Onboarding new CSMs is crucial for their success and the success of the company. In those first 90 days, you have the opportunity to establish the mold of your customer success team and determine its future.

In this episode, we're joined by Jess Galenski, Director of Customer Success at Apryse, to discuss how she onboards her new Customer Success Managers to set them, and their future clients, up for success.

Takeaways

Most companies drop the ball when nurturing customers into passionate advocates. Advocacy is the real payoff. So, why are so many companies getting it wrong? 

For customer success specialist Cristy Rahman, CSMs are the customers' compass toward advocacy.

In this episode, we dive deep into the vital role Customer Success Managers play in championing their clients and ensuring lasting success - bridging that critical gap between closing the deal and nurturing long-term customer relationships.

Cristy brings a wealth of experience from her background in sales and her passion for customer success. She shares how shifting from transactional sales interactions to prioritizing relationships completely transformed her approach to customer success.

What we discussed

In this insightful episode, Cristy opens up about the transformative journey of CSMs toward championing customer advocacy, focusing on key areas such as:

Do your customers rave about your brand to friends and colleagues? They should! Turning satisfied customers into loyal advocates is essential today. Yet most companies drop the ball when it comes to post-sale customer experience. 

In this episode, we’re exploring why customer success teams must radically shift their approach to spark organic advocacy and word-of-mouth marketing in an online review world. We chewed the fat with CX maestro, Haig Kingston, Head of Customer Success at OpenBlend, on how to obsess over lifetime customer value, foster brand loyalty, and leverage your happiest customers as a secret sales team. 

Joining us on this episode of the CS School podcast is Alex Turkovic, Director of Adoption Programs (Digital Customer Success & Customer Education) at Snow Software. Alex and our host Grace delve into the fascinating confluence of digital customer success.

This episode is a treasure trove of wisdom for anyone looking to demystify digital customer success and leverage it to its full potential. Alex expertly navigates through the complexities of digital customer engagement, the critical role of generative AI, and the indispensable balance between technology and human interaction. With engaging anecdotes and practical advice, the conversation reveals how digital customer success strategies can not only simplify processes but also significantly amplify the impact of customer success teams. Whether you're a customer success professional aiming to refine your strategy, or simply curious about the future of customer engagement, this episode offers valuable insights into making digital customer success a driving force in your organization.

With a rich background that spans audio engineering in the music industry to leading customer education and digital customer success initiatives, Alex brings a unique perspective to the table, shedding light on the transformative power of digital tools and strategies in enhancing customer journeys.

“How do I see tech touch coming into play? I see that it’s really going to make a difference, specifically, if you’ve got one customer who isn't going to respond well to a QBR, or who perhaps doesn't want a biweekly call. We need to make sure they’re engaged in other ways."

Customer segmentation is an indispensable part of customer success. Without it, you can’t truly aim to provide every customer with the service and experience they require. 

In this episode of CS School, we sat down with Kimberly Ayala, Director of Customer Success (North & South America) at Akeneo, and chatted about everything segmentation-related. Digital segmentation, AKA “tech touch” is touted as a vital approach in all businesses, but howand whyis it employed? 

Tune in to find out just how Akeneo’s customer success team tackles this crucial topic.

Key topics

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A little about our guest

Customer success has been Kimberly’s calling for over a decade now – you could say she’s one of the OG's in this field! Her passion for helping customers achieve their goals lit a fire early on. She loves rolling up her sleeves, getting scrappy, and doing whatever it takes to drive success.

The thrill of project management combined with genuine connection with people makes customer success the perfect space for her. 

Now Kimberly’s fortunate to lead a team of remarkable CSMs. It's deeply fulfilling to help them grow into their own as professionals. 

Be on the pod!

