Unchurned - The No. 1 podcast for Customer Success – Details, episodes & analysis

#updateai #customersuccess #saas #business Hosts Kristi Faltorusso (CCO, Client Success) and Josh Schachter (Founder & CEO, UpdateAI) sit down with Brian Hansen (Director of CS, Aurora Solar) to discuss how Aurora Solar is reinventing its approach by aligning product usage metrics with sales and customer success efforts. They are adopting a long-term strategy that prioritizes customer growth while tackling the unique challenges of the solar industry. The conversation covers everything from the intricacies of compensation models to how the company is fostering accountability and collaboration across teams. Timestamps 0:00 - Preview, BS & Intros 5:30 - Work Culture and Mission Drive 7:36 - Solar Coaster 10:15 - Supporting Employees' Career Paths 11:55 - Focusing on "Product Usage" as a Unifying Metric 17:00 - Transition to Incentives-Based Compensation 22:22 - Getting the Board Onboard 24:21 - Impact on Users & Customers 25:52 - Focusing on Qualitative Data Insights 28:50 - Increased Accountability Across the Organization 30:50 - Resource Allocation and Prioritization ___________________________ 👉 Follow the podcast Youtube: https://youtu.be/JprAz-o-dWk Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/3dfWXmD Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3KD3Ehl 👉 Connect with the guest Brian Hansen: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bhansendoes/ 👉 Connect with hosts Jon Johnson: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonwilliamjohnson/ Kristi Faltorusso: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristiserrano/ Josh Schachter: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jschachter/ 👉 Sign up for ⁠UpdateAI⁠ - the only Zoom virtual assistant for customer-facing teams. 👉 Be the first to know when a new episode of Unchurned is dropped. Sign up for our newsletter at ⁠https://blog.update.ai/⁠ ________________ Keywords: How to keep your customers happy, customer success manager, customer support, customer success management, Customer Success Manager role, Sales compensation, ongoing payments, customer success strategy, usage value targets, UpdateAI, ideal customer profiles, customer growth, digital strategy, data insights, solar industry challenges, leadership development, product usage metrics, product roadmaps, voice of customer, long-term strategy, accountability, resource allocation, LumoPath partnership, CSM activities, prioritization data, usage value focus, product adoption, sales incentives, credit system, company-wide targets. ______________________ Unchurned is presented by UpdateAI About UpdateAI At UpdateAI our mission is to empower CS teams to build great customer relationships. We work with early & growth-stage B2B SaaS companies to help them scale CS outcomes. Everything we do is devoted to removing the overwhelm of back-to-back customer meetings so that CSMs can focus on the bigger picture: building relationships.

#updateai #customersuccess #saas #business

In this special installment of the revenue series of the Unchurned Podcast, we're thrilled to have Micki Howl (Chief Revenue Officer, Marigold) join Josh Schachter (Founder & CEO, UpdateAI) to shed light on the connection between sales and post-sales, and the critical role customer feedback plays in driving business success. They also discuss her career path and the incredible growth trajectory of Marigold

Timestamps

0:00 - Preview

1:11 - Overview of Marigold

4:44 - Micki's career path and growth

8:21 - Lot of hard work & a pinch of luck

13:10 - Communication & Accountability Framework

16:27 - Measuring progress and being outcome-driven

18:52 - Valuing customer feedback

21:30 - Outcome-driven approach leading to personal growth

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👉 Follow the podcast

Youtube: https://youtu.be/JprAz-o-dWk

Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/3dfWXmD

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3KD3Ehl

👉 Connect with the guest

Micki Howl: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelenahowl/

👉 Connect with host

Josh Schachter: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jschachter/

👉 Sign up for ⁠UpdateAI⁠ - the only Zoom virtual assistant for customer-facing teams.

