KATY KLINKENBERG BIO

Accomplishments:

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Established a client success department in a newly-emerging SaaS environment for Committee for Children (curriculum publisher), growing the team in three years’ time to eight customer success managers, while overseeing growth of the client support team from four to 10 people. Managed processes/systems for team operations, client metrics, KPIs, and customer renewals. Maintained systems for customer advocacy across various working groups and coach leadership on how to re-orient to a SaaS business model. Promoted efficiency improvements for shared processes and systems.

• Advocated for shift to SaaS customer strategies company-wide using churn, product usage rate and net promoter score (NPS) as metrics. Increased client retention by 13 points in three years.

• Improved department morale during the pandemic and maintained 100% employee retention over four years.

• Championed the optimization of Netsuite CRM (customer relationship management system), writing requirements, facilitating business rule decisions and encouraging user adoption.

• Instituted and managed a net promoter score program, defining the customer journey, identifying areas of customer dissatisfaction and advocating for improvements to customer experience across departments.

• Championed internal cross-team collaboration, finding success with customer-driven initiatives undertaken by product and engineering teams.

• Drove efficiencies in team operations, maintaining Support response KPIs even as revenues grew by 30%/year, and initiating proactive support activities. Improved CSM team productivity by 60% Y/Y.

• Led company-wide operational efficiency study resulting in an action plan for updating key systems and processes to enable company growth, incorporating it into the company’s 5-year strategic plan.

As Director of Customer Excellence for Avalara, established a customer success department in a fast-growing SaaS company, hiring and training 10 CSMs. Drove renewal, upgrade and add-on sales with CSM support, marketing programs, sales enablement tools and customer communications. Improved customer satisfaction and retention by advocating company-wide for improvements to customer experience. Established Avalara’s customer marketing team and grew it to eight people with responsibility for customer marketing promotions, events, operations, metrics and analysis.

• Developed definitions, systems and reporting for company churn metrics. Drove churn to 5%-6.8% annually.

• Managed and expanded the company’s most important metric: the Customer Pissed-Off index (“CPO”), a measure of company, product and individual customer health.

• Developed net promoter score (NPS) program, advocating for customer experience improvements across departments. Implemented Satmetrix NPS software with 40+ users and increasing survey response by 75%.

• Provided strategic insights to executives, collaborating on initiatives to improve customer experience.

• Developed the use of Salesforce for the CSM team in coordination with Account Management team.

• Oversaw 30+ customer “a-list” events annually, increased attendance by 70% and achieved 175% average ROI.

• Achieved 35%+ Y/Y growth in existing customer sales in partnership with account managers.

• Expanded/automated email communications, including support, product releases and cross-selling campaigns.

• Actively managed customer data integration and optimization strategy with technical teams, greatly improving promotional reach, engagement, and knowledge of customer.

• Established Avalara’s online community forum and advisory board program.

With a client list that included Avalara, John L Scott, and several others, provided strategic insights and data-driven, successful marketing programs to fuel sales growth.

• Achieved profitable results with database marketing initiatives, including cross-sell, upsell, loyalty programs, customer segmentation and lifetime value.

• Drove competitive strategy, market positioning, strategic planning.

• Created reporting systems, key metrics and forecasting models.

• Designed and built web marketing, email marketing and loyalty marketing programs.

• Instituted sales-driven processes and decision-making.

• Led successful CRM implementations for marketing and sales functions at two education companies.

At GreaterGood.com held the Senior Director of Marketing role, responsible for marketing strategy and marketing plan development and execution for dynamic internet start-up. Created innovative, web-based prospecting promotions; initiated extensive email newsletter program; coordinated marketing with large national non-profit organizations. Directed analysis, strategic insights, budget forecasting and reporting systems.

As Director of Database Marketing and Sales for Getty Images in its startup years, responsible for $50 million in direct sales, marketing and sales strategy development, implementation of all aspects of direct, B2B marketing for North America.

• Pioneered the direct marketing and sales function in 1994 and led the team profitably through the company’s transition to e-commerce, and then to being publicly-owned in 1998.

• Successfully drove traffic to PhotoDisc’s profitable ecommerce website and call center, converting over 50% of prospects to customers and retaining over 70% of customers for future purchases.

• Developed successful customer loyalty program, increasing customers’ purchases and lifetime value.

• Led development of product catalog that contributed to growth in direct sales from $7.6 million in 1995 to $32.4 million in 1998. In 5 years, grew active customer base from 3,000 to 55,000.

• Managed annual expenses of over $3 million consistently at or below budget.