Did you enjoy this episode? If so, please subscribe to the CS School podcast and leave a rating and/or a review – we appreciate your support! Alternatively, you can speak to us on our socials, or get involved with the discussion on the Customer Success Collective Slack channel.Have you got something to say? Perhaps you wanna be on the podcast, or know someone who’d be a great guest? Get in touch, contact hello@customersuccesscollective.com. 📩

In the second installment of our podcast two-parter that inspects the relationship between customer success and sales, we had the pleasure of being joined this time by Taylor Hodges, the Global Head of Customer Success at JLL Technologies, who shared invaluable insights from their journey in customer success.

Taylor revealed how JLL has ingeniously aligned their sales and customer success teams by industry verticals. This innovative approach involves the formation of “pods” – small, focused teams consisting of a sales rep, a CSM, and a Product Manager. Wanna hear more about how JLL defines and distinguishes their roles and RACI? Hit play and you'll find out.

Balancing your sales and customer success functions is crucial for any growing business seeking to drive revenue while delivering ongoing value. 

But there are ongoing questions that surround both customer success and sales functions: who’s responsible for revenue growth, customer outcomes, and new acquisition metrics, and how can C-suite leadership create alignment between the two?

There isn’t anyone better suited to answer our burning questions and shed light on this critical topic than Chris Dishman, SVP of Customer Success at Totango. 

We sat down with Chris and dived into the nuances between these two pillars, specifically how to:

Get your AirPods ready for practical wisdom on fostering a tight-knit relationship between sales and CS from one of SaaS's most respected CS leaders.

This one goes out to the people in the back: customer success is not monolithic. It’s all well and good talking about the ins and outs of the CSM role, but one size definitely doesn't fit all.

CSM roles can vary wildly depending on the organization's priorities and business model. In some companies, CSMs are sales superstars who live and breathe renewals and upsells. But in other organizations, CSMs take on more of a project manager hat, directing and overseeing the successful delivery of the product or service. 

So while all CSMs want happy customers and shared value, their day-to-day reality can be quite different depending on whether their employer wants them to be a sales machine or a delivery guru.

This important nuance is what brings Romiel Noumbissi, Customer Success Manager at Synup, back on the podcast. Tune in to find out just how to evaluate these very different CSM roles.

Key points:

The journey from a customer's first interaction with your product to their long-term success hinges on one crucial phase: customer implementation. It bridges a promising sales pitch and the tangible value a customer derives from your service. 

Deanna Sotolongo, Senior Implementation Managerat Catalyst, joins us on the podcast to provide us with a deep dive into the nuances of customer implementation, shedding light on Catalyst's unique approach and sharing invaluable insights that every SaaS company can benefit from.

Key discussion points

Catalyst’s very ownScale Customer Success Manager, Wes Gibson, talks us through the significance of communities in relation to customer success scale programs. If you weren’t convinced about the value community brings to the table before this episode, rest assured you’ll be setting your own up in no time. 

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Want to discover the secrets to building and growing high-performing customer success teams?

Amy Oilman, RVP of Customer Success at RingCentral lets us into a secret: it's all about hiring strategies, supportive leadership, and the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

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Resources

With the rise of the subscription model over the last 20 years, customer success has radically changed. But what will it look like in years to come? How will CSMs adapt to this brave new world?

Answering this question is Carlos Quezada, VP of Customer Experience Strategy, Automation & Enablement at Hewlett Packard Enterprise, who probes into the past, present, and future of customer success.

In this captivating episode of the CS School podcast, we're joined by Danielle Martin, Senior Customer Success Manager at TryHackMe.

Danielle believes that a genuine commitment to customer success requires a human-first approach. Join us as we delve into the essence of being human-first, and discover how you can incorporate this approach into your own customer success strategy. Don't miss out on this enlightening conversation!

Key talking points

➡️ What it means to be “human-first”

➡️ How to advocate a human-first approach internally

➡️ Resolving conflict by being human-first 

➡️ The effect of human-first on customers

➡️ Software solutions to aid a human-first approach

➡️ Challenges to human-first

➡️ The difference between sales and customer-led companies

Resources

➡️ Attend Customer Success Festival in London on November 29-30, 2023

➡️ Connect with Danielle on LinkedIn to continue the conversation.