👉 Be the first to know when a new episode of Unchurned is dropped. Sign up for our newsletter at ⁠https://blog.update.ai/⁠

________________

Keywords:

How to keep your customers happy, customer success manager, customer support, customer success management, Customer Success Manager role, Marigold, revenue series, customer success, Starbucks loyalty app, customer retention, chief revenue officer, CRO, chief operating officer, COO, chief of staff, acquisitions, OKR framework,cross-functionall collaboration, , post-sales operations, customer feedback, accountability framework, career growth, customer satisfaction.

______________________

Unchurned is presented by UpdateAI

About UpdateAI

At UpdateAI our mission is to empower CS teams to build great customer relationships. We work with early & growth-stage B2B SaaS companies to help them scale CS outcomes. Everything we do is devoted to removing the overwhelm of back-to-back customer meetings so that CSMs can focus on the bigger picture: building relationships.

#updateai #customersuccess #saas #business

Josh Schachter (UpdateAI) and Kristi Faltorusso (ClientSuccess) are joined by Andrew Gaer, Senior Director of Customer Success, and Sean Andrews, VP of Global Customer Success at Bluebeam. In this episode, they explore Bluebeam's journey transitioning from a desktop application to a cloud-based SaaS model, focusing on the intricate details of customer success, internal team support, and transition challenges. They also discuss how Bluebeam leverages AI to enhance product functionalities while minimizing user disruptions and delve into the dynamics of community engagement and feedback for better customer satisfaction.

Plus, there’s a sprinkle of light-hearted banter and a playful detour into the world of fast food!

Timestamps

0:00 - Preview, Intros & Del Taco

7:30 - Transition from desktop applications to SaaS

10:30 - Challenges and Successes of Transitioning into a SaaS model

18:15 - Approach to Customer Enablement & CS

25:23 - Measuring and analyzing KPIs for customer success

35:20 - For your customers -- You are an expert on your product

38:50 - AI Integration and Product Enhancements

___________________________

👉 Follow the podcast

Youtube: https://youtu.be/JprAz-o-dWk

Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/3dfWXmD

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3KD3Ehl

👉 Connect with the guest

Andrew Gaer: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewgaer/

Sean Andrews: https://www.linkedin.com/in/smandrews/

👉 Connect with hosts

Jon Johnson: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonwilliamjohnson/

Kristi Faltorusso: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristiserrano/

Josh Schachter: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jschachter/

👉 Sign up for ⁠UpdateAI⁠ - the only Zoom virtual assistant for customer-facing teams.

👉 Be the first to know when a new episode of Unchurned is dropped. Sign up for our newsletter at ⁠https://blog.update.ai/⁠

________________

Keywords:

How to keep your customers happy, customer success manager, customer support, customer success management, Customer Success Manager role, customer success metrics, Bluebeam, SaaS, Desktop Applications, Cloud Services, Customer Success Approach, AI Integration, AI Operational Efficiency, Product Enhancements via AI, AI User Experience, Customer Transition Management, Customer Feedback, Customer Delight Index, Product Loyalty, SaaS Model Visibility, Community Engagement, Educational Resources for customers

______________________

Unchurned is presented by UpdateAI

About UpdateAI

At UpdateAI our mission is to empower CS teams to build great customer relationships. We work with early & growth-stage B2B SaaS companies to help them scale CS outcomes. Everything we do is devoted to removing the overwhelm of back-to-back customer meetings so that CSMs can focus on the bigger picture: building relationships.

I’ve said it before, but one of my favorite quotes comes from hockey legend Wayne Gretzky:  “I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been.” 

I love that approach because it isn’t just about hockey – it applies to business as well. 

And Meenu Agarwal, the head of customer experience and success at Workday, seems to have followed that approach about as well as anyone. 

Just one look at her LinkedIn – from her time at Oracle to IBM to HubSpot to VMware to Workday – and her eclectic range of roles shows Meenu hasn’t been afraid to explore new ground. 

It was one of the main reasons I wanted to talk to her on the latest episode of “[Un]churned,” frankly. I had to hear about her unique journey. 

