Segment before you scale
Scaling without segmentation is like shouting into a crowd.
Teamleader restructured its customer base into defined tiers, each with distinct needs, value potential, and touchpoint models.
That led to the creation of a digital customer success team, blending marketing and CS expertise to craft targeted, scalable engagement for each segment.
Crucially, low-touch didn’t mean low-value.
Every customer segment received relevant communication, proactive education, and human escalation when it mattered most.
5. Automate the boring. Humanize what matters.
Not everything that can be automated should be.
“Automation is for efficiency,” Lise said, “not for replacing connection.”
Teamleader automated repetitive processes like renewals and NPS follow-ups—but added layers of human outreach when scores dipped or feedback signaled risk.
The goal: free up people to focus where empathy drives outcomes.
The human side of scaling
The final transformation was cultural.
Teamleader began hiring not just for skill, but for attitude—people willing to surprise customers, go the extra mile, and adapt quickly to changing needs.
They also added customer marketing talent inside the CS function, bringing storytelling, campaigns, and segmentation expertise closer to the post-sale experience.
Because scaling sustainably isn’t about doing more—it’s about doing what matters better.
What SaaS leaders can learn from Teamleader’s turnaround
- Define “customer success” as a company-wide priority. Don’t let it live in one department.
- Use your customer journey as an operational map. Identify where delight and friction really happen.
- Invest early, not reactively. Fix the onboarding and adoption experience before you fight churn.
- Segment meaningfully. Tailor automation and human touchpoints by customer value and complexity.
- Build adaptable teams. Hire people who can learn, move, and connect—not just execute processes.
The result?
Teamleader’s satisfaction scores rebounded, churn stabilized, and internal collaboration hit new levels.But most importantly, they earned back what truly matters:
The hearts of their customers.
🎥 Watch Lies’ full session at SaaSiest Amsterdam 2025 here
