2025 Creative Customer Success Leaders Award

Customer Success professionals continue to be at the forefront of innovation, driving bold ideas and measurable impact in the tech industry. Their ability to unite cross-departmental efforts while pushing customers toward success is unmatched. This year, creativity took center stage with groundbreaking Customer Programs—innovative approaches that delivered real business impact in 2024. These programs transformed challenges into opportunities, driving engagement, scalability, and measurable results that set a new standard for excellence. New this year, we’re proud to introduce the Experts’ Choice category. A panel of industry leaders selected standout stories from the top 20 nominees, recognizing creative, impactful strategies that made a tangible difference for their businesses. These stories earned the prestigious Experts’ Pick badge, a testament to their exceptional innovation and success. We at EverAfter proudly present the "The 2025 Creative Customer Success Leaders Award", celebrating 25 individuals whose bold strategies are shaping the future of Customer Success. Compiled through community votes and inspiring stories, these are the leaders to watch in 2025, listed in no particular order.

⭐️ Tara Myles | Zendesk

75% increase in ongoing stakeholder engagement driving growth & retention

Tara Myles is a recognized leader in Customer Success, celebrated for pioneering innovative strategies and driving measurable outcomes for top-tier clients, including Fortune 500 companies. With a proven history of building and scaling customer success teams at trailblazing organizations like Transpoco and Local Motion, Tara has implemented transformative solutions to maximize customer value and retention. At Zendesk, she has excelled in managing high-value accounts, fostering C-level relationships, and delivering ROI-focused strategies for their largest customers.

The challenge

Tara identified a critical need to drive value and engagement with global executives and stakeholders, particularly within large enterprise customers, including Fortune 500 companies. These organizations often present challenges due to their complex organizational structures, which can result in:

• Siloed operations that limit cross-regional collaboration.
• A diminished perception of value in certain areas.
• Increased risks to retention and revenue growth.

To address these challenges, Tara recognized the importance of engaging all stakeholders effectively to build champions, foster advocacy, and unlock opportunities. This required navigating the inherent complexity of large enterprises, where disengaged regions and fragmented interactions often hinder efforts to align on shared goals and drive value realization.

The creative solution

To address these challenges, Tara designed an innovative engagement strategy that integrated executive business reviews with ancillary value-driven engagements into a week-long onsite event aligned with the customer’s global meetings.

This strategy provided a unified platform to engage stakeholders effectively and deliver actionable insights. The agenda included:

1. Kickoff: Aligning on goals and setting the agenda for the week.
2. Executive Strategy Session: A customer executive outlined core business goals and priorities.
3. Journey Mapping: Identified the ideal end-user experience.
4. Global Regional Readout: Each region shared business reviews to promote collaboration and best practices.
5. End-User Shadowing: Observing end-users to uncover optimization opportunities.
6. Risk Mitigation Session (Optional): Focused on addressing specific risks.
7. Executive Business Review: A retrospective on partnership success and future planning.
8. Executive Vision & Product Roadmap: Highlighted upcoming product improvements and upsell opportunities.
9. Strategic Recommendations Readout: Delivered actionable insights for process and technology enhancements.
10. Commercial Conversations (Optional): Addressed renewals and upsell opportunities.

This consolidated engagement approach also facilitated informal networking opportunities, strengthening relationships and gathering valuable insights.

The Outcomes

Tara’s pilot program, launched in September 2024, delivered remarkable results:

1. Enhanced relationships:
   • 75% increase in engagement from key stakeholders.
   • 15% increase in CSAT scores.
2. Strategic alignment: Established an 18-month strategic and technical roadmap.‍
3. Revenue protection:
   • Shifted the customer from an RFP process to a standard renewal.
   • Secured global deployment of a previously at-risk add-on.‍
4. ‍Revenue expansion:
   • Increased seat count and global adoption of the pilot add-on.
   • Expanded into new business units, replacing a competitor’s product.
   • Drove adoption of the latest offerings from the product suite.

Tara’s program is now being adapted for smaller, at-risk customers to extend its impact and foster long-term success across the entire customer base.

