Customer Strategy Podcast

In this episode of the Customer Strategy Podcast, I'm talking with Kirt Manecke.Kirt is the author of the best-selling book SMILE Sell More With Amazing Customer Service.We had an interesting conversation about how Kirt has transformed the businesses he's run and worked for through incredible customer service.It's often the simple things that when done well make the greatest impact. Kirt's book is a testament to this philosophy and is an easy read designed for quick implementation.Anyone involved in working with other people, not even just those working with customers, can get value from Kirt's expertise.Here are the Top 10 things to do according to Kirt, listen in to get some context for each one...1) Smile2) Make a friend3) Answer the phone with a smile4) Say please and thank you5) Acknowledge new customers - Even when you're busy6) Never ask "Can I help you?"7) Uncover your customer's ultimate buying motive8) Probe (Ask Questions)9) Listen10) Know your product and your competition To get a copy of Kirt's book or to buy it for your team, go to smilethebook.com To learn how to build a comprehensive Customer Strategy for your business, grab a copy of my FREE download called the 5 Things Your Customer Strategy Must Have.

In this episode of the Customer Strategy Podcast, I'm talking with Sri Ganesan, Founder, and CEO of Rocketlane.Rocketlane helps businesses accelerate customer time to value by delivering a transparent, consistent, and delightful customer onboarding journey every single time.Sri and I had an interesting conversation about what it was like to have his previous business acquired by a large company and then continue to build for 4.5 years!Sri and his team then set to work on removing the challenges and complexities they saw when it came to onboarding customers.Spreadsheets, Trello, Slack, internal docs, external docs, etc are all used in some form or fashion today when onboarding customers but they create siloed workstreams. This not only affects the people running the project but also affects the customer experience.Rocketlane brings everything together in one tightly knit experience. Documents, tasks, communication, notifications, etc. all live in one place.To learn more about Rocketlane, visit Rocketlane.com To learn how to build a comprehensive Customer Strategy for your business, grab a copy of my FREE download called the 5 Things Your Customer Strategy Must Have.

In this episode of the Customer Strategy Podcast, I'm talking with Gil Baumgarten, founder, and CEO of Segment Wealth Management.Gil built a billion-dollar advisory firm in less than 10 years on the back of incredible customer engagement strategies.Gil and I get into the specific strategies that have enabled his success. Here are some of the strategies we discuss:- Advocacy - What it means to do everything for your client even if it's not in your best interest...- How to do personalization at scale...- How to use an old-school technique to break through and make a connection with a client...- And much, much, more...To learn more about Gil and Segment, visit SegmentWM.com and GilBaumgarten.com. To learn how to build a comprehensive Customer Strategy for your business, grab a copy of my FREE download called the 5 Things Your Customer Strategy Must Have.

In this episode of the Customer Strategy Podcast, I'm talking with Howard Tiersky, author of the Wall Street Journal Bestseller: Winning Digital Customers, The Antidote To Irrelevance.Howard is one of the top 10 Digital Transformation Influencers in the world and has worked with brands like Verizon, NBC, Nutrisystem, Viacom, Avis, Universal Studios, JPMC, Facebook, Spotify, and Amazon just to name a few.Howard and I had a great discussion about his 5-Step Methodology that any company can follow to better understand their customers and deliver an incredible experience.In Howard's words, "Winning with customers is about doing a better job of solving their pain and giving them more delight than your competitors."If you want to find out how to do this, click play to listen to our conversation.You can grab a copy of Howard's book along with the first chapter for free at WinningDigitalCustomers.com.

