Retention Rethink

Customer Success Collective
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Most CS teams fixate on stopping churn. Fair enough, but the real upside comes from building customer lifecycles that grow revenue, not just protect it. Retention Rethink is a four-part podcast series created with Gainsight (https://www.gainsight.com/), where hosts Taylor Johnston and Courtney Hauser dig into what truly drives retention today. They talk with the leaders rewriting the playbook on education, adoption, community, and AI... and how each one fuels long-term customer value. If you’re ready to build customer relationships that expand, deepen, and actually pay off, this series is your new must-listen.

Episodes

  1. Succeed: Scaling outcomes with AI and proactive customer success

    2025-12-16

    Succeed: Scaling outcomes with AI and proactive customer success

    In healthcare, if equipment goes down, care goes down – and your customer success model has to keep up. In this final episode, Taylor talks with Brad Casemore, Chief Customer & Growth Officer at PartsSource, about what retention looks like when the stakes are sky-high. Brad shares why PartSource built value creation roadmaps for every customer, how AI helps them transform siloed data into prescriptive actions, and why benchmarking is one of the strongest tools for showing customers what’s possible. They also break down the Customer Loyalty Index (CLI), how real-time signals catch risks early, and how AI tools help teams prep for high-pressure customer meetings in minutes, not days. It’s a powerful close to the series – and a blueprint for making retention predictable. Key takeaways:Healthcare runs on equipment uptime, and your success model has to support that.AI turns messy, siloed data into insights your team can use today.Value creation roadmaps help you align with changing customer strategies.Benchmarking shows customers what’s possible (and where they’re falling behind).Proactive management beats “surprise churn” every single time.Customer loyalty deserves its own measurement (e.g. like a CLI).High adoption creates better data, which leads to better decisions and outcomes.AI tools help teams prep for meetings in minutes instead of days.Customer feedback gets more strategic when you’ve already earned their trust.Deliver consistent value, and customers will bring you bigger challenges to solve.Resources:Connect with Taylor on LinkedInConnect with Brad on LinkedInEbook: The Future of Retention Is Agentic — How AI Agents Turn Signals into ActionGartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Customer Success Management PlatformsLearn more about Staircase AI

    32 min
  2. Connect: Building community that customers genuinely love

    2025-12-10

    Connect: Building community that customers genuinely love

    Picture this: A community member comes home from a user conference, shares that their child was just diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, and dozens of people rally around them instantly. That’s the power of Jamf Nation’s community, and it’s the heart of this conversation. Courtney Hauser sits down with Jeni Asaba, Head of Community at Jamf, to talk about how to build a community that actually feels human. They dig into how Jeni listens to customers before building anything, how small experiments (like monthly virtual meetups) turn into cornerstone programs, and why recognition matters more than swag. You’ll also hear how Jeni measures community “happiness,” avoids clutter that kills engagement, and uses customer insights to shape not just community strategy but product direction. If you’re building any kind of customer community, this episode is full of gold. Key takeaways: Community works best when you listen before you build.Human connection is the heartbeat of any strong community.People need options: forums, meetups, user groups, advocacy programs.Recognition fuels engagement way more than swag ever will.Advocacy grows when customers feel included and seen.Community feedback is a goldmine for product and CX decisions.Don’t clutter your community with random content. Protect the space.Trust your gut (and your customers) more than your roadmap.Your community will tell you what they need if you pay attention.Measuring “happiness” gives you a clearer view of loyalty than logins.Resources:Connect with Courtney on LinkedInConnect with Jeni on LinkedInOn-Demand Webinar: Community Reimagined - Unlocking ROI Through Connection and LearningLearn more about Gainsight Customer Communities

    28 min
  3. Adopt: Turning first value into long-term momentum

    2025-11-26

    Adopt: Turning first value into long-term momentum

    What if you could predict retention from a customer’s first three logins? That’s exactly what TrendMiner discovered – and it changed the way they drive adoption. In this episode, Courtney chats with Jef Vanlaer, CS Ops Manager at TrendMiner, about how simplifying onboarding and focusing on early value can dramatically shift engagement. Jef shares how they cut an onboarding flow from 16 steps to 7 (and boosted completion from 10% to 50%), how they spot adoption risks before they snowball, and why timing matters more than tactics when it comes to in-app messages. You’ll walk away with real practices for improving first value, tightening your adoption signals, and connecting product usage to real business outcomes. Key takeaways:Early engagement is one of the strongest predictors of retention.First value sets the tone for the entire relationship.Shorter onboarding = better onboarding. Simplicity always wins.The “three logins” rule is real: small behaviors create big signals.Spotting adoption risks early helps you avoid much bigger issues later.In-app messages only work when they show up at the right moment.Friendly gamification works… but keep it professional.Time saved = real business value, and customers need to see that.Automation helps you scale, but humans still close the value gap.When in doubt, streamline the process. Complexity kills adoption.Resources:Connect with Courtney on LinkedInConnect with Jef on LinkedInWorkbook: Re-Architecting Digital Experience Teams – Future-Proof Skills, Structure & StrategyLearn more about Digital Customer Success SolutionsLearn more about Gainsight PX

    25 min
  4. Learn: Customer education that drives retention

    2025-11-18

    Learn: Customer education that drives retention

    Most teams underestimate customer education, but it’s one of the biggest levers you have for retention. In the first episode of the series, our host Taylor Johnston sits down with Elyce Ladany, Senior Manager of Digital Education at AuditBoard, to break down why CS teams cannot treat learning as a “nice to have.” It’s a serious revenue driver. You’ll hear how AuditBoard connects learning paths to real value milestones, why awareness often matters more than content, and how certifications can unlock massive engagement without creating anything new. Taylor and Elyce also get real about the challenge of measuring training impact and where AI can help you scale education without burning out your team. If you’ve ever wondered how to turn training into actual customer outcomes, this episode gives you the playbook. Key takeaways:Education isn’t filler. It’s one of your strongest retention levers.Learning paths only work when they’re tied to real value milestones.Different roles need different paths – and you better believe they’ll tell you what’s missing.Awareness matters more than content quality. Remember, customers can’t use what they can’t find!Your CSMs need to know the education resources as well as customers do.Great self-service helps customers move faster without calling support.The hard part isn’t creating content, but proving its impact.Defining what a “trained account” means unlocks real insight into health.AI helps you personalize education without adding headcount.Don’t forget to reuse and repurpose content you already have.Resources:Connect with Taylor on LinkedInConnect with Elyce on LinkedInAcademy Inspiration Database2025 Customer Education Trends ReportLearn more about Skilljar by Gainsight

    26 min
  • 4 Episodes

About

Most CS teams fixate on stopping churn. Fair enough, but the real upside comes from building customer lifecycles that grow revenue, not just protect it. Retention Rethink is a four-part podcast series created with Gainsight (https://www.gainsight.com/), where hosts Taylor Johnston and Courtney Hauser dig into what truly drives retention today. They talk with the leaders rewriting the playbook on education, adoption, community, and AI... and how each one fuels long-term customer value. If you’re ready to build customer relationships that expand, deepen, and actually pay off, this series is your new must-listen.

Information

  • Creator
    Customer Success Collective
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    2K
  • Episodes
    4
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    Retention Rethink