The Customer Success Podcast

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The Customer Success Podcast aims to uncover the stories, perspectives, and best practices around the leading Customer Success programs. Hosted by Allison Pickens(Chief Customer Officer at Gainsight), she shares those stories alongside an all-star roster


    • Oct 28, 2020 LATEST EPISODE
    • infrequent NEW EPISODES
    • 28m AVG DURATION
    • 54 EPISODES


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    Latest episodes from The Customer Success Podcast

    Learning from Churn and how CSMs can become better investigative journalists

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 28, 2020 23:13


    Welcome to The Gainsight Gamechanger Podcast, a space where we recognize and celebrate people who change the game of customer success and product experience for their companies, customers, teammates, and partners. Losing customers to churn is painful, we can't deny that, but it is key for businesses to make the most out of these situations and learn from their customers' experiences in order to evolve and better serve others. In today's episode, we're joined by Natasha Narayan, CEO and Co-Founder of IcebergIQ, to chat about the hidden value inside businesses and customers' worst nightmare: churns. When customers decide to leave, it's for good, and CSM professionals must learn to properly handle these situations. Listen to this episode to learn how to extract the best feedback from your customers for your own improvement, and how to prevent a future churn with the adequate interview in the first place. In this industry, it all comes down to your communication and listening skills, if you want to work on them even further, this episode is definitely for you. Hosted by Adam Joseph, The Gamechanger Podcast is a show brought to you by Gainsight. For more information about all of our episodes, please visit https://www.gainsight.com/podcasts. This show is produced and edited by StudioPod. If you want more details on how to fully record and produce your podcast with our services, you can reach us at http://studiopodsf.com, send us an email at info@studiopodsf.com or contact us through our social media channels as @studiopodsf. StudioPod also offers an AirBnB Experience, where you can learn how to podcast; to learn more or to book one of our amazing courses, go to https://studiopodsf.com/courses.

    Why Win/Loss Analysis is Essential for Customer Success with Natasha Narayan (CEO, IcebergIQ)

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 17, 2020 34:08


    In this episode, Ruben Rabago(Chief Strategist, Gainsight) sits down with Natasha Narayan(CEO, IcebergIQ) to examine and discuss why Win/Loss Analysis is essential for customer success-driven organizations, why she co-founded IcebergIQ, and more.

    Onboarding Employees? Start with Customer Success. Featuring Jo Massie( VP OF CS, Slido)

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 7, 2019 36:43


    In this episode, Ruben Rabago(Chief Strategist, Gainsight) sits down with Jo Massie(VP of Customer Success, Slido) to discuss how Customer Success is at the center of every employee's onboarding, managing global teams, and more.

    Driving Systematic Success with Peter Armaly (Sr. Director, CS Business Advisory Services, Oracle)

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 18, 2019 38:41


    In this episode, Allison Pickens (COO, Gainsight) sits down with Peter Armaly (Senior Director of Customer Success Business Advisory Services, Oracle) to discuss how Oracle is using advisory services both externally and internally to drive success, how his team approaches CS organization, and more.

    The Power of Language in Customer Relationships with Yamini Rangan (CCO, Dropbox)

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 11, 2019 27:46


    In this episode, Allison Pickens(COO, Gainsight) sits down with Yamini Rangan (CCO, Dropbox) to discuss why the terms are so important within the customer relationship, how to breakdown silos between teams, and more.

    How Oracle Leads their Customer Success team with Catherine Blackmore (GVP of CS, Oracle)

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 22, 2019 40:37


    In this episode, Ruben Rabago (Chief Strategist, Pulse Programs) sits down with Catherine Blackmore (Global Vice President of Customer Success, Oracle) to discuss how Oracle's customer success team operates, how to incentivize your customer success team, and what Oracle is doing to increase diversity within their recruiting pipeline.

    Accountability-driven Success with Stefanie Caldwell (NarrativeScience) & Matt Davis (AlphaHQ)

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 15, 2019 33:42


    In this episode, Brian Brannon (Marketing Program Manager, Gainsight)sits down with Stefanie Caldwell (VP of CS, NarrativeScience) and Matt Davis (Head of Revenue, AlphaHQ) to discuss why accountability is crucial for success, the importance of discovery for a CSM, and more.

