Further Improvements to Gong/Gainsight integration

Related products: CS Timeline

I have a number of suggestions for the Gong integration with Gainsight, many of which were communicated as part of the beta. However to my understanding, it seems that there is no designated roadmap for this integration so I wanted to outline some of the suggestions here.

One of the greatest challenges for our CSMs is that we're asking them to work in multiple systems constantly so any work that we can do to bring those systems together is greatly appreciated.

  • Call Titles (and additional information) re-syncing into Gainsight: We would like to make it possible to have the title of the Gong calls re-sync into Gainsight on a regular basis. One of our best practices is changing the name of the call title in Gong to reflect the topic discussed (SPR/Renewal, etc.) so that we can report effectively. If however, we make the change after the call syncs into Gainsight, the new call title isn't making its way into Gainsight. That is definitely something that we would like to see added in future versions as it is a significant reporting gap if Gainsight is not accurately reflecting Gong. Ideally we'd want to see that sync updating on a regular basis (Daily?) as there are other details about the call that might change (For example, if we add a new tracker on the Gong side). I think if the sync was set up to "Upsert" meaning that if the data changes, then update, if it doesn't, then don't update. For us personally, our mandate is that by the end of a week, the CSM has to go back and update their call title, however I would expect that it generally happens within 1 or 2 days for most CSM's. 
  • Bring additional information into Gainsight from Gong call: The request is to have the Action Items and Questions as identified in Gong's AI to flow through to the Gong call recording in Gainsight in the same way that the Trackers do. Our CSM's are finding a great deal of time is being spent going back and forth between the two platforms and ideally would like to see any adjustments made that allow them to spend more time in one system.  I love that you can access the Gong call simply by clicking the "View in Gong.io" link, but one of the most valuable aspects of the Gong call is the transcript. Is there a way that you can include it in the Timeline as well? Ideally there would be some sort of modal window that pops up when you click on a transcript button so that you don't have to go to a completely new window just to read the transcript?
  • Extending 15 minute window to merge Gong record and Gainsight Timeline entry: It would be amazing if the 15 minute window was extended for merges to occur. Most of our CSM's are documenting their notes at a set time each day (for example, the last hour of the day) or depending on their schedule, potentially the next day. As a result, most of their activity isn't being merged because it is outside the 15 minute window. I understand that the merge function needs to be attributed to a single date, so ideally it would be amazing if any activity (Calls, Meetings, Emails, etc) was merged with the Gong call as long as the date is the same. That way we can coach our CSM's to ensure they have notes on the same day as their call but it will merge together minimizing the work needed.
  • Gainsight/Gong apps for Zoom: It's great that both Gainsight/Gong have individual apps within Zoom, however it forces the CSM to choose which app they prefer to record notes, access the Timeline, etc. What would be ideal is if there was a way to bridge the Gainsight/Gong apps within Zoom so that you can get the functionality available with both apps. 
  •  External Attendees mapping to Contact/Company Person records within Gainsight: It would be great to see that the external attendees mapped in the Gong calls are then mapped to the company person record, so that we could then see the historical tracking on a contact record. 
  • Templates to use in the Gong call entry in the timeline: We have spent a significant amount of time building templates and specific fields for our CSMs to use when inputting their meeting notes into Gainsight. Is there a way that you can add/build templates into the Gong call as it displays in Timeline rather than just editing the notes? Further to this point, is it possible to further customize the fields in the Gong call entry in Timeline? (For example, engagement type and type for us would be very important).
  • Public Comments in Gong syncing into Gainsight: It would be valuable for any public comments that are on the Gong Call, they should sync into the Timeline entry in Gainsight. However, you would want to make it clearly identifiable which comments are applicable as there is the Gainsight comments field on each entry as well.
  • Ability to edit Gong entry once it’s been synced in: From what I'm seeing, there is no way to edit the Gong entry in Gainsight, so if a) the information is incorrect or b) if you want to associate to a specific record, there is no functionality to do that).
  • Historical Sync of all Gong calls: There should be a way to run a one-time sync to pull all of the calls that have been conducted in Gong into Gainsight? For companies that have been using Gainsight/Gong for a significant amount of time, it would be a shame not to back-fill the outstanding data and bridge the gap with historical events. 
  • Activity Date: It should be more clear (perhaps with a tool tip) which date the Activity date pertains to. Does it pertain to the time that the call was initialized or does it apply to when it was processed in Gong? Or is it when it was synced to Gainsight?
  • Emails from Gong into Gainsight: One of the biggest benefits of Gong is that it automatically syncs all of the emails that we send to a client (as Gong pulls on the integration with Google directly). There is a huge limitation with using Gainsight Assist as it requires manual intervention by the CSM which means that it is a point of failure or at the very least a subjective decision by the CSM. We are part of a beta with Gong and SFDC to pull all emails directly into SFDC as tasks, which we will then set up independent rules for. We would however would like this to be part of the Gong integration so that the additional steps through SFDC aren’t necessary. 

