Dive Brief:
- An analysis of publicly traded professional services firms, conducted by business software provider Certinia, found a strong correlation between customer success strategies and stock price increases after quarterly earnings results, according to a recent report on the findings.
- Companies focused on customer success or net revenue retention — which measures how much revenue a business retains from its existing customers — were more likely to see the biggest post-earnings bumps, according to the research.
- “I think the big take away is that investors recognize and reward companies that prioritize customer success,” Damian Trzebunia, head of global product and solution marketing at Certinia, said in an interview.
Dive Insight:
Customer success has become an essential strategy for sustaining growth and investor confidence in a volatile economy, the report said.
Mentions of NRR and customer success in earnings calls jumped 38% and 11% in 2023, respectively, with the upward trend continuing in 2024, according to the findings.
While these concepts have traditionally been associated with software-as-a-service companies, Certinia’s study shows a shift. Eighteen percent of customer success mentions and 15% of NRR mentions came from non-SaaS organizations.
In one example, the CEO of clinical research organization 10x Genomics described the company as “obsessed” with customer success in multiple earnings calls, the report noted.
Certinia, a provider of professional services automation software, said its study was based on an analysis of more than 4,000 quarterly earnings reports from more than 430 leading public services firms during the period between January 2022 through June 2025.
Among the 100 highest-performing quarters analyzed, 22% of firms referenced customer success or NRR, compared with the overall average of 15%, according to the report. Top-performing companies positively attributed NRR 70% of the time.
“The implication is that it’s a core part of their strategy; it’s not just aspirational,” Trzebunia said. “It’s embedded into their go-to-market fabric.”