    How To Create A Diverse Customer Success Team With Carine Roman

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 1, 2019 31:13


    In this episode, Allison Pickens (COO, Gainsight) sits down with Carine Roman (Global Head of Customer Success, Linkedin Talent Solutions) to discuss how to create a diverse customer success team, why the process is important in gathering a diverse recruiting pipeline, and more.

    Trends in Customer Success Team Culture with David Sakamoto (VP of Customer Success, GitLabs)

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 23, 2019 27:45


    In this episode, Allison Pickens (COO, Gainsight) sits down with David Sakamoto (VP of Customer Success at GitLabs) to discuss a recent study he completed on cultural trends within CSM teams, what it means for the industry, and how to develop a leading CS culture.

    How KeepTruckin Manages their CS program while adding a thousand customers a week with John Gleeson

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 23, 2019 31:26


    In this episode, Allison Pickens (COO, Gainsight) sits down with John Gleeson (Head of Customer Success - Upmarket, KeepTruckin) to discuss how KeepTruckin has managed to effectively scale their customer success team while adding a thousand customers a week, and more.

    Efficiency and Effectiveness of the Customer Success Manager with Peter Armaly

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 9, 2019 33:26


    In this episode, Allison Pickens (COO, Gainsight) sits down with Peter Armaly (Senior Director of Customer Success Business Advisory Services, Oracle) to discuss his experience in helping to build Oracle's customer success team, how CSMs can become more efficient, and how to drive effectiveness through process.

    What the Board Expects in a Customer Success Team with Kristina Shen (Partner, Bessemer)

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 8, 2019 36:50


    In this episode, Allison Pickens (COO, Gainsight) sits down with Kristina Shen (Partner, Bessemer Venture Partners) to discuss what she's learned about the most successful customer success teams as a board member, what type of performance indicators the board expects from a customer success team, and more.

    How IBM Leads With Customer Success

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 31, 2019 28:40


    In this episode, Courtney Hauser (Senior Global Customer Outcomes Manager, Gainsight) sits down with IBM's Executive Customer Success team including David Sawatzky (Vice President, SaaS & Customer Success, Cognitive Solutions at IBM), Beth Ann Vaughn (Vice President, Worldwide Sales Leader, IBM), and Sanders Slavens (VP - Customer Success, Professional Services and Product Support, IBM)to discuss how IBM is leading with Customer Success, how they manage their customer success teams, and more. David, Sanders and Beth Ann's views are their own and don't necessarily represent IBM's positions, strategies or opinions.

    Unboxing The Role of Chief Customer Officer with Jon Herstein (CCO, Box)

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 22, 2019 42:28


    In this episode, Allison Pickens (COO, Gainsight) sits down with Jon Herstein (Chief Customer Officer, Box) to discuss his rise from Head of Customer Success to Chief Customer Officer, how Box approaches customer success, presenting customer success metrics to the board, and more.

    How to Create an Effective Journey Map for Your Customers with Jane Bossert (CSM, IBM)

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 22, 2019 21:36


    In this episode, Brian Brannon (Corporate Marketing Manager, Gainsight) sits down with Jane Bossert (CSM, IBM) to discuss how her team is streamlining time-to-value by creating data-backed journey maps, enabling customers with self-assisting content, and more.

    How Smartsheet Closes the Gap Between Product and Customer Success with Lada Gorlenko

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 28, 2019 22:42


    In this episode, Brian Brannon (Corporate Marketing Manager, Gainsight) sits down with Lada Gorlenko (Director of Experience Research, Smartsheet) to discuss how Smartsheet is developing new programs to help product teams and customer success teams work closer than ever.

    Enabling Your Customers To Achieve Their Desired Outcomes with Jessica Bobbitt

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 16, 2019 20:41


    In this episode, Brian Brannon (Corporate Marketing Manager, Gainsight) sits down with Jessica Bobbitt(Senior Program Manager, Customer Success at Blackbaud) to discuss how Blackbaud is developing cutting edge content programs to help enable their customers to achieve their desired outcomes.

    How to Prevent Burnout as a Customer Success Manager with Rachel Jennings (CSM, Domo)

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 9, 2019 32:10


    In this episode, Brian Brannon (Corporate Marketing Manager, Gainsight) sits down with Rachel Jennings (Customer Success Manager, Domo) to discuss her journey as a customer success manager, how to prevent burn out as a CSM, when to tell you customers "no", and more.

