Episode description
Maranda Dziekonski, SVP of Customer Success and Ops at Datasembly, is a ground-up builder with over 20 years of experience in crafting world-class operations, specializing in Customer Success, Support, Tech Support, and Sales across B2B, B2C, and B2B2C sectors. Maranda's leadership has earned accolades as a Top 100 Customer Success Strategist, amongst many other recognitions. You can follow Maranda on Twitter @marandasays.
Resources
Takeaways
• Customer success is evolving in response to changes in the economic climate and investor expectations.
• CS teams should focus on revenue outcomes and provide the minimum experience necessary for customer success.
• Monetizing CS services can help fund CS teams and support customer growth.
• Soft skills, curiosity, and communication are key attributes for success in customer success roles.
• CS teams should balance services revenue with the goal of transitioning from a cost center to a revenue generator.
• CS professionals should prioritize self-care and seek support from their teams and leaders when feeling overwhelmed. Leaders should have realistic expectations and not overload their customer success teams.
• Automation and AI can help free up time for critical thinking tasks in customer success.
• CSMs should analyze their workload and have data-driven conversations with their leaders to advocate for themselves.
• Process and clarity are essential in driving efficiency in customer success teams.
Chapters
00:00 Introduction and Background
11:19 Is Customer Success Thriving or Dying?
17:28 Evolution of Customer Success
24:54 Specialization vs Generalization in CS Teams
28:50 Monetizing Customer Success
33:15 Top Skills for Success in Customer Success
36:57 Monetizing CS Services
40:17 Balancing Services Revenue and Cost Center
41:43 Managing Increased Responsibilities in CS
42:08 Leadership Expectations and Customer Success
43:05 Automation and AI in Customer Success
44:03 Advocating for Yourself as a CSM
45:03 Takeaways and Homework
Credits
Show direction: Debra Wilson
Show design: Kensie Smith