THE CUSTOMER HUB SYSTEM PORTAL AS A TOOL FOR AUTOMATING CUSTOMER SUCCESS PROCESSES

ABSTRACT

The article is devoted to the theoretical and practical justification of the Customer Hub System model as an internal tool for automating customer success processes. The current state of the Customer Success (CS) strategy is examined. It is emphasized that the key performance indicators of CS are retention, adoption, expansion, and advocacy, reflecting the shift towards customer lifetime value orientation. Relevant trends in digitalization and automation are highlighted, setting new standards for customer expectations. A case study of the Hub project is presented, which demonstrated the effectiveness of the Customer Hub System in practice; empirical data from the pilot implementation of the portal for automating customer success processes are provided. The scientific novelty of the research lies in the systematization of CS as both a theoretical and applied field, as well as in identifying the Customer Hub System as a promising tool—a portal for automating customer success processes.

АННОТАЦИЯ

Статья посвящена теоретическому и практическому обоснованию модели Customer Hub System как внутреннего инструмента автоматизации процессов клиентского успеха. Рассмотрено современное состояние стратегии Customer Success. Подчеркивается, что основными показателями результативности CS выступают retention, adoption, expansion, advocacy, отражающие переход к ориентации на пожизненную ценность клиента. Отмечены актуальные тенденции цифровизации и автоматизации, задающие новые стандарты клиентских ожиданий. Представлен кейс проекта The Hub, который доказал эффективность Customer Hub System на практике; представлены эмпирические данные об апробации портала автоматизации процессов клиентского успеха. Научная новизна исследования заключается в систематизации CS как теоретического и прикладного направления, а также в выделении Customer Hub System как перспективного инструмента – портала автоматизации процессов клиентского успеха.

Keywords: customer success, business process automation, digital ecosystems, Customer Hub System, onboarding, customer experience in business development, strategic management of customer success.

Ключевые слова: клиентский успех, автоматизация в современном бизнесе, цифровые экосистемы, Customer Hub System, онбординг, клиентский опыт в развитии бизнеса, стратегическое управление клиентским успехом.

Introduction. Over the past few years, the significance of the Customer Success (CS) strategy has expanded from a supportive function to a fundamental one, defining the boundaries and growth prospects of a business. The strategic role of CS is evident in the fact that the tools for ensuring customer success are becoming the foundation of companies’ financial and operational activities, thanks to their focus on a customer-centric model of interaction with consumers. Increasingly, modern organizations view CS as an element of managing the entire customer lifecycle; the adoption of this strategy is primarily explained by the growing complexity of customer expectations and, secondly, by the intensification of competition in emerging digital markets [3].

At the same time, there is a notably high pace of development in business automation solutions. According to publicly available data from Mordor Intelligence, the workflow automation market is expected to experience a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.52% over the 2024–2029 period [9]. Consequently, by 2029, the market size is projected to exceed USD 37.45 billion (see Fig. 1).

Figure1. Workflow automation market size, USD billion (forecast), compiled by the author based on [9]

Naturally, against the backdrop of rapid automation, the customer communication management market is undergoing transformational changes; many global companies actively use dedicated portals to retain and increase customer lifetime value (LTV). At the same time, critically assessing the current state of customer communications, most teams still operate with a fragmented set of tools—utilizing CRM systems, email services, messengers, ticketing desks, and analytics. A negative trend to note is the partial fragmentation in communication management, which adversely affects both internal company processes and the overall customer experience and convenience. From the foregoing arises the main problem: the absence of a unified center for consolidating customer success processes. A promising alternative solution is seen in the promotion and development of the Customer Hub System portal for automating customer success processes, which is the focus of this study.

The aim of this study is to theoretically and practically justify the Customer Hub System model as an internal tool for automating CS processes.

Research methodology. The study was based on publicly available publications and media sources, which were used to summarize the concept of CS and its development dynamics in business. Special attention was given to the Customer Hub System concept, developed and implemented within a real company, as well as to the internal data collected from the Hub project. The research employed theoretical, descriptive, generalizing, and comparative analysis methods; the results of the experiment on implementing the Customer Hub System in business are presented.

Results and discussion. As noted in the introduction, CS today is understood as a strategic approach to managing customer relationships, aimed at retention, development, and long-term loyalty. The main significance of this approach lies in the fact that customer success is directly correlated with company success—that is, the more value a customer derives from a product or service, the higher their engagement and the greater the likelihood of continued collaboration. Unlike traditional service, which responds to requests and problems, CS, as indicated in the study by R.P. Madruga et al., is proactive in nature and seeks to anticipate potential difficulties, thereby fostering customer confidence in achieving their business objectives. This ensures an increase in the actual value of the customer throughout their journey [5]. The systematic nature of CS is reflected in its key performance indicators (KPIs) (see Fig. 2).