➡️ Become leadership certified by taking the Customer Success Leadership Accelerator Program

➡️ Chat with other CSMs in the CSC Slack channel for more tips and tricks.

➡️ Schedule a demo with Vitally

Aspiring toward customer-led growth doesn’t have to be a pipe dream, a concept punctuated with the addendum, “One day we’ll get there!” You can start applying customer-led strategies right now. But how? In this episode of the CS School podcast, customer success leader, Dutta Satadip, joins us on the podcast to discuss how Customer Success Managers (CSM) can be customer-centric. It doesn’t have to be a company-wide initiative; it can be small achievable steps to incorporate into your daily operations.

Key talking points

➡️ Common daily challenges which can be solved with customer-led growth

➡️ How CSMs can shift their mindset to become more customer-centric

➡️ Handling negative feedback while being customer-led

➡️ Tools to boost customer-centricity

➡️ Dutta’s upcoming session at Customer Success Festival in San Francisco on September 19-20, 2023

Resources

🫂 Connect with Dutta on LinkedIn.

📝 Access a bank of vetted, tried-and-tested customer success templates with a CSC Pro membership – allowing you to free up your time and focus on customer-centric strategies.

📣 Chat with other CSMs in the CSC Slack channel for more tips and tricks.

🎧 Schedule your demo with Vitally

Whether you're looking to break into the customer success field, or are looking to climb the CS career ladder, figuring out how to best position your experience in job applications and interviews can be tough. Seriously, where do you start when it's so competitive out there?

Discussing this, and more, is Romiel Noumbissi, who has much to share on the customer success hiring journey – from résumé-writing and interview prep, all the way to networking.

Don't miss out on this firecracker of an episode.

Key discussion points

➡️ How to craft a stand-out résume to catch the attention of employers

➡️ The importance of storytelling during the interview process

➡️ Staying up-to-date with industry trends

➡️ Strategies to provide thoughtful and impactful interview responses

➡️ Tips for building and maintaining a solid network within the CS community

➡️ The role of LinkedIn in the recruitment game

Resources

➡️ Connect with Romiel on LinkedIn to continue the conversation.

➡️ Give your job hunt the best possible start with a CSC Pro membership.

➡️ Chat with other CSMs in the CSC Slack channel for more tips and tricks.

In the vast sea of information swirling around (yes, we're talking about you, LinkedIn...👀), there's a persistent buzz about "leveling up" and "ascending the career ladder." But how does one truly achieve that? How can you genuinely make a meaningful impact and apply transformative skills to propel your career forward?

This is an immense subject, especially relevant in the current volatile economic landscape, and it's something that will remain pertinent for years to come: the art of excelling in customer success.

Join us on the CS School podcast as we welcome Shawna Partin, a seasoned Senior Customer Success Manager at Catalyst. Shawna's extensive experience at Catalyst and her diverse professional journey make her the ideal guest to delve into this crucial topic.

Whether you choose to tune in during your daily commute or while savoring your morning cup of coffee, don't miss our latest episode of the CS School podcast. Gain valuable insights on how to ascend the ever-important customer success career ladder.

Key points of discussion include:

This episode delves into a pivotal aspect of customer success – the renewal process.

Yes, we've previously talked about onboarding, customer health scores, success plans, and more. Now, it's time to uncover how to keep the relationship strong when a subscription comes to an end. 🔄

Key discussion points

In this podcast episode, we had the privilege of interviewing Achraf Maouloudi, an experienced CS professional who shares valuable insights on the power of technology in scaling CS operations.

Discover Achraf's journey into customer success, the importance of maturity assessments before tech investments, the role of technology in scaling CS, leveraging customer journey mapping with technology, personalizing customer success approaches, recommended tech stacks, and building a business case for tech investments.