Thankfully, Meenu gave me some great insight into her career – and plenty of other topics. 

On this podcast, we also covered the following:

• How to Scale a CS Organization
• The One Metric *Everyone* Should Know
• The State of Women in CS and Tech

This was a fun one, and one of the more illuminating conversations I’ve had on Unchurned. And I  think you’ll enjoy it as much as I did. 

– Josh Schachter, UpdateAI CEO 

👉 Get the advice and insights you need to thrive in Customer Success. Subscribe to the CS Insider Newsletter

👉 Sign up for UpdateAI - the only Zoom virtual assistant for customer-facing teams.

👉 Be the first to know when a new episode of Unchurned is dropped. Sign up for our newsletter at https://blog.update.ai/

👉 Josh would love to connect to hear your feedback & suggestions. Get in touch with him on Linkedin.

👉 Get the advice and insights you need to thrive in Customer Success. Subscribe to the CS Insider Newsletter

Welcome to #OTW!

#OTW - OpenToWork, is a new series on [Un]churned, featuring amazing SaaS leaders and practitioners who are open and ready for their next role.

This episode features, Roxane Tran, a Customer Success Professional with expertise in onboarding, operations. 

Connect with Roxane Tran on Linkedin

Email Josh at josh@update.ai to be a featured guest on the #OTW series

👉 Get the advice and insights you need to thrive in Customer Success. Subscribe to the CS Insider Newsletter

👉 Sign up for UpdateAI - the only Zoom virtual assistant for customer-facing teams.

👉 Be the first to know when a new episode of Unchurned is dropped. Sign up for our newsletter at https://blog.update.ai/

👉 Josh would love to connect to hear your feedback & suggestions. Get in touch with him on Linkedin.

👉 Get the advice and insights you need to thrive in Customer Success. Subscribe to the CS Insider Newsletter

 Ellie Wu, VP of Sales and Customer Success Excellence at Insight Partners, joins UpdateAI CEO Josh Schachter on the latest episode of “[Un]churned.”

Insight Partners has backed some of the biggest tech companies in the world, including Shopify, Wix, and Monday.com. Ellie’s firsthand knowledge of those deals – and many others – made her an excellent source for customer success and the macro business environment. 

First, Ellie talked to Josh about her journey from Taiwan to Seattle, where she is now one of the top names in the CS world. 

They touched on a number of other topics in this episode as well, including: 

• Why efficiency is vital 
• Key CS metrics
• How to “translate” CS to other business sectors

You can find the latest episode of “[Un]churned” on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube. You can also listen by clicking here. 

Resources from the episode 
- Insight Partners’ Reports:

• SaaS Sales KPIs Report: https://go.pardot.com/l/321391/2022-10-04/83mlmn
• Post-Sales GTM Report: https://www.insightpartners.com/blog/introducing-the-2022-post-sales-gtm-report/

👉 Get the advice and insights you need to thrive in Customer Success. Subscribe to the CS Insider Newsletter

👉 Sign up for UpdateAI - the only Zoom virtual assistant for customer-facing teams.

👉 Be the first to know when a new episode of Unchurned is dropped. Sign up for our newsletter at https://blog.update.ai/

👉 Josh would love to connect to hear your feedback & suggestions. Get in touch with him on Linkedin.

👉 Get the advice and insights you need to thrive in Customer Success. Subscribe to the CS Insider Newsletter

Welcome to #OTW!

#OTW - OpenToWork, is a new series on [Un]churned, featuring amazing SaaS leaders and practitioners who are open and ready for their next role.

This episode features, Jeremiah Bello from Nigeria, who had been a Customer Success Manager at Lazerpay in his past role. 

Connect with Jeremiah Bello on Linkedin

Email Josh at josh@update.ai to be a featured guest on the #OTW series

👉 Sign up for UpdateAI - the only Zoom virtual assistant for customer-facing teams.