Figure 2. Key performance indicators of CS as an approach, compiled by the author

Based on the KPIs presented, it should be noted that there is an increasing shift from focusing on individual interactions to creating long-term, customer-lifetime–oriented relationships [7]. Naturally, within a CS organization, a number of customer expectations from interactions with the business can be identified, which revolve around the creation of transparent, personalized, and self-service–based solutions [4]. Addressing these expectations effectively enables the scaling of customer success. Each of these aspects sets its own boundaries of influence on the business, which are further amplified through the use of automation (see Fig. 3):

Figure 3. Modern customer expectations as a factor in CS development and their content from a business perspective, compiled by the author

Referring to the development of CS in business, the contradictory nature of emerging trends becomes apparent. On one hand, businesses strive to meet new customer requirements; on the other hand, ensuring such compliance increases the workload on teams, and simply expanding the number of customer success managers only raises costs. Therefore, as an alternative, new models of CS automation should be considered, aimed at accumulating advantages while maintaining optimal efficiency.

The circumstance described above forms the basis for the transition to using a portal for automating customer success processes. While historically, customer interaction management relied on a set of separate tools (e.g., CRM systems, etc.) [2], increasingly, integrated automated solutions are being employed today. As emphasized by S.G. Gavrila, C.B. González-Tejero, J.A. Gómez Gandía, and A. de L. Ancillo, automation technologies generally contribute to improving business efficiency, which, in turn, affects customer satisfaction [1]. Comparing the traditional approach with the use of automation and process scaling [3], the following fundamental differences can be identified (Table 1):

Table 1.

Comparative analysis of automation, process scaling, and the traditional approach to customer interaction, compiled by the author

It becomes evident that the transition to automation in customer success management is driven by the inherent limitations of “traditional” methods and the need for scaling without increasing costs, marking a shift toward an innovative CS model.

Elaborating on the latter, the Customer Hub System can be defined as a portal; it functions as a single point of entry that aggregates information for the customer, automates key CS processes (see Fig. 4), and enables scaling operations to serve a larger number of clients without a proportional increase in team size.

Figure 4. Key processes implemented through the Customer Hub System portal, compiled by the author

Thus, the Customer Hub System provides:

In the scientific literature, it is generally recognized that the primary task of optimizing modern management is to minimize the time required to support a single customer while simultaneously simplifying and maintaining (ideally, enhancing) the effectiveness of interactions [7]. At the same time, existing research in the field of CS demonstrates that automation enables organizations to shift from reactive support to proactive value creation [6; 8].

Translating the presented reasoning and comparative analysis into practical terms, let us consider the case of the development of the “The Hub” project, created as an internal pilot initiative to implement the CS concept. Initially, The Hub was conceived as an experimental tool for consolidating all customer materials and processes. The goal of its development was to move from fragmentation (CRMs, messengers, email campaigns, knowledge bases) to the unification of communications and content within a single portal. At the functional level, The Hub implemented the following capabilities (see Fig. 5):

Figure 5. Functional capabilities of the “The Hub” project, developed by the author

The first beta test took place in the CIS in 2021 and involved approximately 10 clients from segments 3–4. As a result, 80% of participants provided positive feedback; users highlighted the convenience of the interface. Some resistance was observed from clients who were accustomed to working via Telegram; however, after system improvements (addition of a “new updates” indicator and an integrated mailing status), the majority transitioned to the new tool.

The pilot results enabled a rapid transition to scaling. In the first month after the completion of testing, over 30 clients were migrated to The Hub, and subsequently, the system became a daily workspace for both the CSM team and the clients themselves. Its effectiveness is confirmed by internal statistics (see Fig. 6), which show an increase in the number of active accounts and the proportion of returning users since 2022:

Figure 6. Usage dynamics of The Hub: number of active accounts and views

Automation of onboarding has gained particular importance; thanks to step-by-step checklists and a progress bar, clients began completing the implementation on average faster than with manual manager support (see Fig. 7), allowing the CSM team to reallocate resources to focus on key tasks and account development.

Figure 7. Onboarding completion dynamics for Hub and Non-Hub users

At the same time, an increase in key metrics was observed, which was higher among clients connected to The Hub, as illustrated by ARR (see Fig. 8).

Figure 8. Comparison of ARR growth for Hub and Non-Hub users (H1 2022 – H2 2025)

An important outcome is that users began to engage more actively with additional tools and services once they learned about them through the Hub. The use of these additional tools naturally stimulated increased activity and also triggered upsell mechanisms, directly contributing to revenue growth (see Fig. 9):

Figure 9. Usage dynamics of educational resources through the Hub (H1 2022 – H2 2025)

The transition from the pilot experiment to full-scale implementation demonstrated that The Hub has become a strategic element of CS. Quantitatively, the implementation of The Hub has increased the efficiency of both clients and the CSM team.

Conclusion. Thus, the automation and scaling of CS through a portal is a promising approach, as it allows overcoming the traditional limitations of customer management and significantly enhancing the efficiency of emerging customer-centric relationships. Automation should be recognized as a means of improving CS processes and replicating them without imposing additional cost burdens on the business. In the future, widespread development of automation solutions and the promotion of the CS concept as a strategic business development priority can be expected.

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