⭐️ Sangita Ray | Ui Path

Turning Churn Risk into 17% ARR Growth with Co-Innovation

Sangita Ray is a dynamic customer success leader with over 15 years of experience driving transformative outcomes across diverse industries, including Banking, Insurance, Energy and Utilities, Hi-Tech, CPG, and Retail, in organizations of all sizes. With an engineering foundation and an MBA, she combines technical expertise with strategic acumen to design and implement innovative, value-driven programs that foster growth, strengthen partnerships, and deliver measurable success. Passionate advocate for elevating women in tech and nurturing the next generation of talent, Sangita is committed to redefining customer success as a catalyst for business transformation and lasting impact. Her exceptional contributions have been recognized with the prestigious Expert Choice Badge, celebrating her leadership and influence in the field of Customer Success.

The challenge

In 2024, Sangita was tasked with revitalizing a relationship with one of UiPath’s largest and most innovative accounts. Despite their status as a leading-edge organization with substantial investment and advanced technology adoption, the account was at high churn risk due to:

1. Dissatisfaction and unmet expectations, vocalized openly by the customer.
2. Lack of executive sponsorship and alignment, leaving the relationship primarily IT-driven and jeopardizing renewal prospects.
3. Refusal to engage with prior Customer Success Managers, creating a challenging dynamic.

This situation required a comprehensive, high-impact approach to rebuild trust, elevate satisfaction, and unlock growth potential.‍

The creative solution

Sangita crafted a High-Touch, White-Glove Customer Success Program, shifting the relationship toward collaboration and co-innovation. This approach empowered the customer to influence and customize UiPath’s product to meet their specific needs.

Key components of the program:

1. Co-Innovation with Product SMEs: Conducted regular sessions with product subject matter experts (SMEs), enabling the customer to discuss objectives, pain points, and potential solutions.‍
2. Industry Insights from Thought Leaders: מProvided the customer with insights on industry trends and competitor strategies, ensuring their leadership had a forward-looking, strategic vision.‍
3. Tailored Technical and Professional Services: Elevated support with consistent, high-quality technical and professional services, maximizing the value delivered to the customer.
   

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The outcome

The program’s collaborative approach delivered transformative results, including:

1. Product Activation: Achieved a 100% activation ratio, a rare milestone across UiPath’s customer base.
2. Product Adoption: Realized a 10X surge in adoption rates, driven by the customer’s direct involvement in feature development.
3. Customer Advocacy: The customer became a vocal advocate, presenting their success at industry events and inspiring others to partner with UiPath.
4. Professional Services Engagement: Saw a 250% increase in professional services investment, further advancing the customer’s automation goals.
5. Annual Recurring Revenue: Delivered an 18% growth in ARR, eliminating churn risk and reinforcing the financial impact of the program.
6. Executive Engagement: Strengthened relationships with the customer’s leadership, securing active business sponsorship and strategic alignment.

Broader impact: This program became a blueprint for high-touch engagements across UiPath’s high-value accounts. By providing access to product SMEs, enabling co-innovation, and tailoring solutions, UiPath established a replicable model for:

• Building trust and collaboration.
• Boosting product adoption and advocacy.
• Driving sustainable growth and customer satisfaction.

Sangita’s innovative, customer-centric strategy transformed a high-risk account into a thriving, collaborative partner while offering UiPath invaluable insights to refine its offerings for the broader customer base.

⭐️ Pablo Kern | Spryker  

 Reducing Time to Value by 30% and Doubling Customer Satisfaction with EverAfter’s Customer Interface

Pablo Kern is the Senior Director of Customer Success at Spryker, a leading digital commerce platform recently recognized as a Gartner Magic Quadrant Leader. At Spryker, Pablo has redefined Customer Success with a human-centric approach, emphasizing trust, adaptability, and innovation. He has introduced industry-specific teams, integrated renewals into CS, and built scalable solutions like the CS-Hub to enhance both customer and team success. He values meaningful customer engagements over rigid processes, focusing on the broader organizational and personal goals of customers. Pablo's leadership philosophy prioritizes empowering his team with clarity, ownership, and tools to navigate the wide-ranging responsibilities of modern Customer Success, from technology adoption to driving growth.

The challenge

As a composable and sophisticated digital commerce solution, Spryker offers a vast array of resources, platforms, and documentation. While these assets provide value, they often overwhelmed customers, leaving them unsure of the best path forward.

The primary challenge was to:

1. Deliver the right information, tools, and data to customers at the right stage in their journey.
2. Fulfill critical preconditions, such as go-live checklists and transformation maps, to ensure smooth transitions at pivotal stages like go-live and expansion.
3. Build a system that prioritized customer success by aligning resources to secure retention and create measurable outcomes.

The creative solution

Pablo led the development of a comprehensive Customer Success Hub, a one-stop portal designed to guide customers seamlessly through their journey.