    How to Use Product Coaches to Increase Outcome Realization with Corey Pudhorodsky

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 30, 2018 24:35


    In this episode, Brian Brannon (Corporate Marketing Manager, Gainsight) sits down with Corey Pudhorodsky (Director, Customer Success, Khoros) to discuss how Khoros is using Product Coaches to learn side-by-side with their customers, lower time-to-improvement with product teams, and more.

    The One Thing Every Board Member Thinks About with Skip Glass

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 29, 2018 25:20


    In this episode, Brian Brannon (Corporate Marketing Manager, Gainsight)sits down with investor Skip Glass (Managing Director, Union Square Advisors) to discuss why he believes customer success is the key for companies looking to produce next-generation revenue growth, what he looks for when advising companies on customer-centricity, and more. Disclaimer: All views expressed by Skip Glass are his own and should not be taken as investment advice.

    Bootstrapping Your Customer Success Team with TaskRay's Mike Davis (VP of Sales and CS)

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 14, 2018 25:05


    In this episode, Brian Brannon (Corporate Marketing Manager, Gainsight) sits down with Mike Davis (VP of Sales and CS, TaskRay) to discuss their playbook for bootstrapping your customer success team, specializing existing functions within your team, and more!

    Focusing on Product Experience to Drive Customer Success

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 12, 2018 37:45


    In this episode, Allison Pickens (Chief Customer Officer, Gainsight) sits down with Mickey Alon, Chief Executive Officer, and Founder at Aptrinsic to discuss why a product experience focused approach to customer success is necessary to future-proof your endeavors

    Why Developing Your Customer Success Team Is Essential For Success with Jamey Jeff

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 16, 2018 41:23


    In this episode, Allison Pickens (Chief Customer Officer, Gainsight) sits down with Jamey Jeff, Managing Director of Customer Success at Coastal Cloud to discuss why creating a career development program may be the single most important ingredient to attracting and retaining the best customer success teams.

    How Slack Delivers Exceptional Outcomes at Scale w/ Christina Kosmowski (Head of Global CS, Slack)

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 30, 2018 44:50


    In this episode, Allison Pickens (Chief Customer Officer, Gainsight) sits down with Christina Kosmowski, Global Head of Customer Success & Services at Slack to discuss how Slack has effectively scaled it's customer success team throughout it's hyper-growth, why tech-touch is essential for every mature customer success organization and more.

    Driving Innovation through Customer Success w/ Ray Mitra (Global Head of CS, GE Digital)

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 23, 2018 25:12


    In this episode, Allison Pickens (Chief Customer Officer, Gainsight) sits down with Ray Mitra, Global Head of Customer Success & Services at GEDigital to discuss how he and his team are driving innovation through cutting-edge customer success programs, why finding purpose outside of work is crucial to driving customer outcomes and more.

    How to Accurately Compensate your Customer Success Team with Krista Anderson (CCO, Okta)

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 16, 2018 27:24


    In this episode, Allison Pickens (Chief Customer Officer, Gainsight) sits down with Krista Anderson, Chief Customer Officer at Okta to discuss how she's approaching compensating her customer success team, key KPI's for bonus plans and more.

    Adopting a Prescriptive Approach to Customer Success w/ Patrick Lawler (Dir. of CS, Azuqua)

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 9, 2018 28:46


    In this episode, Allison Pickens (Chief Customer Officer, Gainsight) sits down with Patrick Lawler, Director of Customer Success and Services at Azuqua to discuss how Azuqua is adopting a prescriptive approach to customer success and what is means for their customer base.

    How to Create Valuable Customer Insights at Scale with Alaa Badr (VP of Cloud Services, VMware)

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 2, 2018 40:52


    In this episode, Allison Pickens (Chief Customer Officer, Gainsight) sits down with Alaa Badr, VP of Cloud Services at VMware to discuss how his team is creating valuable customer insights across their portfolio, managing an at-scale customer success team and more.

