The Customer Success Channel

In this episode, our host Anika Zubair chats with Jennifer Cramer, VP of Customer Success at Planhat about "is all churn bad"?Every SaaS business is fearing churn. It is also one of the most important metrics to be tracking for all Customer Success teams. But maybe not all churn is bad? For example, should it be okay to let go of bad fit customers? And when should a SaaS or tech company start monitoring and measuring churn?Podcast enquiries: sofia@planhat.com

In this episode, our host Anika Zubair chats with Emily Garza, AVP of Customer Success at Fastly about CS responsibility for revenue. Customer Success responsibility for revenue is a hot topic and highly debated in the CS world. So, should a CSM hold a revenue target? Should CSMs be compensated like we do in sales? And should we really be charging for CS or should it be baked into the cost of goods sold? Podcast enquiries: sofia@planhat.com

In this episode, our host Anika Zubair chats with Wayne McCulloch, Global Head of CS (SaaS) at Google Cloud, about the taboos of Customer Success. The function of Customer Success is still maturing, and most companies are currently evolving and growing their CS departments. That being said, there are all these unanswered questions that people don’t really mention or avoid. For example, is it okay to charge for CS, who should own the customer feedback loop, and should the CSM hold a revenue number?Podcast enquiries: sofia@planhat.com

In this episode, our host Anika Zubair chats with the inspiring Emmanuel Malanda, Global Head of Customer Success at Calypso, about data driven workflows and scaling CS Operations. As your Customer Success team grows, there comes a point when your CSMs are spending more time doing some of the administrative work rather than focusing solely on what drives value to your customers. So, how do you build effective CS workflows to help save CSMs time and optimize their processes both internally and externally? And how can a dedicated CS Operation role help scale your business? Podcast enquiries: sofia@planhat.com

In this episode, our host Anika Zubair chats with the inspiring Elisabeth Courland, Digital CSM at Talentsoft, about data driven customer journeys in digital CS.Data is undoubtedly crucial in customer success management, as it enables you to have data driven insights, provide analytics, and any upsell opportunities. So, how do you integrate this data into your customer journey to optimize the process, track sales activities, and ultimately fuel growth?Podcast enquiries: sofia@planhat.com

In this episode, our host Anika Zubair chats with the inspiring Kristi Faltorusso, VP of Customer Success at IntelliShift, on switching from a reactive to proactive CS.When establishing their CS team, many organizations start with a reactive business strategy, responding to unanticipated issues only after it occurs. Shifting the mindset to a proactive strategy can enable the team to anticipate those issues, therefore eliminating the problems before they appear. So, how do you make that shift from firefighting churn to a lean and mean proactive CS machine?Podcast enquiries: sofia@planhat.com

In this episode, our host Anika Zubair chats with Kellie Lucas, author and coach, on how to turn customer feedback into insights.Gathering customer feedback is an important part of the CS journey, not only can it provide valuable insights but can help maintain relationships with customers. But once you’ve collected this information, what do you do with it and how do you make it actionable?Podcast enquiries: sofia@planhat.com

In this episode, our host Anika Zubair chats with Ray Rauch, VP of Customer Success at Concord, about the evolution of the CSM.Customer success has been a discipline for over 10 years now and what started out as a proactive account management position has now evolved. Companies have teams, including customer marketing, account executives and product managers who work directly with CS to deliver a customer first product roadmap. CS has now become the heart of most SaaS organizations and the role of the CSM is more important than ever before.Podcast enquiries: sofia@planhat.com

In this episode, our host Anika Zubair chats with Alex Farmer, VP of Customer Success at Cognite, about building customer advocacy programs.Creating strong customer advocates is something that every customer success professional strives for with their customer base. But what makes a good customer become an advocate? Is it how much of your product they use? A positive survey feedback? or them becoming a reference? Not only is it difficult to define a customer advocate but it also difficult to transform your good customers into great advocates. Podcast enquiries: sofia@planhat.com

In this episode, our host Anika Zubair chats with Fran Beckley, Head of Client Services at SourceBreaker, about keeping CSMs engaged at work and career development.Remote working has become part of the new “normal” and being distant from your team can make it hard to gage what your CSMs are doing, how much they enjoy the job and any issues they may be facing. So, how do you ensure that your CSM team is engaged and what avenues are in place for their career development?Podcast enquiries: sofia@planhat.com