How Unit4 is reimagining Customer Success to drive growth and value
From tactical support to strategic outcomes, Unit4’s Customer Success evolution reflects how leading SaaS companies are building long-term customer value, powered by data, insights, and scalable engagement models.
This is a blog post by Michelle MacCarthy and Tim Eclair-Heath.
Customer Success is no longer just about solving problems
At Unit4, we’ve made a fundamental shift, transforming Customer Success from a reactive, post-sale support function into a key growth enabler. And we’ve done this by focusing on customer outcomes, not just activity.
Our journey reflects what many SaaS organisations are now recognising: when customers succeed, so does your business. But delivering that consistently requires structure, data, and scalable programmes. That’s where platforms and partners like Gainsight — and our own innovation — come in.
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Turning Customer Success into a strategic lever
Historically, Customer Success teams operated as a cost centre, measured on customer satisfaction and issue resolution. But that’s no longer enough. Subscription models demand retention, expansion, and value delivery at scale.
To support this, we launched Success4U — a tiered Customer Success programme that gives customers a choice in how they engage with us.
Whether it’s standard onboarding or premium services like strategic advisory, advanced training, or tailored success planning, we’re meeting customers where they are — and helping them go further, faster.
These services aren’t just value-adds. They’re a commitment to shared outcomes. That’s why they’re monetised — not to gatekeep support, but to ensure the depth, consistency, and strategic focus our customers expect.
Why monetisation matters — for customers and us
Monetising success services has created mutual accountability. Customers who invest in premium engagement are more involved, more proactive, and more aligned with outcomes. They see faster time-to-value and are more likely to expand usage.
Our CSMs now focus on what matters most, not just satisfaction scores, but retention, growth, and outcome alignment. They work as trusted advisors, helping customers realise the full potential of their investment.
Gainsight: The platform making it possible
We couldn’t do this without the right technology foundation. Gainsight gives our teams a single view of the customer, from usage data to lifecycle milestones, and the ability to act on it.
With success plans, health scoring, and journey analytics built into our workflows, our teams engage earlier, more effectively, and with greater impact. Integration with our proprietary Customer 360 and AI capabilities allows us to personalise and scale our efforts, which is a must-have in a tiered engagement model.
Change management at the core
This evolution hasn’t been just about systems. It’s been a company-wide shift in mindset. We built a cross-functional community of practice to align Customer Success, Product, Sales, and Marketing around common outcomes. Ongoing enablement ensures our teams stay aligned and our CSMs grow into true strategic partners.
The results speak for themselves
Customers on our premium Success4U tiers report significantly higher satisfaction. We’ve seen Net Promoter Scores increase by 50 points on average. More importantly, customers are realising value faster — and telling us so.
NPS
increase by 50 points on average
This is the future of Customer Success: measurable impact, mutual accountability, and shared growth.
Further reading & resources