In this episode of the Customer Strategy Podcast, I'm talking with Wayne McCulloch who is the author of the brand new book: The 7 Pillars of Customer Success.This book is a blueprint for how to build a world-class Customer Success organization and should be read by every Customer Success professional.Wayne does a brilliant job of distilling his vast Customer Success experience from working at companies like IBM, Salesforce, Looker, and his current role running all Customer Success for Google Cloud.To get a copy of The 7 Pillars of Customer Success, visit CSPillars.com Resources mentioned:Download the 5 Things Your Customer Strategy Must HaveWhat to do next:Click here to become a guest on the show

In this episode of the Customer Strategy Podcast, I'm talking with Donna Weber who is a customer onboarding expert and the author of the book Onboarding Matters: How Successful Companies Transform New Customers Into Loyal Champions.In our discussion, we talked about the need for an orchestrated customer onboarding, the 6 stages of an orchestrated onboarding, and the principles behind an incredible customer onboarding.Donna shared some practical tips, tricks, and strategies to help you improve your customer onboarding to turn those new customers into loyal champions.To get a copy of Donna's book, go to Donnaweber.com/bookResources mentioned:Download the 5 Things Your Customer Strategy Must HaveWhat to do next:Click here to become a guest on the show

In this episode of the Customer Strategy Podcast, I'm talking with Dana Soza who is the founder and CEO of customereverything.com.Dana has just released an e-book called How To Land & Succeed in a Customer Success Career: The Success Playbook for Your Employment Journey.Dana used Customer Success frameworks from me and other thought leaders to create a playbook to guide your CS career. She covers everything from how to get a job to how to advance your career to the C-level.I thought this was a very unique approach and we got into all of the details in this episode.If you'd like to get a FREE copy of Dana's ebook, simply go to https:customereverything.com/ebookResources mentioned:Download the 5 Things Your Customer Strategy Must HaveWhat to do next:Click here to become a guest on the showApply to work with Nils

In this episode of the Customer Strategy Podcast, I'm talking with Matt Barnett, Founder, and CEO of Bonjoro.Bonjoro is a personalized video messaging service that can be used at specific points in your sales or customer success processes to engage in a meaningful way with your customers. The user is presented with a notification that something happened like a new customer joined and will be prompted to record a short 30-second video welcoming them.We got into an interesting conversation around how engaging your customers in a unique and personalized way at specific points is a critical component of your Customer Strategy. Ultimately, engagement with your customers is all about getting them to take the next step.Listen in to find out how you can do this in a highly-personalized way.Resources mentioned:Download the 5 Things Your Customer Strategy Must HaveWhat to do next:Click here to become a guest on the showApply to work with Nils

In this episode of the Customer Strategy Podcast, I'm talking with Ruben Rabago, Chief Customer Officer (CCO) at Intellum, and Greg Rose, Chief Experience Officer (CXO) at Intellum.Intellum is combining Customer Experience and Education to help large brands and fast-moving companies achieve the business outcomes that really matter.Ruben just joined Intellum as CCO a week before recording this episode so we got to dig into what the short-term and long-term goals look like for a new CCO joining an organization.If you have ever been curious about the role of a CCO, you are going to enjoy this episode.We discussed a number of leadership topics and if you would like to learn more, pick up a copy of Nils' book 30 Day Leadership Playbook: Your Guide To Becoming The Leader You Have Always Wanted To Be.

In this episode of the Customer Strategy Podcast, I'm talking with Shreesha Ramdas who is the co-founder of Strikedeck, which is now a Medallia company and serves as Senior Vice President and General Manager.Shreesha and I talk about how companies can better achieve retention, expansion, and advocacy in their customer base by utilizing customer health scoring. Whether you are just beginning your journey with a customer health score, or you want to know how to take your customer health score to the next level, you'll find some great direction in this episode. Resources mentioned:Download the 5 Things Your Customer Strategy Must HaveWhat to do next:Click here to become a guest on the showApply to work with Nils

In this episode of the Customer Strategy Podcast, I'm talking with Alex Katzman, the chief growth officer at Enervee.Alex and I talk about how to develop a joint roadmap that's aligned between the customer and Enervee in a way that allows them to deliver value as soon as possible and help Enervee grow down the line. Enervee provides Choice Engines that empower consumers to choose the energy-saving consumer products and clean vehicles they aspire to. We transform energy efficiency and electric vehicle programs by using the Enervee Score to save customers on their energy costs without any incentives required. Enervee partners with innovative electric and gas utilities reaching over 28 million households in the US.Resources mentioned:Download the 5 Things Your Customer Strategy Must HaveWhat to do next:Click here to become a guest on the showApply to work with Nils

