Marie Lunney joins us this week in a whirlwind conversation in which we cover a lot of ground. Not only is she a seasoned digital CS leader, including her current role at Top Employers Institute, but she's also founder of the DCS Connect Slack community. In this fun filled 45 minutes, Marie and I dig into: Digital CS before it was called DCSCross-coordination with other departments around the Customer JourneyHow employee satisfaction plays into a healthy digital journeyThe DCS Connect...

Jon Johnson is an incredible human. You've likely heard of him as part of the Unchurned BS & CS podcast series in which he shares some of his incredible background and upbringing on a recent episode. Not only is Jon an incredible CS leader, he is also a fantastic musician and writer, which are both topics we discuss as part of our conversation. I had the pleasure of spending this hour+ with Jon a few weeks ago where we begin by talking about music. I present Jon with a quick game of...

Jeff Kushmerek of Infinite Renewals has to be one of the most dynamic and fun people in our amazing CS community. His contributions are immense via his generosity, amazing content and overall attitude towards CS. You might also see him as one of the most musically active members of the community. While we do start with a fun 'this or that' activity on albums, in this fun convo, we delve into all sorts of great topics related to digital CS including: Jeff's general approach to consultingWhen...

I absolutely love interviewing guests who are deeply embedded and leading CS teams for companies that primarily serve the Customer Success community. That is why this week's chat with Chris Dishman of Totango was such a joy! It goes without saying that not only does Chris' team run a stellar customer success program, but they also advise clients on best practices and have a birds eye view into how many of their customers are approaching CS. In our chat, we talk a bit about Chris' background...

This week, I had the pleasure of speaking with Markus Rentsch, CEO of Remark-able, where he spends his time consulting and building products to help CS orgs navigate Customer Value Led Growth initiatives.  Markus and I share some commonalities, the first of which is that we are both native German speakers and are from the Vienna area - though admittedly I haven't lived there in years. The second, and probably most important/relevant is that we share a love for Customer Success and talk about...

In what is probably the most quotable episode of the podcast yet, Greg Daines drops some INCREDIBLE knowledge on the root causes of churn and how digital customer success programs are pivotal in driving long-term retention.    How? By driving consistent Customer Results and addressing the variability inherent in changing customer behaviors. As you will likely know - Greg is an absolute legend in the CS space and speaking with him invigorated and clarified my own thinking about the programs...

In this episode, I was privileged to be able to sit down with Donna Weber, who literally wrote the book on Onboarding (called Onboarding Matters). The book itself is a fantastic resource for leaders and ICs alike and is aimed at driving a consistent language within an org to ensure that everyone is working together towards positive onboarding outcomes. Our conversation doesn't just revolve around onboarding however and delves into all sorts of interesting topics related to digital cs: How...

As mentioned at the start of this episode, our CS friend Mickey Powell and his family are experiencing hardship with the loss of a mother and brother in very short succession. If you'd like to help: Engage with Mickey Powell's LinkedIn Post: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7122633026576031744/GoFundMe to support his dad through end of life costs: https://gofund.me/fc16dc72 Thank you! +++++++++++++++++++++++ Today, I am pleased to offer you this great conversation with...

As a neutral podcast host, I am not supposed to pick favorites...so I won't. But if I did - this conversation with Dillon Young  ( Lifetime Value Podcast) would rank among my favorites because it combines great insights, a lot of fun and some shared background/experiences into one lovely package.  Yes, there is some fun banter in the episode (you're welcome for those of you who enjoy that). Besides that, Dillon and I discuss quite a few Digital CS related topics including: Podcasting in...

Wow - what a fun one we have for you today. Kristi Faltorusso certainly needs no introduction. Aside from her resume being a mile long, she currently leads customer teams at Client Success AND runs her own consultancy.   But what I like most about Kristi is her massive contributions to the CS community and the fact that she's not shy about sharing her opinion on things. It's always fun speaking with Kristi and while we did talk about some great CS related topics, we also talked about other...

Ever wondered how the happiness of your employees could directly impact the success of your customers? Join us as we sit down with Alyssa Nolte of LIFT, a leading provider in the Customer Success (CS) community, to explore this fascinating interplay. Together, we journey through CS fundamentals in the digital realm, investigating key elements like the customer life cycle, personalizing digital content, and transforming customer success teams from cost centers into profit centers. We place a...

A lot of us would like to be a 'fly on the wall' as someone tackles installing a new function into an existing org. In this episode, Kailey Killoran of Loopio will give us just that: a glimpse into her journey of building Loopio's scaled customer success program. This episode is jam packed as we get into all sorts of topics including: Kailey's love of learning and how her poli-sci degrees (yes, plural!) have influenced her professionallyThe importance of internal enablement when launching...

Get ready for an enlightening conversation as we sit down to converse with Aaron Hatton, Digital Customer Success Program Manager at Gainsight. With his vast experience and technical background, Aaron unpacks the intricacies of data, user self-identification, the growth mindset, and much more, giving you invaluable insights into Gainsight's own digital customer success strategies. In this episode, Aaron recounts how his technical & support background has formed into a career in Digital...

