First things first, a big thank you.
Thank you to everyone who took the time to complete our 2026 Customer Satisfaction Survey and tell us what you think, what we are doing well, and, just as importantly, where we could and should be doing better.
Those of you who have known me for a while will know that customer feedback is something I am just a little bit passionate about.
A few years ago, I described myself as the keeper of all things NPS. Quite a lot has changed since then, but one thing has not. I still get genuinely excited when the first response lands.
Who was first? What have they said? What do they love? What has frustrated them? Have they told us something we were not expecting?
Because behind every score is a customer who has taken the time to stop, think about their experience with us and tell us what they really think.
But collecting feedback is only the start.
What really matters is what happens next.
If you have taken the time to tell us something, we have a responsibility to listen, understand it and, where we can, do something about it.
And more importantly, come back and tell you what happened.
So, what did you tell us?
There was a lot to celebrate.
You told us how much you value the relationships you have with people across Gladstone. You talked about knowledgeable teams, trusted partnerships, strong project management, helpful support, and people who go the extra mile to help.
It is always lovely to read those comments, and they deserve to be celebrated and shared with the people and teams behind them.
In fact, it is one of my favourite parts of CSAT.
I love sharing your comments directly with the colleagues and teams you have recognised with a CSAT Shout Out. There is an awful lot of hard work and care behind the scenes, so being able to show our people that you have noticed it, and that it is making a difference to you, is incredibly special.
But you also challenged us.
You told us you want:
Clearer communication and expectations
Greater visibility of where our products are heading and what is changing
Smoother, more consistent implementation and onboarding
Easier integration and access guidance
More help getting value from what you already have
Greater clarity around value, pricing and what is included.
And none of that feedback should disappear into a presentation or get filed away in a folder.
From listening to doing
This year, I have been taking your feedback back into the business through our new Customer Listening Packs.
Rather than simply sharing a CSAT score, we have broken the feedback down so the teams responsible for different parts of your experience can understand what you have told us and, importantly, agree what happens next.
We have been asking:
What have our customers told us?
What are we already doing about it?
What else needs to change?
Who owns it?
How will we know it has made a difference?
Some of those conversations have already resulted in changes we can tell you about. Others have highlighted bigger pieces of work that will take longer.
So rather than pretending everything can be fixed overnight, here is where we are.
You said: make implementation clearer
We have heard how important a smooth implementation and onboarding experience is, and how frustrating it can be when the amount of work involved, responsibilities or timescales are not clear enough at the outset.
What we have done
We have strengthened our implementation readiness process, including clearer readiness checks, closer working between our Sales and Delivery teams and go/no-go controls before projects progress.
We are also challenging unrealistic go-live dates earlier. Sometimes the right answer is not to rush towards a date. It is to have an honest conversation about what can realistically be delivered well.
Where appropriate, that may mean agreeing a phased approach rather than compromising the quality of the overall implementation.
What’s next
We will continue strengthening the handover between Sales and Delivery and looking at how we can make the journey into implementation clearer and more consistent.
We are also looking beyond go-live, because successful implementation is not simply about getting you live. It is about making sure you feel confident and supported afterwards too.
You said: help us get more value from what we already have
This came through in a number of different ways.
Some of you want more best practice guidance. Some want optimisation support. Others want help understanding functionality you may already have but are not using fully.
And that is an important message for us.
Sometimes the answer is not another new product or feature. Sometimes it is helping you get more from what you already have.
What we are doing
We are looking at how we make best practice guidance, optimisation support and post-go-live help easier to understand and access.
We are also exploring more opportunities to share knowledge through webinars and customer sessions, alongside more tailored support where individual organisations need something specific.
What’s next
We want to get better at helping you understand not just how something works, but how you can use it to make a difference within your organisation.
You said: give us clearer visibility
Product roadmaps, enhancements, fixes and release information all came through in your feedback.
The message was not simply, “tell us everything you are developing.”
It was about giving you enough visibility to plan, understand what is changing and have confidence in the direction we are travelling.
What we are doing
We have already made improvements to our release notes, including clearer explanations, screenshots and examples, and we are continuing to look at how we communicate roadmap information and product changes.
We are also looking at how we can make it easier to see when customer feedback has contributed to an enhancement or change.
