If you work in tech, you've probably heard this term thrown around a lot lately. But what exactly does it mean? Simply put, it is the amount of time it takes for a customer to realize the value of a product or service after purchase. This metric is crucial as it determines the success of a business in delivering timely and effective solutions to its customers. Companies can lose up to 75% of their new users within the first week. A key step in making sure this doesn't happen to your organisation is paying attention to providing value to customers as soon as possible. In today's competitive landscape, understanding and optimizing TTV is essential for businesses looking to stay ahead and drive growth.
TTV is a metric that can be heavily linked to costs within a business (similar to CAC - Customer Acquisition Cost). If your TTV is high, the resources required for onboarding and costs in Customer Success will be higher. Being able to confidently measure your TTV and show how it has changed over time will enable you to show the leadership team that your Customer Success department is a heavy profit center, instead of a cost center.
Measuring Time to Value
Time-to-Value isn't just a fancy business term – it's a measurable, quantifiable concept that can make a tangible difference in your bottom line. But how do you accurately measure it?
The first and most difficult step is identifying at what point in the Customer Journey your customer has realized that first value. This can vary heavily based on the product/service you are delivering, the industry you are delivering to, and the size of your customer.
It’s important to first identify the outcomes that your customers want to achieve. Broadly speaking, these outcomes could get their roots from:
- Reducing time completing processes
- Scaling their business efficiently
- Increasing or reducing a KPI or OKR
Once you have identified the outcomes of your customer, use key indicators, metrics, and techniques for effective measurement and analysis:
1. Project or Process Duration: This refers to the time taken from the beginning of a project or implementation of a process to when value is realized. It's a primary and direct measurement of TTV.
2. Cost Efficiency: Assessing the cost associated with achieving value can provide insight into whether the process is efficient. Remember, quicker isn't always better if it leads to skyrocketing costs.
3. Quality of Outputs: While speed is important, the quality of the resulting product or service can't be compromised. Measuring quality can help determine if the value achieved is worthwhile.
4. Customer Satisfaction: If your customers are happy with the time it takes for them to see value from your product or service, this can be a positive indication of your TTV. Surveys and feedback systems can help track this.
For effective analysis, consider the following techniques:
- Benchmarking: This involves comparing your TTV with industry standards or competitors. It can help identify where you're doing well and where there's room for improvement.
- Trend Analysis: By examining your TTV over time, you can identify patterns and trends, which can be useful for predicting future performance and making strategic decisions.
- Predictive Analytics: Using data and statistical algorithms, you can make predictions about future TTV. This can help in planning and resource allocation.
Remember, while these metrics and techniques are useful, they must be tailored to your specific business and industry for accurate measurement.
Strategies to Reduce Time to Value
Accelerating your Time-to-Value requires a dedicated, strategic approach. Here are some best practices that can help reduce TTV:
1. Streamline Onboarding: A smooth and efficient onboarding process is key to reducing TTV. Ensure your new customers understand how to use your product or service effectively from the get-go. Utilise interactive tutorials, comprehensive user guides, and live support to fast-track their learning process.
2. Enhance Training: Continuous, targeted training can help customers unlock the full potential of your product or service quicker. Adopting a proactive approach to training – think webinars, video tutorials, and in-app tips – can support users in overcoming any learning curves.
3. Customisation: SaaS products should be adaptable to specific user needs. Customisation features that allow users to tailor the product to their needs can significantly reduce the time to value. These features can range from simple UI adjustments to complex workflow configurations.
4. Automation: Look for ways to automate certain processes. Whether it's setting up the product or executing routine tasks, automation can speed up the process and deliver value to your customers more quickly. You can use a Customer Success Platform like Velaris to automate busywork like emails, updates and data entry tasks so you can focus on what’s important.
5. Prioritise Quick Wins: Focus on delivering quick wins to your customers. Identifying features or services that provide immediate value can boost customer satisfaction and engagement.
6. Regular Feedback: Make sure you listen to your customers. Regular feedback can provide valuable insights into what's working, what's not, and how you can improve.
7. Collaborate with Customers: Collaborate with your customers on roadmaps and updates. It fosters trust and aligns product development with the needs of your users, ultimately leading to a faster TTV.
Each of these strategies, when effectively implemented and supported by the right enablement efforts, can help your business drive value faster, boost customer satisfaction, and solidify your competitive edge.
Integrating Time to Value into Customer Success Strategies
Incorporating Time-to-Value into your customer success strategies is a critical step towards driving customer satisfaction and overall business growth. Here's how you can align TTV with your overall customer success goals:
- Set Clear Expectations: From the start, communicate to your customers what they can expect in terms of value and when they will start to see it. This transparency builds trust and helps align your customer's expectations with your TTV goals.
- Develop Value-based Milestones: These can help customers track their progress and celebrate small wins. It also enables you to demonstrate the ongoing value of your product or service.
- Advocate Continuous Improvement: Never stop improving your product or service based on feedback and insights from your customers. This continuous iteration ensures your offering stays relevant and valuable.
- Regular Surveys: Conducting regular surveys can help gauge customer satisfaction and their perception of the value they're receiving. You can use Velaris’s inbuilt survey tools to do this!
- Open Communication Channels: Encourage customers to share their feedback and concerns. This can provide valuable insights and areas for improvement.
- Analyse and Act on Feedback: Analyse the feedback received and take action where necessary. This demonstrates to your customers that their input is valued and considered in the continuous improvement process.
Key takeaways
- Time-to-Value (TTV) is an essential business metric, measuring the time it takes for customers to realise the value of a product or service.
- Effective TTV measurement involves project duration, cost efficiency, quality of outputs and customer satisfaction. Benchmarking, trend analysis and predictive analytics can help in analysing TTV.
- Strategies to reduce TTV include streamlining onboarding, enhancing training, customisation, automation, prioritising quick wins, regular feedback and customer collaboration.
- Integrating TTV into customer success strategies fosters satisfaction and growth, achievable through clear expectations, value-based milestones and continuous improvement. Regular surveys, open communication and acting on feedback help maintain a valuable feedback loop.