In this episode of the Customer Strategy Podcast, I'm talking with Sara Bochino, Director of Customer Success at Integrate. Sarah and I got into an interesting conversation around how to build an executive sponsorship program that not only scales but also gets executives involved early in the process. With everything going on in the world today, you can never have too many touchpoints with your customers, especially at an executive level.Resources mentioned:Download the 5 Things Your Customer Strategy Must HaveWhat to do next:Click here to become a guest on the showApply to work with Nils

In this episode of the Customer Strategy Podcast, I'm talking with Jennifer Chiang. Jennifer is the Director of Customer success at Yup.Jennifer and I got into an interesting conversation about the challenges she was facing when onboarding new employees in the company.Up to now, Jennifer has been able to spend a lot of time with every new hire infusing empathy and understanding for Yup's customers.However, the company is growing and she is no longer able to spend time 1:1 with every new hire.Ultimately, we came up with a great solution to scale what Jennifer was doing to deliver the same result and give her time back.Resources mentioned:Download the 5 Things Your Customer Strategy Must HaveWhat to do next:Click here to become a guest on the showApply to work with Nils

In this episode of the Customer Strategy Podcast, I'm talking with Maranda Dziekonski, the VP of Customer Success and People Operations for Swiftly. With everything that is going on right now with the global pandemic, Miranda and I talked about the challenges and some strategies for handling engagement and renewal conversations with their customers. Neither Maranda nor I have a crystal ball and know how to handle this perfectly because frankly, this situation has never happened before.But it was really helpful to talk through some of the situations, permutations and ways that the team at Swiftly is engaging with their clients.Resources mentioned:Download the Customer Strategy Method Blueprint.What to do next:Click here to become a guest on the showApply to work with Nils

In this episode of the Customer Strategy Podcast, I'm talking with Jake Jorgovan. Jake is the founder and CEO of Content Allies, a firm that specializes in helping industry experts and consultants become thought leaders through content marketing.Jake and I got into an interesting conversation around how to drive the urgency and engagement of his clients. Some of his clients sign up for a service and then don’t engage. When this happens, the Content Allies team has to chase them down and try to prod them in order to engage. Jake has made the work that needs to be done by the client as easy as possible but there's a key element missing. That is what we dig into and what's going to make a real difference.We get really hands-on in this conversation and I’m happy to report that after we recorded this episode, Jake put everything we discussed into action. The changes he made have had a big impact on customer relationships and their ability to deliver a result as quickly as possible.Resources mentioned:Download the Customer Strategy Method Blueprint.What to do next:Click here to become a guest on the showApply to work with Nils

Resources mentioned:Download the Customer Strategy Method Blueprint.What to do next:Click here to become a guest on the showApply to work with Nils

In this episode of the Customer Strategy Podcast, I'm talking with Kelley Turner, the VP of customer success at Upland Kapost.Kelly and I got into a really interesting conversation around how to handle the turnover at the executive level of their accounts, and the reality is that at the leadership level of their clients, turnover is a constant challenge.So instead of reacting when an executive sponsor leaves, we looked at a situation where we anticipate such departures, and prepare for it in advance.Resources mentioned:Download the Customer Strategy Method Blueprint.What to do next:Click here to become a guest on the showApply to work with me

In this episode of the Customer Strategy Podcast, I talk with Stephanie Stapleton, the VP of customer success at Udemy for Business.In this episode, we talk about adoption and specifically how the Udemy for Business CS team can engage their clients in a meaningful way throughout the entire customer lifecycle.We also cover how to make a small psychological shift that can have a significant impact on the actual accomplishment, growth, and development of an account.Udemy is the world's largest online learning marketplace, with over 40 million students accessing 130,000 courses every single day.Their business division, Udemy for Business, packages the highest-rated courses from their public marketplace and sells them as a subscription to companies who want to support the development of their employees.Subscribers of Udemy for Business have access to over 3,500 courses on everything from coding to management to Customer Success, including my most recent course, Customer Success Manager Elite, which is also available on the Udemy platform for those who don't have a subscription.Resources mentioned:Download the Customer Strategy Method Blueprint.What to do next:Click here to become a guest on the showApply to work with Nils