Because it would be great to be able to say:
“You asked us for this. Here it is.”
That is exactly the sort of feedback loop we want to create more often.
You said: make integrations easier
You increasingly expect Gladstone to work as part of your wider technology ecosystem, and quite rightly.
You told us about the importance of integrations, APIs, payments and reducing manual or duplicated processes between systems.
What we are doing
We are developing a clearer approach to our Marketplace and third-party integrations, including clearer routes for supported Marketplace connections and customer-led API integrations.
We are also working on the supporting documentation, technical controls and support model around APIs so that partners and customers have a clearer route when they need help.
What’s next
This is a bigger piece of work and will not happen overnight, but the direction is clear: make it easier for Gladstone to connect effectively with the wider systems our customers use.
We will keep you updated as this develops.
You said: be clearer about value and commercial conversations
You told us that you value honest conversations and trusted relationships with your Account Managers and RSMs, but you also challenged us around pricing clarity, additional services and understanding the value of what you are paying for.
We have listened.
What we have done
We have introduced earlier conversations ahead of renewals so there is more opportunity to discuss your organisation, priorities, value and any concerns before reaching the point of renewal.
We are also continuing to look at how we simplify commercial conversations and make it clearer what services include and what additional options are available.
What’s next
There is more work to do here, and I would rather say that than suggest otherwise.
We will continue reviewing how we explain pricing, services and value so those conversations are clearer and there are fewer surprises.
You said: communicate more clearly and keep us informed
You told us that communication during Support cases could sometimes be clearer and more proactive, particularly when more complex issues take longer to resolve or need input from other teams.
You also told us that it is not always clear what happens next when an issue is escalated, and that finding the right information to answer everyday questions yourself can sometimes be difficult.
What we are doing
We have increased the focus on proactive case updates, including when there may not yet be a significant change to report, so you are kept informed without needing to chase us.
We have also introduced improved communications when cases are first logged to help us gather the right information earlier and improve triage.
We are strengthening how we communicate confirmed bugs too, with clearer information about what happens next, relevant references where appropriate and signposting to release notes for future updates.
Alongside this, we have introduced additional support during the first two weeks following go-live, jointly managed across Customer Success and Support, giving new customers a clearer route for help with early-life questions and issues.
What’s next
We know there is more to do, particularly when complex cases need input from Product, Development, Infrastructure or other teams.
We will continue reviewing how these cases are triaged, escalated and progressed, with a focus on clearer ownership, better visibility and reducing the need for customers to chase for updates.
We are also looking at how we make it easier for you to find the answers you need yourself. This includes the development of a new Support front door, improved access to the Knowledge Base and practical “how do I” content, and additional AI capability to support self-service.
Ultimately, we want you to have clearer communication throughout the life of a case, better visibility of what happens next and easier access to the information you need.
And we are not finished listening
One of the things I am looking at as part of our CSAT review is how we listen in the first place.
Did we ask the right questions?
Did we make the survey easy enough to complete?
Did we ask the right people?
Did we give you enough opportunity to tell us what matters?
And, perhaps most importantly, did we show you that taking the time to respond was worthwhile?
I am particularly interested in hearing from customers who did not complete CSAT this year too. Because not responding tells us something as well. We just need to understand what.
Closing the loop
Years ago, when I first started writing about NPS, one of the biggest lessons for me was that collecting customer feedback without closing the loop simply is not enough.
I still believe that now. Actually, I probably believe it more than ever.
So, this is not the end of the CSAT update where we say thank you, publish some results and then disappear until next year’s survey.
We will continue sharing the things we have delivered.
We will tell you what is still being worked on.
And where you have given us specific feedback that has resulted in a change, wherever we can, we want to come back to you personally and tell you.
Because your feedback should not just become a score.
It should become a conversation.
A decision.
An action.
And ultimately, something that makes your experience with Gladstone better.
That is what Voice to Value means to me.
So once again, thank you for being honest with us, for challenging us and for telling us when we get things right too.
Please keep doing it.
Keep talking. We will keep listening, learning and acting.
Because your voice really does make a difference.
If you would like to see how this work continues beyond the survey, you can view the areas we have been focusing on here.