Defining Support Objectives and KPIs: Setting the Foundation for Success

In the world of SaaS, a well-defined support strategy is the backbone of customer satisfaction, retention, and loyalty. While founders and leaders often know support is essential, they may not know which objectives and KPIs to focus on to ensure success. Whether you’re building your support team from scratch or optimizing an existing one, here are baseline objectives and KPIs that every SaaS Support team should prioritize.

Key Objectives and Baseline KPIs

Customer Satisfaction (CSAT)

CSAT is a gold-standard metric for understanding customer happiness. My target for world-class support teams is 98%, but this isn’t an overnight goal. If your team starts with a lower score—say 70%—create a phased improvement plan. Focus on quarter-over-quarter increases by addressing the root causes of dissatisfaction:

• Product Feedback: Analyze CSAT responses. If customers cite product issues, partner with Product and Engineering teams to incorporate feedback into the roadmap. Review and address these issues quarterly.

• Service-Related Concerns: If poor response times or inadequate service are the culprits, evaluate whether your team is appropriately staffed and equipped. Consider upskilling or redistributing responsibilities to match expertise with ticket complexity.

  
  

🔑 Pro Tip: Use AI tools and self-serve solutions to alleviate pressure on your team and boost satisfaction.

SLA Attainment

Meeting SLAs is crucial for building trust with customers. My benchmark for SLA attainment is 99%, leaving a small margin for unexpected circumstances such as staff shortages during peak times.

• Path to Improvement: If your current SLA is at 60% MoM, target realistic quarterly increases (e.g., 10-15%) to gradually reach 99%.

• Operational Adjustments: Ensure clear ownership of SLA accountability. Staffing plans, coverage schedules, and proactive training are critical levers for improvement.

Resolution Time

Though resolution time isn’t always customer-facing, it’s invaluable for operational insights.

• Tracking Nuances: Break down resolution time by:

  • Team tier (Tier 1, Tier 2, etc.)

  • Issue complexity

  • Ticket category (e.g., bug vs. how-to)

  • Number of responses to solve

This granular data helps identify bottlenecks and areas where tooling or training can drive efficiencies. For example, if Tier 2 spends significant time on routine escalations, cross-training Tier 1 staff might reduce strain and improve time-to-resolution.

Engineering Escalations

A healthy SaaS Support team escalates no more than 5% of tickets to Engineering. Exceeding this threshold signals potential gaps in product knowledge, processes, or stability.

• Tracking and Analysis: Measure escalations to determine whether they result from knowledge gaps or genuine bugs. If bugs dominate, collaborate with Engineering to review release processes and enhance pre-launch testing.

• Cross-Team Solutions: Build structured knowledge-sharing sessions between Support and Engineering to address skill gaps.

Backlog Management

A growing backlog is a sign of deeper issues that need addressing.

• Diagnosing the Backlog:

  • Are long-open tickets caused by bugs awaiting fixes?

  • Can you close low-priority requests while assuring customers they’re recorded?

• Monitoring Tools: Create views in your ticketing system to track unresolved tickets by timeframes (>7, >15, >30 days). Regularly review these to keep customers updated, even if the issue isn’t fully resolved.

Ticket Deflection

Self-service tools such as knowledge bases and AI chatbots should deflect 20%-30% of tickets at a minimum, with a stretch goal of 50%-60%.

• Improvement Tactics:

  • Review analytics from your tools and Google Analytics to identify weak spots in your resources.

  • Filter sessions in Google Analytics to focus on engaged users, removing those that bounce immediately to ensure actionable insights.

Net Promoter Score (NPS)

While NPS often falls under Customer Success or Marketing, small organizations may assign this responsibility to Support. If so, leverage NPS as a complementary metric to CSAT for broader customer sentiment insights.

Risks of Ignoring Support KPIs

Delaying action on these KPIs can lead to:

• Customer Frustration: Missed SLAs and inadequate responses push customers toward churn.

• Team Burnout: An overworked team will struggle to balance quality and volume, leading to attrition.

• Lost Revenue: Poor support experiences can deter renewals and upsells.

Investing in these KPIs ensures not only happier customers but also a more sustainable and scalable business model.

Final Thoughts

Defining and tracking Support objectives and KPIs is the cornerstone of building a world-class Support team. Whether you’re launching your first team or optimizing an existing one, start with these baselines and refine as you grow. A focused approach will transform your Support team into a driver of customer success and business growth.

Looking for more tailored guidance? Let’s connect and build a strategy that works for your SaaS startup.