The larger the size of the organization gets, the higher the probability of encountering less utilized customer applications or totally unutilized applications (unused)
Both ways, this is Shelf-ware!
One of the ultimate goals of Customer Success function, is to make sure that customer’s environment is utilized at upmost standards, shelf-ware is one the silent killers that each Customer Success Representative should work with his/her customers to decrease or eliminate its existence
A Cause and Effect analysis I made on Shelfware is demonstrated in the figure below that shows why Shelfware is dangerous!
For some customers, shelf-ware is more than 25% of total install base, that could be a huge Unrecognized value which has a lot of implications and direct impact on achieving vast customer success KPIs like adoption, renewal values, overall satisfaction…etc.
One of the smartest solutions is to offer some options to convert from install base licensing models to cloud base models exactly like what Microsoft did with its WW customer base
I am introducing this Go-To-Solve model in the diagram below that can be used to address the Shelfware problem, this model does not need any extra new systems investment so it can be used directly without any overhead cost on the orgnization
The model has basically five main steps:
- Track
- Identify
- Review
- Plan
- Propose a solution
Each step is explained in the diagram below
With such model, it can be highly possible to overcome this problem with your customers; achieving high overall success criteria and making sure all organization’s stakeholders are viewing thus addressing this pain area
