CS School Customer Success Collective

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.

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

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 discussedIn this insightful episode, Cristy opens up about the transformative journey of CSMs toward championing customer advocacy, focusing on key areas such as:
Her transition from sales to customer success and its profound effect on cultivating deeper customer connections.The critical importance of seamlessly passing the baton from sales to you, the CSM, to kickstart the advocacy journey.Essential strategies you can employ to build rapport and trust, laying the groundwork for strong advocacy.How to navigate the bumps along the way and keep your customers' trust when outcomes fall short of expectations.The power of empathy and proactive communication in solidifying your relationship with customers.Actionable advice tailored for you, the CSM, to foster advocacy by aligning with customer goals and sharing valuable insights for shared victories.Aiming beyond mere satisfaction to extend customer lifetime value through deliberate advocacy and partnership efforts.

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 how and why is it employed? 

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

Key topicsHow you can customize your tech touch approach for different segmentsAkeneo’s secret recipe for efficiency through technologyWhat automation and AI really mean for segmentationHow you can segment to monetize customer successThe trick to balancing tech touch with customer expectationsKimberly’s advice to overcoming challenges with customer segmentation
ResourcesConnect with Kimberly on LinkedInDon’t miss her talk at Customer Success Festival New YorkBe a part of the conversation in the CSC Slack channelBecome a member and tap into a bank of expert-vetted resources
A little about our guestCustomer 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.