    The Key to Engaging Advocates with Howard Tarnoff (Managing Director, Customer Success LLC)

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 24, 2018 24:17


    In this episode, Allison Pickens (Chief Customer Officer, Gainsight) sits down with Howard Tarnoff, (Managing Director, Customer Success LLC) to discuss how advocacy is changing the way companies grow revenue and get new customers.

    Why Customer Success Drives Company Success with Dennis Fois (CEO, NVM)

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 18, 2018 35:07


    In this episode, Allison Pickens (Chief Customer Officer, Gainsight) sits down with Dennis Fois, Chief Executive Officer at NewVoiceMedia to discuss how NVM is driving customer outcomes through company success and more.

    Crossing the Chasm with Customer Success (feat. Geoffrey Moore & Nick Mehta)

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 13, 2018 26:55


    In this episode, Nick Mehta (CEO, Gainsight) sits down with acclaimed Author and Futurist Geoffrey Moore to discuss the transformative nature of customer success and

    How to Find a Job in Customer Success with Emilia D'Anzica

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 21, 2018 36:00


    In this episode, Allison Pickens (Chief Customer Officer, Gainsight) sits down with Emilia D'Anzica (Vice President of Customer Success, Qordoba) to discuss how find your next job in customer success, what questions to ask a potential employer and how to establish trust with your new team early on.

    How To Create a Post-sales Value Engine with Somit Goyal (Part Two)

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 15, 2018 22:46


    In this episode, Allison Pickens (Chief Customer Officer, Gainsight) sits down with Somit Goyal (Global Head of Customer Success at Microsoft Dynamics) to discuss how to deliver customer success in the partner channel, how to create a post-sales value engine and more!

    How to Create a Post-sales Value Engine with Somit Goyal (Part One)

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 11, 2018 21:20


    In this episode, Allison Pickens (Chief Customer Officer, Gainsight) sits down with Somit Goyal (Global Head of Customer Success at Microsoft Dynamics) to discuss how to deliver customer success in the partner channel, how to create a post-sales value engine and more!

    Incentivizing And Inspiring Your Customer Success Organization with Dean Robison

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 20, 2017 39:13


    In this episode, Allison Pickens (Chief Customer Officer, Gainsight) sits down with Dean Robison, Senior Vice President of Customer Success at ServiceNow to discuss his approach to organizing his customer success department, how to incentivize top-tier customer success managers and more.

    How to Deliver Customer Success in the Partner Channel with Wayne Berkowitz

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 4, 2017 22:27


    In this episode, Allison Pickens (Chief Customer Officer, Gainsight) sits down with Wayne Berkowitz (Vice President of Partner Success at Continuum Managed Services) to discuss how to deliver customer success in the partner channel, what matters when setting up a Voice of the Customer program and more

    How to Develop and Deploy Top-tier Customer Surveys with Evan Klein (President, Satrix Solutions)

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 26, 2017 24:25


    In this episode, Allison Pickens (Chief Customer Officer, Gainsight)sits down with Evan Klein (Founder & President at Satrix Solutions) to discuss what customer organizations should watch for when setting up customer surveys, how to eliminate gaming and more.

    How to Create Advocates Through Personal Delight with Chris O'Neill (CEO, Evernote)

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 20, 2017 31:04


    In this episode, Allison Pickens (Chief Customer Officer, Gainsight) sits down with Chris O'Neill, Chief Executive Officer at Evernote to discuss how Evernote has been going above and beyond in delighting customers, how they've created a personal relationship between end-user and their product and more

    How to Approach Charging for Customer Success with Dhaval Moogimane (Partner, WMG)

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 13, 2017 33:59


    In this episode, Allison Pickens (Chief Customer Officer, Gainsight) sits down with Dhaval Moogimane (Partner at Waterstone Management Group) to discuss how you should approach charging for customer success, his take on customer success maturity and more.

    How to Create Exceptional Customer Experiences with Dayton Semerjian

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 8, 2017 32:03


    In this episode, Allison Pickens (Chief Customer Officer, Gainsight)sits down with Dayton Semerjian (GM, Global Customer Success, CA Technologies) to discuss how CA Technologies is driving exceptional outcomes through their CX2020 program, optimized NPS surveys and more

    Delivering Care-Driven Outcomes in Healthcare and Beyond with Lynn Nemiccolo

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 1, 2017 25:33


    In this episode, Allison Pickens (Chief Customer Officer, Gainsight)sits down with Lynn Nemiccolo (SVP of Customer Success, MCG Health) to discuss what Lynn looks for in outcome-driven CSMs, How MCG drives success based on end-user experiences and how to track customer health and deliver success in the ever-evolving world of healthcare.

