Usage vs adoption vs ROI vs value

We trade war stories from diner counters and real estate closings to show how psychology, better playbooks, and value-add concessions defuse escalations and protect renewals. Rob shares Feel–Felt–Found, digital cancellation flows, and why discounts can backfire.

• reframing escalations as signals of product importance
• teaching teams Feel–Felt–Found to de-escalate
• avoiding discount reflex in renewals
• using value-add concessions before price cuts
• building digital cancellation flows that retain
• applying defaults, loss aversion and social proof
• separating usage, adoption, ROI and value
• behavior design lessons from Planet Fitness
• books, tools and journaling for learning loops
• how to contact Rob for frameworks and support

If you got some value from this conversation, hit subscribe, leave a rating or review, and share it with someone who's also out there trying to build a better customer success or go-to-market strategy, even if it's besty along the way.
For more frameworks, tools, automated playbooks, check out Johda'sTechTouch.com and subscribe to our newsletter. That link is in the description.

🎙️ Guest: Rob Zambito
Founder & CEO of Success Scaled Consulting

📣 Find Rob:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-zambito/ 

🔥 Topics Covered:
🟣 Why customer escalations increase as products become more mission-critical
🟣 Reframing escalations as signals of value — not Customer Success failure
🟣 The danger of positioning CS as the default “escalation department”
🟣 How poor escalation handling unintentionally trains customers to escalate again
🟣 Why discounts are the laziest (and most harmful) concession during escalations
🟣 Using psychology — loss aversion, reciprocity, and defaults — to guide better outcomes
🟣 How the Feel–Felt–Found framework works when used for emotional validation (not deflection)
🟣 The role of executive presence and confidence in high-stakes customer conversations
🟣 Why customers don’t want explanations — they want to feel heard first
🟣 How CS leaders can design escalation paths that protect long-term value, not just short-term peace

🌐 Website
https://www.joedoestechtouch.com/

📰 Subscribe to the JDTT Newsletter –
Get raw insights, no-fluff frameworks, and tech touch tactics straight to your inbox: https://www.joedoestechtouch.com/jdttnewsletter
🎙️ Be a Guest on the Podcast
Have a CS horror story or digital-first strategy worth sharing? Submit to be a guest:https://www.joedoestechtouch.com/podcast

🔗 Connect with Joe on LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/in/josephdigrande

📺 Watch Full Episodes on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaH58ojbaWym4ej_PedQ4Fw

_______________________________

Tools:

Logitech Creators Blue Yeti USB Microphone: https://amzn.to/4nHOFDN

Logitech Brio 4K Webcam: https://amzn.to/3GtKsmx

Sony WH-1000XM4 Noise Cancelling Wireless Headphones: https://amzn.to/44Q0xv4

Apple 2024 MacBook Pro Laptop: https://amzn.to/4lH6u3W