Pulse Conference 2017: Event Preview

When is it on?

May 9-11, 2017 in Oakland, CA, USA

How many years has it been going?

5 years – we’ve also hosted two conferences in London (targeting 1000+ this November)

What was the inspiration to start it?

Customer Success in general is a new philosophy — on the heels of the subscription (SaaS) business model, vendors quickly realized that customer acquisition was getting easier while customer retention was much more complex. Gainsight (our company) sells technology to operationalize Customer Success, but we observed that there was still a lot to figure out in terms of strategy definition. What are the different organizational models for Customer Success? How should you measure your Customer Success Manager? What are the financial & accounting principles of churn, up-sells, etc.?

We made the decision to focus on the people behind the job, and bring the community together for an event where we can share best practices, connect with peers, and celebrate being pioneers in a brand new job function. To our surprise, 300+ people took part in our inaugural year, and now in our fifth year, we’re anticipating over 4,000 people in Oakland.

What exciting things can people look forward to for the 2017 version?

Over 150 sessions and 180 speakers… this will be the preeminent destination event for the Customer Success industry. We’re also hosting a big afterparty on the USS Hornet aircraft carrier just down the street. If you’ve been to Pulse before, you know that we have plenty of surprises throughout the week to keep the attendees on their toes — you can expect that in spades in 2017.

What opportunities are on offer for people / startups / investors and companies attending?

Learn best practices from experts in Customer Success
Get in the game during our Success Unplugged workshop and leave with tangible takeaways
Become certified in Customer Success during our Pulse Academy training day.
Network with your peers — hire or get hired.

What tips would you give to people attending to get the most out of it?

Last year, over 15% of attending companies brought 5 or more people with them. With over 150 sessions in 3 days, you’ll want to divide and conquer on the agenda and come back together at the end of each day to digest the learnings. No one should Pulse alone.

How can people book tickets/when does it usually sell out?

We’re actually getting close to selling out now, so we’d encourage any interested parties to register their teams today at gainsight.com/pulse.

If you would like to have your company featured in the Irish Tech News Business Showcase, get in contact with us at Simon@IrishTechNews.ie or on Twitter: @SimonCocking