Thanks @eku_malcolm - these are GREAT suggestions.

 

How would you *very roughly* estimate the time savings for your team? or other ways you would value one of more suggestions you have?  

 

Interested to hear from others on the suggestions, other ideas you have and where you see the most value for your team.

 

Two of my favorites:

  • Bring additional information into Gainsight from Gong call: The request is to have the Action Items and Questions as identified in Gong's AI to flow through to the Gong call recording in Gainsight in the same way that the Trackers do. Our CSM's are finding a great deal of time is being spent going back and forth between the two platforms and ideally would like to see any adjustments made that allow them to spend more time in one system.  I love that you can access the Gong call simply by clicking the "View in Gong.io" link, but one of the most valuable aspects of the Gong call is the transcript. Is there a way that you can include it in the Timeline as well? Ideally there would be some sort of modal window that pops up when you click on a transcript button so that you don't have to go to a completely new window just to read the transcript?
  • Emails from Gong into Gainsight: One of the biggest benefits of Gong is that it automatically syncs all of the emails that we send to a client (as Gong pulls on the integration with Google directly). There is a huge limitation with using Gainsight Assist as it requires manual intervention by the CSM which means that it is a point of failure or at the very least a subjective decision by the CSM. We are part of a beta with Gong and SFDC to pull all emails directly into SFDC as tasks, which we will then set up independent rules for. We would however would like this to be part of the Gong integration so that the additional steps through SFDC aren’t necessary. 

Hi @tyler_mcnally , 


I’ve added two metrics below for each of the suggestions based on Priority/Value. It is very difficult to add a time component to many of these suggestions as currently our CSM’s are just doing the activities (for example working in different systems) and they are not  spending time tracking how long each will take or how much time would be saved if my suggestions were in place. Hopefully the priority/importance metrics help. 

 

  • Call Titles (and additional information) re-syncing into Gainsight: High Priority/High Value
  • Bring additional information into Gainsight from Gong call: Medium Priority/High Value
  • Extending 15 minute window to merge Gong record and Gainsight Timeline entry: Medium Priority/High Value
  • Gainsight/Gong apps for Zoom: Low Priority/Medium Value
  •  External Attendees mapping to Contact/Company Person records within Gainsight: Medium Priority/Medium Value
  • Templates to use in the Gong call entry in the timeline: Low Priority/Medium Value
  • Public Comments in Gong syncing into Gainsight: Low Priority/Medium Value
  • Ability to edit Gong entry once it’s been synced in: High Priority/High Value
  • Historical Sync of all Gong calls: Low Priority/Medium Value
  • Activity Date: High Priority/High Value
  • Emails from Gong into Gainsight: High priority/High Value
     

I hope this helps, but please let me know if you have any additional questions. 

Thanks!


@sarah_kiani would be great to hear from you & the team on this post. I know you had some thoughts/plans on this when it was released. Please feel free to share it here.


@eku_malcolm, I’ve heard a number of organizations report using Gong.io in their Customer Success activities. How are you finding the quality of voice to text transcription?


@DougCaviness We use Gong for our Client Success and Sales teams. it’s incredibly valuable from a client success perspective. 

With regards to the transcription, it’s pretty good for the most part. Occasionally there is some very entertaining mis-transcriptions but in 11 months of using Gong, there haven’t been many calls that I’ve come across where you weren’t able to follow the conversation as the transcription gets enough right to make it easy to understand. 