In this episode of the Customer Strategy Podcast, I talk with Brett Andersen, the VP of Client Success at Degreed, a learning experience platform on a mission to 'Jailbreak the Degree’.Brett and his team of client success managers at Degreed are on a mission to inspire transformative learning practices in companies around the world.Brett and I got into an interesting conversation around how to use a data-driven approach to calculate workloads and targets for CSMs.Brett has used different models in the past, and for 2020, Brett is looking for the most effective way to accurately account for how much revenue and how many accounts a CSM should own at Degreed. As we discussed what is ultimately most important to Degreed, we focused on the potential revenue component, digging into it and understanding what this could look like and what it could potentially lead to in the future.As always, I think you're going to enjoy this episode.What we covered on the show...What Degreed is all about and how the client success function works in the company.What makes Degreed different from an LMS.How to use a data-driven approach to calculate workloads and targets for CSMs.Brett’s takeaways from our conversation.Resources mentioned:Download the Customer Strategy Method Blueprint.What to do next:Click here to become a guest on the showApply to work with Nils

This episode of the Customer Strategy Podcast is a special one.I'm the guest on the show and I'm interviewed by my good friend Jake Jorgovan, who is the founder and CEO of a company called Content Allies. Jake and his team at Content Allies turn consultants into thought leaders through content marketing. So if you're an expert in your field, but never have time to turn your expertise into marketing content, then content allies can help. In this episode, we talk about...-  What I was doing before starting my own consulting firm...- What I’ve learned since that time...- What it's like to venture out on your own and do something that nobody else has done... - How I deal with the uncertainties and challenges of working for yourself...- and much, much more...Resources mentioned:Download the Customer Strategy Method Blueprint.What to do next:Click here to become a guest on the showApply to work with Nils

In this episode of the Customer Strategy Podcast, I talk with Joe Schmitt, the vice president of customer success at Upkeep Maintenance Management.Joe and I got into a really interesting conversation, as they have two primary tiers that their customers are on - a high-touch model and a low-touch model.We took a look at what the gold standard is that they deliver at the high-touch level, and then applied that to the low-touch level and came up with some really interesting takeaways. Joe also committed to building a strategy for that low-touch model going forward. Upkeep Maintenance Management is a fast-growing Los Angeles based startup, focusing on providing a world-class SaaS solution to the hard-working, blue-collar workers across the world.As always, I really think you're going to enjoy this episode.Resources mentioned:Download the Customer Strategy Method Blueprint.What to do next:Click here to become a guest on the showApply to work with Nils

In this episode of the Customer Strategy Podcast, I talk with my good friend Gray Skinner, the CEO of MasterBorn Software.MasterBorn Software is a development outsourcing firm based in Poland that serves customers in Silicon Valley. Gray and I first met several years ago when he moved to Bend, Oregon, to become a professional triathlete. He ended up becoming the CEO of a startup called Droplr, which he sold and is now the CEO of MasterBorn Software. The number one question on Gray's mind when it comes to his customer strategy is scale. The team at Masterborn is currently made up of 15 to 20 people, and he's looking to grow that to 50 or even 100 in the next six to 12 months, as there's a tremendous demand for the service that they provide. On this episode, we talked a lot about using the “fresh start” in the customer strategy method framework, as a way to take what Gray knows in his head and is doing a really good job of with his clients, but is not scalable nor systematized, broke that down and came up with the most important pieces that they need to focus on, in something called a client brief.I think you're going to find the topic interesting, and Gray is just a fascinating individual, incredibly accomplished professional triathlete, 2-time CEO, and just a wonderful friend. I really think you're going to enjoy this episode.What we talk aboutWhy and how he sold Droplr.About MasterBorn Software and the kinds of clients they serve.The single biggest customer strategy challenge at MasterBorn Software.Things they could do down the line that would help alleviate bottlenecks in the company.Resources mentioned:Download the Customer Strategy Method Blueprint.What to do next:Click here to become a guest on the showApply to work with Nils