    Why Transparency is a Customer Success Imperative with Simon Tucker

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 18, 2017 21:48


    In this episode, Allison Pickens (Chief Customer Officer, Gainsight) sits down with Simon Tucker (CCO, Anaplan) discuss his journey to the Chief Customer office, why transparency should be a guiding principle for every customer success organization and how to drive success in the partner channel.

    Successfully Conducting a Customer-Centric Company with Jennifer Tejada

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 4, 2017 24:19


    In this episode, Allison Pickens (Chief Customer Officer, Gainsight) sits down with Jennifer Tejada (CEO, PagerDuty) to discuss how she leads her customer-centric company like an orchestra, how to have effective meetings with customers and more.

    Why Customer Success Is Crucial For CX And Voice Of The Customer Initiatives

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 28, 2017 21:50


    In this episode, Allison Pickens (Chief Customer Officer, Gainsight) sits down with Helen Yu (CCO, Sprinklr) to discuss what VoC programs are and why Customer Success is crucial in building them, how Customer Success plays into Customer Experience and the future of Customer Success.

    The Future of Support and Services with Leyla Seka

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 20, 2017 26:39


    In this episode, Allison Pickens (Chief Customer Officer, Gainsight) sits down with Leyla Seka (EVP of AppExchange, Salesforce) to discuss Leyla's top lessons from her time at Desk.com, why Customer Success will continue to revolutionize the support function and how artificial intelligence will forever change the landscape of support.

    How Customer Success and Sales Should Work Together with Greg Stivers

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 7, 2017 20:29


    In this episode, Allison Pickens (Chief Customer Officer, Gainsight) sits down with Greg Stivers ( Sr. Vice President of Sales, Avalara) to discuss how Customer Success drives revenue for public and private companies, why sales and customer success should be best friends, and how to create cohesion between departments.

    Why Customer Success Is an Inevitable Outcome for Every Business with Roger Lee

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 30, 2017 23:57


    In this episode, Allison Pickens (Chief Customer Officer, Gainsight)sits down with Roger Lee (General Partner, Battery Ventures) to discuss why Customer Success is the inevitable outcome for every business within the subscription economy, trends he sees across his portfolio and why investors consider winning customer success strategies.

    How to Accelerate your Customer Success Team's Time-to-value with Catherine Blackmore

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 23, 2017 27:02


    In this episode, Allison Pickens (Chief Customer Officer, Gainsight)sits down with Catherine Blackmore to discuss the key tactics she uses to accelerate her team's growth, gain executive buy-in, and deliver successful outcomes at scale.

    Why Customer Training is Essential for Customer Success with Rob Castaneda

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 16, 2017 21:02


    In this episode, Allison Pickens (Chief Customer Officer, Gainsight) sits down with Rob Castaneda (CEO, ServiceRocket)to discuss the importance of customer training in customer success initiatives, why you need to implement a cross-functional training program and how cutting-edge technologies are transforming the future of customer training.

    How to Scale your Customer Success Operations Team with Andy Mowat

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 2, 2017 18:20


    In this episode, Allison Pickens (Chief Customer Officer, Gainsight)sits down with Andy Mowat (Head of Growth, Culture Amp)to discuss his experiences in scaling Customer Success operations, insights from challenges his team faced, and why growing your customer success operations team is essential for future growth.

    Delivering Enterprise-level Customer Success with Jennifer Dearman (VP, Global CS, Kronos)

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 26, 2017 15:23


    In this episode, Allison Pickens(Chief Customer Officer, Gainsight)sits down with Jennifer Dearman (Vice President of Global Customer Success, Kronos Incorporated) to understand the mechanics of delivering enterprise-level customer success. Jennifer has run several global customer success teams at enterprise organizations with wild success during her career. Prior to her position at Kronos, Jennifer served as Director of Customer Experience and Engagement at RedHat, where she led the development and implementation of RedHat's Global Customer Success organization.

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