Get ready to optimize your customer success strategy with cutting-edge technology. Let's dive in!

Value needs to be at the core of every business decision, whether it's marketing campaigns, sales calls or onboarding new customers. Value is vital. Haig Kingston explores how CSMs can implement value-led customer success frameworks to truly make your customers realize value at every step of their post-sales journey.

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Whether you’re scrolling through LinkedIn or doing a quick “best customer success metrics” search on Google on your lunch break, you’ll inevitably come across the mother of all metrics: the customer health score.

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In this episode of the CS School podcast, we're doing what we do best: stripping standard customer success terms back to basics. That's right, we're debunking the pre-conceived ideas around "empathy" and "accessibility" with the help of Niina Majaniemi, Sr. Customer Success Account Manager at Microsoft.

Key discussion points

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Key discussion points

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Key discussion points

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We discuss the importance of having a customer-centric culture, empowering your team to make decisions, and measuring success beyond just revenue. Whether you are a seasoned leader or just starting out, this episode offers valuable insights into what it takes to be a successful leader in customer success.

Tune in to learn how to build a winning customer success team that drives long-term success for your business.

Resources

Jenna Chau was the third official hire at Invelo, so knows a thing or two about getting started from the ground running. In her time so far at Invelo she's built out a customer success function from scratch, expanded her team, and realized that CS is where her heart lies.

Listen to discover:

Resources

For the most part, customer success tends to operate within tech companies that offer a subscription service, and for the most part, our audience will be familiar with B2B companies.

When people think of customer relationship management in regular businesses, our mind is drawn to customer support or customer service.

But customer success goes beyond the confines of a team or a department. It ought to be absorbed into the wider organization’s philosophy, and whether that’s in a company that sells subscriptions or one that provides education, customer success has a place.

Mimi is a CS wizard, having a varied and illustrious career with a background not only in customer success but account management, marketing & business development in the B2B SaaS world and non-SaaS alike.

Listen to discover:

Resources and mentions from this episode

Customer success often seems split in two; half based on human behaviors like empathy, and half based on data.

In this episode of CS School, we were joined by Josh Horsman, Head of Customer Success at The Alliance, the umbrella company for community-led L&D businesses such as Product Marketing Alliance, Sales Enablement Collective and Product-Led Alliance.

Prior to his current role, Josh worked for startups in customer success and account management. Josh is now tasked with leading the customer success team at The Alliance and its fast-growing communities, marrying data-driven strategies with proactivity and empathy.

Listen to discover:

Resources and mentions from this episode

Transferrable skills have become a bit of a recruitment buzzword, but we promise it's for a good reason. Whether you're wanting to start your career in customer success, or perhaps want to re-address your current performance, you can draw on transferrable skills you've developed over the years. But what are they?

In this episode of CS School, we were joined by Ryan Noakes, Customer Success Manager at SAI360. SAI360 is an integrated risk management solution using a combination of software and learning content.

Ryan has had a varied career, from working in a fish and chip shop and working as a barista, to working in compliance and customer success. Currently managing SAI360's clients in EMEA, he's the perfect guest to chat with about customer success and transferrable skills.

Listen to discover

Resources & mentions from this episode

Customer onboarding is an essential step in customer success, and it's a process that needs to be addressed properly. In the first episode of CS School, we sat down with Brittany Yandura, Senior Customer Success Manager at Fieldguide.

Brittany's primary focus is creating and refining Fieldguide's customer onboarding program and onboarding new customers, as well as Fieldguide’s existing customers to increase adoption and focus on expansions and renewals.

Prior to her current role, Brittany worked for 10 years in product support, then in customer consulting and training, and then as a manager in professional services.

Brittany's a customer onboarding enthusiast and has a lot of tips and tricks to help others create a smooth onboarding process.

Listen to discover:

Resources and mentions from this episode: