How can you address conflicting KPIs between sales and support teams for better customer service outcomes?

It is very important for both teams to be in alignment, creating common KPIs that both teams can work towards such as customer satisfaction scores, Net prompter scores or customer retention rates.

Aligning objectives between sales and support teams is crucial for avoiding conflicts. When these teams have differing KPIs, such as sales focusing on revenue and support focusing on ticket resolution times, misalignment can occur. To address this, set shared objectives that reflect customer-centric goals. For instance, in a cloud product renewal scenario, both teams could focus on customer retention rates and customer satisfaction scores. This alignment ensures that while sales strive to close deals, support ensures customer issues are resolved efficiently, contributing to a seamless renewal process. Example: Sales and support teams collaborate to maximize CLV in Salesforce by ensuring high customer satisfaction and long-term engagement.

Alinhamento entre expectativas e realidades são primordiais para qualquer tomada de decisão, visto que podemos ter opiniões diferentes sobre o mesmo tema. Porém devem estar alinhadas para conquista do objetivo.

From my experience, in order to address conflicting KPIs between sales and support teams, it's crucial to establish a unified customer-centric approach, aligning both teams towards shared goals that prioritize customer satisfaction and loyalty. This can be achieved by introducing metrics that measure customer lifetime value, retention rates, and overall experience, rather than solely focusing on individual team-specific KPIs. By doing so, both teams can work collaboratively to resolve customer issues efficiently, ensuring seamless handoffs and a cohesive customer journey, ultimately driving better customer service outcomes and long-term business success. Thank you

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Clear and consistent communication between sales and support teams is essential. Regular meetings and integrated communication platforms like Slack or Microsoft Teams can facilitate this. Discussing challenges, sharing customer feedback, and coordinating on customer needs help both teams stay aligned. Example: A SaaS company using Slack integrates customer feedback channels where both sales and support can see real-time comments from customers, allowing them to address issues quickly and coordinate their efforts for renewals.

Addressing conflicting KPIs between sales and support teams for better customer service outcomes necessitates clear communication. During the "Sales-Support Alignment Initiative," I used the OKR (Objectives and Key Results) framework to align goals. By facilitating regular interdepartmental meetings and workshops, we clarified how each team's KPIs contributed to overall business objectives. This approach helped in resolving conflicts by ensuring both teams understood their roles in the customer journey. Clear communication fostered collaboration, leading to improved customer satisfaction metrics and a cohesive strategy that balanced the needs and objectives of both sales and support functions.

Integrating CRM and support systems can provide a holistic view of the customer journey. Tools like JIRA, integrated with Salesforce, ensure that all customer interactions are visible to both sales and support teams. This integration helps in understanding customer pain points and proactively addressing them before renewal discussions. Example: A cloud service provider integrates Salesforce CRM with JIRA, enabling sales to see support tickets and resolutions. This information helps sales teams tailor their renewal pitches based on the support experiences of customers, leading to higher renewal rates.

Regularly reevaluating and adjusting KPIs ensures they remain relevant and aligned with business goals. This might mean shifting from individual performance metrics to team-based metrics that emphasize collaboration and customer outcomes. Example: A company might shift from tracking individual ticket resolution times for support and individual sales targets to team-based metrics like Net Promoter Score (NPS) or Customer Effort Score (CES). This shift encourages collaboration and a focus on overall customer satisfaction.

Creating incentives that reward collaboration between sales and support can foster a team-oriented culture. Joint bonuses based on shared success metrics, such as customer retention and satisfaction, can motivate teams to work together towards common goals. Example: At a cloud product company, bonuses are given based on the overall renewal rate and customer satisfaction scores, rather than individual sales targets or support ticket closures. This approach ensures that both teams are equally invested in providing a superior customer experience.