Product Marketing Alliance

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.&nbsp; 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.&nbsp;

Haig Kingston

Head of Customer Success at OpenBlend

Most brands fail at post-sale CX, unable to spark authentic advocacy. CX expert Haig Kingston shares how to transform success teams' approach: Obsess over lifetime value, earn loyalty through exceptional service & leverage happy customers as brand advocates.


Redefining customer advocacy with Haig Kingston, OpenBlend

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. <h2>Takeaways</h2><ul><li>Set clear goals and milestones for new hires during their onboarding process.</li><li>Provide resources and training documents to help new CSMs learn about the company, systems, processes, and products.</li><li>Facilitate connections with other teams and stakeholders to help understand the company's ecosystem.</li><li>Encourage your new hires to be curious, ask questions, and provide feedback to improve the onboarding process.</li><li>Onboarding practices should be sustainable and scalable to accommodate the growth of the company.</li></ul>

A Director of Customer Success shares her approach to ensure a successful start, including clear goals, resources, connections, and sustainable practices.

How to onboard a new Customer Success Manager | Jess Galenski, Apryse

Most companies drop the ball when nurturing customers into passionate advocates. <a href="https://www.customersuccesscollective.com/how-customer-advocacy-can-boost-your-business-success/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Advocacy</a> is the real payoff. So, why are so many companies getting it wrong?&nbsp;For customer success specialist Cristy Rahman, CSMs are the customers' compass toward advocacy. In this episode, we dive deep into the vital role <a href="https://www.customersuccesscollective.com/what-makes-a-good-customer-success-manager-great/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Customer Success Managers</a> play in championing their clients and ensuring lasting success - bridging that critical gap between closing the deal and <a href="https://www.customersuccesscollective.com/make-em-stick-6-ways-to-build-long-lasting-customer-relationships/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">nurturing long-term customer relationships</a>. Cristy brings a wealth of experience from her background in sales and her passion for <a href="https://www.customersuccesscollective.com/what-is-customer-success/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">customer success</a>. She shares how shifting from transactional sales interactions to prioritizing relationships completely transformed her approach to customer success.<h2> </h2><h2>What we discussed</h2>In this insightful episode, Cristy opens up about the transformative journey of CSMs toward championing customer advocacy, focusing on key areas such as:<ul><li>Her transition from sales to customer success and its profound effect on cultivating deeper customer connections.</li><li>The critical importance of seamlessly passing the baton from sales to you, the CSM, to kickstart the advocacy journey.</li><li>Essential strategies you can employ to build rapport and trust, laying the groundwork for strong advocacy.</li><li>How to navigate the bumps along the way and keep your customers' trust when outcomes fall short of expectations.</li><li>The power of empathy and proactive communication in solidifying your relationship with customers.</li><li>Actionable advice tailored for you, the CSM, to foster advocacy by aligning with customer goals and sharing valuable insights for shared victories.</li><li>Aiming beyond mere satisfaction to extend customer lifetime value through deliberate advocacy and partnership efforts.</li></ul><h2> </h2>

Cristy is a seasoned business professional renowned for her dynamic approach to customer success and relationship-building. With a wealth of experience in management, outside and inside B2B sales, she brings a customer-focused, results-oriented mindset to every endeavor.
Cristy's genuine passion for cultivating long-term client relationships, combined with her deep understanding of the industry, allows her to deliver exceptional value and contribute to the overall success of the organizations she works with.

Cristy Rahman

Customer Success Specialist

Unlock customer advocacy secrets with CSM Christy! Discover rapport-building tips, overcome challenges, and boost loyalty in our latest episode.


CSMs: The customer's guide to advocacy with Cristy Rahman

CSMs: The customer's guide to advocacy 

Joining us on this episode of the CS School podcast is Alex Turkovic, Director of Adoption Programs (Digital Customer Success &amp; 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.

In this episode of the CS School podcast, we're joined by fellow podcaster Alex Turkovic, Director of Adoption Programs (Digital Customer Success & Customer Education) at Snow Software, who came to unravel the enigmatic layers of digital customer success.


Demystifying digital customer success with Alex Turkovic

<blockquote>“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."</blockquote> 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.&nbsp; In this episode of CS School, we sat down with Kimberly Ayala, Director of Customer Success (North &amp; 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 how and why is it employed?&nbsp; Tune in to find out just how Akeneo’s customer success team tackles this crucial topic. <h2>Key topics</h2><ul><li>How you can customize your tech touch approach for different segments</li><li>Akeneo’s secret recipe for efficiency through technology</li><li>What automation and AI really mean for segmentation</li><li>How you can segment to monetize customer success</li><li>The trick to balancing tech touch with customer expectations</li><li>Kimberly’s advice to overcoming challenges with customer segmentation</li></ul> <h2>Resources</h2><ul><li>Connect with Kimberly on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/kimberlyayala/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a></li><li>Don’t miss her talk at <a href="https://events.customersuccesscollective.com/location/newyork/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Customer Success Festival New York</a></li><li>Be a part of the conversation in the <a href="https://www.customersuccesscollective.com/customer-success-community/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">CSC Slack channel</a></li><li><a href="https://www.customersuccesscollective.com/signup/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Become a member</a> and tap into a bank of expert-vetted resources</li></ul> <h2>A little about our guest</h2>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.&nbsp; Now Kimberly’s fortunate to lead a team of remarkable CSMs. It's deeply fulfilling to help them grow into their own as professionals.&nbsp; <h2>Be on the pod!</h2>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 <a href="https://www.customersuccesscollective.com/customer-success-community/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Slack channel</a>.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. 📩

Kimberly Ayala

Director of Customer Success (North & South America) at Akeneo

Akeneo's Director of Customer Success shares how to employ digital segmentation or "tech touch" for customer success, tailor engagement, balance tech and service, overcome hurdles, monetize via segmentation.


Speaking segmentation | Kimberly Ayala, Akeneo

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.

Taylor Hodges

Global Head of Customer Success (Corrigo Enterprise) at JLL Technologies

Explore how to enhance collaboration between sales and customer success teams with effective RACI alignment, tools for clarity, and tactics for long-term success.


Harmonizing the hustle between customer success and sales: Part 2

Balancing your sales and <a href="https://www.customersuccesscollective.com/what-is-customer-success" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">customer success</a> functions is crucial for any growing business seeking to drive revenue while delivering ongoing value.&nbsp; 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.&nbsp; We sat down with Chris and dived into the nuances between these two pillars, specifically how to: <ul><li>Navigate how the customer success role has evolved in relation to sales,</li><li>Choreograph collaboration between the teams,</li><li>Steward seamless transitions and handoffs,</li><li>Intertwine metrics for mutually reinforced success.</li></ul> 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.

Chris Dishman

SVP of Customer Success at Totango

Dive into the nuances between sales and customer success. Learn to choreograph collaboration, pinpoint metrics, blend boundaries, and steer transitions for integrated teams and satisfied customers.


Harmonizing the hustle between sales and customer success: Part 1

Customer Success Collective

Tired of overly niche customer success conversations that might as well be in a different language? CS School is the podcast that strips customer success back to basics. Tune in so you don’t zone out. Ever wanted to have a full overview of how segmentation works in customer success? Check out CS School. Always wondered what the psychology behind CS is? Head to CS School. Wanna know the best way to tackle renewals? Find out at CS School.

Redefining customer advocacy with Haig Kingston, OpenBlend

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