In this episode of the Customer Strategy Podcast, I talk with Magnus Hillestad, the CEO & co-founder of Sanity.io.Sanity is a platform for structured content. It comes with an open-source editing environment called Sanity Studio that you can customize with JavaScript and a real-time hosted data store.They're essentially a developer tool that enables developers to help their organizations deal with content in a better way.We got into a really interesting conversation around the role of customer success inside a development-focused organization that has a “bottoms up” model.In other words, they currently sell their tools to developers, while also building a community of thousands of developers, and are trying to figure out the real role that customer success is going to play.Magnus as the CEO is pondering these questions, looking at how to make the most effective use out of the customer success function in order to serve the needs of his customers and ultimately that of his company.I really think you're going to enjoy this episode.Resources mentioned:Download the Customer Strategy Method Blueprint.What to do next:Click here to become a guest on the showApply to work with Nils

In this episode of the Customer Strategy Podcast, I talk with Coleen Bachi, the Customer Success Lead at Hotjar.Coleen and I had a fascinating conversation around prioritization. Hotjar operates in a one-to-many world, and there are so many different programs and areas that Coleen and her colleagues can focus on. However, she wasn't sure where the biggest bang for their buck would come from and how they should plan for 2020. So we dug into Hotjar’s customer strategy, diagnosed what they are currently doing, and recommended areas they could focus on that would make the most impact in the future. We got to a great place at the end, where Coleen had a clear idea of what to do next and felt confident about what she was going to do moving forward. I think you're going to enjoy this episode. Resources mentioned:Download the Customer Strategy Method Blueprint.What to do next:Click here to become a guest on the showApply to work with Nils

In this episode of the Customer Strategy Podcast, I'm talking with Angela Carmack, Director of Customer Success at Journeyfront.Journeyfront uses hiring data and machine learning to accurately predict candidate performance and retention. They offer a predictive hiring platform that helps teams make better hiring decisions through easily collecting, tracking, and analyzing hiring data. What we talk about- The appropriate level and cadence to engage with larger enterprise type clients.- How to use scalable customer education in their marketing, while adding a bit of personal touch.- How she can comfortably approach existing customers and change the direction of engagement she has with them.Resources mentioned:Download the Customer Strategy Method Blueprint.What to do next:Click here to become a guest on the showApply to work with Nils

In this episode of the Customer Strategy Podcast, I'm talking with John Bosch, Director of customer success at HqO.John and I get into a lot of really interesting topics because what he's dealing with is a B2B2C environment with his customers. And oftentimes, there are multiple companies involved with one individual customer. What we talk about- Where HqO could focus their attention on.- What programs they need to put in place.- How they could serve their customers better.- How to forecast risk when there are so many different parties involved.- The QBR process and how to take things back up to a strategic level.HqO is a commercial real estate technology company that delivers an award-winning platform and mobile app, connecting tenant employees to their communities in and around their building and empowering them with technology to control their workday. What's really interesting about HqO is that they have a big hand in the changes that are happening in commercial real estate. ​Resources mentioned:Download the Customer Strategy Method Blueprint.What to do next:Click here to become a guest on the showApply to work with Nils

In this episode of the Customer Strategy Podcast, I talk about what customer strategy is and why it’s important to have one for your business.Deep down, we all want to be led. We want to have a prescriptive experience from an expert. We want someone who knows more about their functional area than we do, to tell us what we need to do that will get us where we ultimately want to go. But the reality is that the vast majority of businesses are failing to do this when it comes to working with their customers, and this ultimately leads to customer churn.What I talk about- What Customer Success strategy is and why you need one for your business.- What the Customer Strategy Method is.- The goal of the Customer Strategy podcast.- How to become a guest on the show and much, much more.Resources mentioned:Download the Customer Strategy Method Blueprint.What to do next:Click here to become a guest on the showApply to work with Nils