Key components of the solution:

1. Customer-centric analysis and test group launches
   • Conducted interviews to understand customer expectations of a technology provider.
   • Launched a test group to refine and professionalize the program before rolling it out more broadly.
2. Defined roles and dedicated resources
   • Partnered with EverAfter to build the process infrastructure.
   • Assigned a dedicated role within the customer success team to focus 100% on managing and enhancing this initiative.
3. Phased implementation
   • Started with the existing customer base to optimize adoption.
   • Gradually expanded to onboarding, QBRs, renewal programs, and partner success platforms.
   • Connected the partner success platform with the customer success hub for seamless integration.
4. Comprehensive Customer Success Hub
   • Consolidated all critical resources (Academy, Documentation, Community, Product Feedback, Roadmap, Meetings, etc.) in one place.
   • Added checklists to track customer development and education levels.

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The outcome

The success hub transformed the customer experience at Spryker, delivering measurable results:

1. Higher adoption rates: Customers consistently returned to the platform, driving engagement and retention.‍
2. Improved efficiency: The customer success team saved significant time by reducing manual effort on minor tasks, allowing them to focus on high-value activities.‍
3. Accelerated time-to-value: Achieved a 30% reduction in time-to-value by providing customers with precise, actionable resources.‍
4. Increased satisfaction: Customer satisfaction ratings improved by 100%, with feedback such as, “This is something I’ve never seen before” and “You guide me very well in the process.”‍
5. Scalable impact: Built a scalable foundation for future initiatives, including a dedicated renewal program and a globally integrated partner success platform.

Looking ahead

Pablo’s leadership in creating the Customer Success Hub has not only optimized Spryker’s ability to guide customers effectively but also demonstrated how a customer-focused approach can improve satisfaction, retention, and efficiency. This initiative serves as a testament to the power of proactive, well-designed customer success strategies.

⭐️ Ezra Zimbler | LinkedIn  

Achieving 1

Ezra, a seasoned professional with a decade of experience in LinkedIn's Customer Success department, has witnessed the evolution of Customer Success firsthand. His active involvement with the Customer Success Network has allowed him to exchange insights with other leaders and innovators, continuously driving innovation for his team and customers. This dedication and creativity have earned him the Most Creative CS Leader award for an impressive two consecutive years, along with the prestigious Silver Badge recognizing his consistent excellence and impact!

The challenge

As organizations navigate a rapidly evolving talent landscape in today’s macroeconomic climate, Ezra’s team recognized an opportunity to leverage LinkedIn Talent Insights (LTI) to showcase the talent marketplace through actionable data. The challenge was to:

1. Help customers strategically use talent insights to address key business goals.
2. Adapt to the evolving needs of Talent Acquisition (TA) and Learning & Development (L&D) teams.
3. Deliver value that would strengthen customer relationships and prevent churn.

The creative solution

Ezra and the team launched a new consultative offering, collaborating with customers to provide strategic data analysis and tailored solutions aligned with their business objectives.

Key elements of the offering:

1. Strategic data mapping
   • Mapped essential skills for priority hires to align with organizational needs.
   • Created detailed hiring plans for internal and external candidates, leveraging LinkedIn data.
2. Bridging organizational gaps
   • Focused on strengthening collaboration between Talent Acquisition and Learning & Development teams.
   • Provided actionable insights to help customers identify and close skill gaps effectively.
3. Consultative engagement: Partnered with customers to deliver customized data analysis, ensuring solutions were aligned with specific business goals.

The outcome

The pilot program, launched with one of Ezra’s largest and most strategic EMEA customers, delivered exceptional results:

1. Positive customer feedback
   • Achieved a 100% satisfaction rate in follow-up surveys, with all participants finding the engagement highly valuable.
   • Unlocked new senior stakeholder relationships, expanding the strategic impact of the offering.
2. Retention impact
   • Prevented churn for one high-risk account through the consultative engagement.
   • Maintained a zero churn rate among customers who participated in the program.
3. Scalability and adoption: Expanded the offering to all regional teams after the success of the initial pilot.

⭐️ Kirsten DiChiappari | vCom  

Micro Business Reviews Revitalize Engagement, Breed Curiosity and Create Opportunity

Kirsten DiChiappari is VP of Customer Success at vCom Solutions, an IT lifecycle management company.  Kirsten's goal to create an exemplary customer experience launched multiple significant initiatives for her team to tackle, including an expanded customer community, increased product education, the addition of CS Ops, scaled customer success and improved customer communication. Aside from hiring and cultivating the very best people, Kirsten is a firm believer in finding and leveraging the most appropriate tools and technology to enable her team's goals.  

