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Today on the show we have Vic Davis, SVP Customer Experience at Inflection.io.

In this episode, we discussed Vic's drive to ensure customers are at the heart of every business decision and the innovative capabilities of small businesses that can still make a significant impact at scale. We also touched on how Inflection.io leverages product activity data to create a uniquely engaging customer experience, breaking away from traditional marketing automation models.

We then dove into the concept of Product-Led Growth (PLG) and its inherent creativity and room for experimentation. Vic shares his experiences transitioning to a PLG model, the importance of staying in tune with market signals, and how Inflection.io intends to evolve over the next 6-12 months. We also explored the role of data capture and action-based onboarding in understanding and guiding customer behavior, with insights into how Segment can be used as a tool for unifying customer data.

We wrapped up by discussing the necessity for cross-functional teams to support the PLG model and the challenges enterprise software companies face when trying to offer starter products to different markets. The importance of product ease of use in driving customer success was also underscored, along with strategies for scaling customer success.

As usual, I'm excited to hear what you think of this episode, and if you have any feedback, I would love to hear from you. You can email me directly at [email protected].

Today on the show we have Chris Dishman, Sr. VP of Customer Success at Totango.

In this episode, we discussed Chris's unique transition from being a customer of Totango to becoming a crucial part of its team. We explored how his past experiences as a customer offered invaluable insights to shape the company's approach to customer success.

We then dove into an overview of Totango and its innovative customer success platform. Chris shed light on the concept of composable customer success and the importance of refining the customer journey. He shared interesting cases and surprising use cases of Totango, emphasizing that the principles of customer success are not limited to the software industry.

The conversation took a compelling turn as we discussed the importance of customer-centricity in a company's culture and strategy. With the increasing emphasis on customer success in the face of layoffs and budget constraints, Chris highlighted the role of robust Customer Success Platforms (CSPs) in boosting team efficiency.

We then navigated the realm of data and automation. We addressed how companies are focusing on automating onboarding and improving their processes to scale with limited resources. Chris flagged data integration as a major challenge in this domain and emphasized the significance of clean, consistent data for a seamless customer journey.

We wrapped up by discussing actionable strategies for improving customer retention. Chris advised against overcomplication and recommended focusing on one area at a time, refining it before moving on to the next. In a hypothetical scenario where he has 90 days to improve retention, he suggests starting with the value proposition and effectively communicating it to customers.

As usual, I'm excited to hear what you think of this episode, and if you have any feedback, I would love to hear from you. You can email me directly at [email protected].

Today on the show we have Alison Prator, Director of Customer Success at Float.

In this episode, Alison shared her experience transitioning from leading a sales team to leading a whole department across sales, account management, and support. She walked us through the natural evolution these teams make as they grow into areas of specialization.

We then discussed how feedback loops between customer success and product teams are challenging to close, and ultimately solving the problem is a cultural challenge.

As usual, I'm excited to you think of this episode, and if you have any feedback, I would love to hear from you.

Today on the show we have Tony Sternberg, co-founder and CEO of Prosper Stack. 

In this episode, Tony shared the challenges of selling a business and the importance of churn and retention in the review process, and the final valuation they got. 

We then discussed how you can use tailored user experiences to reduce voluntary churn and leverage your company's data more effectively. 

As usual, I'm excited to hear what you think of this episode and if you have any feedback, I would love to hear from you.

Today on the show we have Maria Blakeway, Senior Vice President of Customer Success at Pushpay. 

In this episode, we discussed the reactive nature of customer success teams in hyper-growth startups and how Pushpay evolved its customer success approach from reactive to predictive. 

We also discussed the importance of a cultural shift and mindset change within the organization, grounding the customer success team on a mission and vision for success that is shared widely with the entire team. 

As usual, I'm excited to hear what you think of this episode. And if you have any feedback, I would love to hear from you.

Today on the show we have Nik Mijic, Co-founder and CEO of Matik. 

In this episode, we discussed the importance of effectively communicating the value you deliver to customers and how to build an ROI calculator. 

We also ran through an example of setting up a monthly review with your customers, the data sources to include, and how to set it all up. 

As usual, I'm excited you think of this episode and if you have any feedback, I would love to hear from you.

Today on the show we have Eric Melchor, head of Partnerships and Personalization Ambassador at OptiMonk.

In this episode, we discuss the increasing demand for personalized end-user experiences and best practices observed in the market by Eric.

We then dove into why focusing on pre-purchase experiences and insights is far more valuable for improving retention than focusing on churned customers.

As usual, I'm excited to hear what you think of this episode and if you have any feedback, I would love to hear from you. 

Today on the show we have Robin Singhvi, founder, and CEO of SmartCue, a platform that allows sales teams to create personalized product demos. 

In this episode, Robin shares his experience in building a startup and the challenges he has faced along the way.

Robin emphasizes the importance of having champions inside organizations to help navigate and validate the product roadmap. These champions provide valuable feedback and insights that help improve the product and increase usage, word of mouth, and loyalty.

Robin also shares tips on how to create buzz around new features and offer excellent customer support to increase channel retention.

As usual, I'm excited to hear what you think of this episode, and if you have any feedback, I would love to hear from you. You can email me directly on [email protected]. Don't forget to follow us on Twitter.

Today on the show we have Foti Panagiotakopoulos, co-founder and CEO at Growth Mentor.

In this episode, we talked about the origin story of Growth Mentor and his struggle trying to learn without a mentor which ultimately led to the idea of Growth Mentor.

We also discussed how their biggest channel for growth is their mentors themselves, the high-touch human model they use, and the importance of doing things that don’t scale.

We wrapped up by discussing the challenge of sorting through data to create a predictive churn model, and the importance of looking for success indicators rather than churn prevention.

Today on the show we have Eleanor Dorfman, Sales Leader at Retool.

In this episode, Eleanor shares her experience in balancing priorities in her roles sitting at the intersection of sales and success.

We then ran through how Segment and Retool approach tackling churn in a downturn along with the 5 questions sales and success teams should always be able to answer about their customers at any point in their lifecycle and we wrapped up by discussing how adding friction to onboarding can be a great way to increase activation and retention.

As usual, I'm excited to hear what you think of this episode, and if you have any feedback, I would love to hear from you. You can email me directly on [email protected]. Don't forget to follow us on Twitter.