👉 Be the first to know when a new episode of Unchurned is dropped. Sign up for our newsletter at www.update.ai/podcast

👉 Josh would love to connect to hear your feedback & suggestions. Get in touch with him on Linkedin.

👉 Get the advice and insights you need to thrive in Customer Success. Subscribe to the CS Insider Newsletter

👉 Sign up for UpdateAI - the only Zoom virtual assistant for customer-facing teams.

👉 Be the first to know when a new episode of Unchurned is dropped. Sign up for our newsletter at https://blog.update.ai/

👉 Josh would love to connect to hear your feedback & suggestions. Get in touch with him on Linkedin.

👉 Get the advice and insights you need to thrive in Customer Success. Subscribe to the CS Insider Newsletter

Let’s be frank for a moment – working in customer success can be a stressful job. 

And stress can come from multiple angles. An angry customer can make you anxious in about 30 seconds, to point to one obvious example, but there’s also internal stress that we deal with on a day-to-day basis. Concerns over whether we’re doing our jobs well enough or whether our careers are progressing at the rate we want them to. 

What do most of us do in those scenarios? We try our best to wear a facade. 

But Katharina Schmidt, a highly regarded executive coach who prioritizes working with startups; she’s also UpdateAI CEO Josh Schachter’s personal EC. Katharina, on the latest episode of “[Un]churned,” said it’s important to address stress head-on, rather than run from it. 

Luckily, Katharina shared some great tips on how to best handle stress. Tune in to listen to the full [Un]churned conversation. 

👉 Get the advice and insights you need to thrive in Customer Success. Subscribe to the CS Insider Newsletter

👉 Sign up for UpdateAI - the only Zoom virtual assistant for customer-facing teams.

👉 Be the first to know when a new episode of Unchurned is dropped. Sign up for our newsletter at https://blog.update.ai/

👉 Josh would love to connect to hear your feedback & suggestions. Get in touch with him on Linkedin.

👉 Get the advice and insights you need to thrive in Customer Success. Subscribe to the CS Insider Newsletter

Welcome to #OTW!

#OTW - OpenToWork, is a new series on [Un]churned, featuring amazing SaaS leaders and practitioners who are open and ready for their next role.

This episode features, Yashwanth Reddy, a CS advocate with 15 years of experience in developing customer relations and leading teams with a focus on making data-driven decisions to enable better outcomes and adapt faster. 

Connect with Yashwanth on Linkedin

Email Josh at josh@update.ai to be a featured guest on the #OTW series

👉 Get the advice and insights you need to thrive in Customer Success. Subscribe to the CS Insider Newsletter

👉 Sign up for UpdateAI - the only Zoom virtual assistant for customer-facing teams.

👉 Be the first to know when a new episode of Unchurned is dropped. Sign up for our newsletter at https://blog.update.ai/

👉 Josh would love to connect to hear your feedback & suggestions. Get in touch with him on Linkedin.

👉 Get the advice and insights you need to thrive in Customer Success. Subscribe to the CS Insider Newsletter

This episode packs a punch. 

In less than a half hour, LeeRon Yahalomi gives UpdateAI CEO Josh Schachter a handful of great insights on how to lead great customer success organizations. 

And she’s speaking from experience. LeeRon recently joined Regie.ai as its head of customer success, after serving as VP of sales and CS at Textio for more than three years. 

👉 Get the advice and insights you need to thrive in Customer Success. Subscribe to the CS Insider Newsletter

👉 Sign up for UpdateAI - the only Zoom virtual assistant for customer-facing teams.

👉 Be the first to know when a new episode of Unchurned is dropped. Sign up for our newsletter at https://blog.update.ai/

👉 Josh would love to connect to hear your feedback & suggestions. Get in touch with him on Linkedin.

👉 Get the advice and insights you need to thrive in Customer Success. Subscribe to the CS Insider Newsletter