In terms of the usability of the Gong platform for reviewing the transcription. I have to give very high marks. It’s very easy to navigate between the call itself and the transcription of the call. You can submit feature requests directly to productboard from the transcription and you can easily navigate to the next speaker, share snippets with your internal team, etc. 

I also know that Gong is spending a fair amount of time in continually refining their transcription especially in English so it continues to get better all the time. 

Overall it’s a really solid tool, however like with any AI/transcription, there are some pitfalls. For us, it’s never been a detriment but in other sectors, it might be something to evaluate with more concern.  


Thanks @eku_malcolm!


Having Duration updated at the merge would be amazing too! My team isn’t in the habit of adding duration, so when Gong calls are merged it’s left blank. Which is annoying because the data is clearly in Gong and more accurate anyways than what would be entered in the Timeline entry


@eku_malcolm Thank you for sharing detailed feedback on this integration. We will go through each of these points as we plan for enhancement of this integration. Unfortunately, because of other priorities this could not be picked up until now, however we plan to consider this for next year’s roadmap. I will update this thread once we have clarity on the timelines.


Love this conversation + feedback! I have actually had some customers request shortening the sync time so I am always curious to learn more on the use cases. @eku_malcolm for the two points below, I would recommend a couple options to streamline + help your CSMs save time:

  1. If your CSMs prefer to log notes later, have them open the Gong call and edit on their timeline after it’s synced and add their notes when they are ready.
  2. If they prefer taking notes during the call, have your CSMs log their notes directly into TL via the Zoom app during their call. When they are logged, they will automatically sync with the Gong call on TL w/in that 15 minute window. They still have the opportunity to go in and make updates/adjustments later by editing the TL entry.
  •  

    • Extending 15 minute window to merge Gong record and Gainsight Timeline entry: It would be amazing if the 15 minute window was extended for merges to occur. Most of our CSM's are documenting their notes at a set time each day (for example, the last hour of the day) or depending on their schedule, potentially the next day. As a result, most of their activity isn't being merged because it is outside the 15 minute window. I understand that the merge function needs to be attributed to a single date, so ideally it would be amazing if any activity (Calls, Meetings, Emails, etc) was merged with the Gong call as long as the date is the same. That way we can coach our CSM's to ensure they have notes on the same day as their call but it will merge together minimizing the work needed.
    • Gainsight/Gong apps for Zoom: It's great that both Gainsight/Gong have individual apps within Zoom, however it forces the CSM to choose which app they prefer to record notes, access the Timeline, etc. What would be ideal is if there was a way to bridge the Gainsight/Gong apps within Zoom so that you can get the functionality available with both apps. 

     


@ddietiker These are great suggestions. Thanks!  We do have a few people using the Zoom app, but it’s definitely something we can re-explore. 

I will remind our team about editing the gong call once it’s been synced as well, but I do still think it’d be ideal to have that timeline extended if possible at some point down the road.


A relevant ticket specifically for the request to Sync Historical Gong Calls 

https://community.gainsight.com/ideas/idea-allow-for-historical-gong-calls-to-be-synced-to-gainsight-timeline-42969


Would love to see this as part of the overall integration revamp @ddietiker @Ravinder Singh 


We have not been able to prioritise Gong enhancements because of other higher priority items. @aparimala Sorry to hear about the challenge with your org, will definitely keep this in our list of items when working on Gong enhancements.


No StatusAcknowledged

Seeking some refreshed views on this and perhaps prioritization. This integration is GOOD, but it can be soooo much better!  


I hope to bump this up because we should add that the new Call Spotlight feature in Gong should sync over to GS as well!! +1 on all of the suggestions above also!!


@kstim - unfortunately it is a game of company person hunting to figure our why a Gong call is posting to another company timeline. It is making it borderline unusable for us. I really wish that the Gong call synced to the defined company in as in Gong. We can do ‘associations’ manually as the value for us is the primary company focused in the call, not our partner ecosystem.  This is NOISY and creates a lot of work for our ops team to rectify and explain.

@anirbandutta