I'm thrilled to bring you a vibrant conversation with Alex Farmer, the founder of the Customer Success Excellence Awards and Chief Customer Officer at Nezasa. He brings a wealth of knowledge from the frontlines of various customer-facing role experience, particularly in the startup realm. Through our rich discussion, we explore how to personalize your customer success processes, streamline tech stack elements into a unified, customer-centric overlay, and much more. Join us as we take a deep...

Join us for a compelling discussion with Michael Bojanski, Director of Customer Success Operations and Support at Learn to Win and recent winner at the Customer Success Excellence Awards. Michael’s insights draw from a diverse career journey, ranging from pre-med study abroad and an MBA, to Amazon fulfillment centers and various Operations & Marketing roles. In our chat, Michael provides a comprehensive view on the ins and outs of implementing client success motions and automating...

Dan Ennis of Monday.com, a seasoned expert in the CS community and Monday.com's own digital ace joins us this week. Dan gives us a guided tour of his career journey, transitioning from roots in customer service call centers to account management, and finally, the realm of CS. His insights offer us a fresh perspective on handling different contact personas within a company and the value of data-driven decision making. As we dig deeper into the conversation, we encounter the realities of...

It has become quite apparent in recent years that a solid Digital Customer Success program relies heavily on a solid CS Operations function. Join me, Alex Turkovic, in a riveting conversation with Matthew Lind, a Gainsight expert and operations leader, known for his unique approach to solving complex CS problems. As we kick off, we examine the evolution CS over the last few years. You'll learn how operations can make or break digital programs and why data hygiene isn't something you should...

This week I spoke with Jen Jackson, a stellar customer experience leader at Litmos with a rich history in support & CS leadership. In our discussion, she delves into the world of micro-learning, the power of support metrics, and the vital role data insights play in shaping up customer success. Discover how Jen is revolutionizing customer experience by integrating rapid-fire micro-training into her strategies, empowering customers to learn swiftly and effectively. We discuss how defining...

Immerse yourself in an enlightening conversation with the dynamic duo, Kellie Capote and Nick Mehta, CCO and CEO (respectively) of Gainsight! Discover the unique blend of cross-functional relationships and a growth mindset that has driven Kellie's fascinating career trajectory. Get an exclusive peek into Nick's rise from a bio chemistry major to where he is today. Together, they explore the challenges and rewards that come with a customer success role, emphasizing the importance of harnessing...

Simon Kriss, author of "The AI Empowered Customer Experience" and CX Futurologist joins me this week for an in-depth conversation about the mindset that it takes to be truly innovative, use cases for Gen AI in CX, among other topics. It's a fascinating glimpse into how he advises the many boards and c-suite execs on how to truly innovate and craft their customer experience. Enjoy! I know I sure did... Simon's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/simonkriss/ Simon's Book: "The AI...

Joel Passen might not be your go-to guest for a Customer Success podcast as he has spent the majority of his career leading revenue teams. But after just a few minutes of discussion, you quickly realize that Joel intimately understands what it takes to deliver on the customer journey and value outcomes for customers post-sale. In this episode, we discuss how he and his team at Sturdy.ai are helping their customers prevent churn with data and AI driven intelligence. We also get into the weeds...

OK - this one was extra fun! In this special episode of the show, I had the pleasure of hosting the amazing BS & CS Crew from the Unchurned podcast: Kristi Faltorusso (ClientSuccess), Jon Johnson (UserTesting), Josh Schachter (UpdateAI) & Mickey Powell (UpdateAI). Needless to say, we had a lot of fun waxing poetic about Digital Customer Success and about a dozen other tangents. Enjoy! I know I sure did... Kristi's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristiserrano/ Jon's...

There is a small but mighty bunch of customer success leaders who are tasked with operating a Digital Customer Success program within the confines of an on-prem software product - and Stacie Chaney of VMware and I happen to be two of them! So of course we talk about that in this episode and Stacie provides some amazing insight and tactics from her own DCS practice that have very real and practical implications now. Stacie also discusses her background in Marketing and how well it translates...

It's easy to see why Ralphie English received the 2023 Customer Success Leader of the Year award at the Customer Success Excellence Award once you spend even a little bit of time with her. Not only is she an innovator in the digital CS space, having built a lot of creative engagement strategies for Deepgram customers, but she's also a fantastic leader both for her team and the wider CS community via her consultancy, Radical CS. One fascinating aspect of her work with Deepgram is that there...

You've likely seen Jan Young in various Customer Success communities such as the CS Office Hours and Rev Room. Most recently, she has launched JanYoungCX, providing courses, coaching & consulting in customer led growth. Her contributions to the CS community are numerous and always valuable, which is why I was so delighted to have her on the show! In our conversation, we discuss (among other things) using tools to drive internal efficiencies, personalized content, generative AI and going...