The challenge

Kirsten sought a way to consistently engage all customers, especially those who might not have the time or bandwidth to attend traditional business reviews. The challenge was multi-faceted:

• Customer stakeholders were often overwhelmed and stretched thin in their own roles.
• Many lacked the time and attention for lengthy engagements but still sought actionable insights and solutions.

Kirsten needed to ensure that customers received relevant, personalized updates in a way that respected their time and enhanced their experience with vCom.

The creative solution

To address this challenge, Kirsten partnered with CastAgent.AI to provide customers with easily digestible, high-value digital content tailored to their unique needs.

The highlight of this initiative is the monthly program health report, a digital presentation delivered directly to customers’ primary contacts. This report:

• Summarizes the customer’s activity and efforts over the previous month or quarter.
• Offers updates and personalized recommendations based on their partnership with vCom.
• Takes less than five minutes to review, making it both effective and time-efficient.

To further enhance the experience, customers can use an ‘Ask Me Anything’ feature to interact during the presentation. Questions the AI-powered digital CSM cannot resolve are automatically escalated to the CS team for follow-up, ensuring every need is addressed.

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The outcome

Kirsten’s solution has been well-received by customers, generating impressive engagement and results:

1. Stronger engagement
   • Customers appreciate the on-demand format, which aligns with their schedules and priorities.
   • Engagement with vCom account teams has improved, supported by insights from the monthly reviews.
2. Impressive adoption rate's
   • Campaign open rates range from 50-87%, with 11-60% of recipients viewing the content.
   • Among those who viewed, 60-94% completed the presentation.
3. Increased customer interested
   • 9% of customers clicked on a recommendation, exploring untapped products and services.
   • 8% provided feedback, showcasing high levels of interactivity and satisfaction.
4. Revenue and retention impact
   • The insights provided have indirectly generated new revenue opportunities.
   • The program has boosted customer engagement by 26%, strengthening relationships and retention.

Why it works: The program addresses the core challenges of today’s busy customers by delivering insights that are:

• Relevant to their unique partnership with vCom.
• Quick and accessible, respecting their limited time.
• Interactive, maintaining the personal touch of traditional reviews.

Looking ahead

Kirsten’s innovative approach to customer engagement highlights vCom’s commitment to supporting its customers with actionable insights, thoughtful communication, and tailored solutions. By meeting customers where they are, this program not only strengthens relationships but also underscores vCom’s dedication to driving mutual success.

⭐️ Sara Arecco | Antavo  

Scaling Success: Zero Delays, Proactive Excellence, and 100% Adoption

Sara is a Customer Success leader with a proven track record in driving customer retention and advocacy. With over six years of experience, she blends creativity and strategy to implement scalable programs. Known for her human-first approach, Sara excels at fostering authentic relationships and creating innovative solutions. A passionate advocate for collaboration, she believes in empowering teams and customers alike to achieve mutual growth and success

The challenge

As a fast-growing company, Sara’s team aimed to enhance customer sentiment and generate more advocates in 2024. However, balancing the company value of "action over perfection" with meaningful progress posed a challenge. They needed a scalable framework to:

1. Collect and analyze customer feedback effectively.
2. Identify and address pain points to improve the customer experience.
3. Foster advocacy by showcasing improvement and aligning customer success with company success.

The creative solution

Sara’s team developed an Actionable Retention Plan, centered on increasing the Voice of the Customer (VoC) and turning feedback into impactful initiatives.

Key elements of the plan:

1. Increased feedback collection
   • Added more touchpoints for customer feedback, openly sharing the company’s goal of improving through customer input.
   • Emphasized that customer success was directly tied to the company’s success.
2. Voice of the Customer program
   • Implemented a VoC survey completed by Antavo team members after each customer interaction.
   • Analyzed VoC data manually by the Customer Experience Manager, with plans to integrate AI for scalability.
   • Produced monthly, quarterly, and yearly reports to evaluate CX from a broader perspective beyond traditional metrics.
3. Strategic initiatives from feedback
   • Introduced key improvements based on customer input, including:
     • Enhanced documentation for product information.
     • Mini courses for implementing specific use cases.
     • New tools to better showcase the value of the platform.

The outcome

The Actionable Retention Plan delivered significant improvements, driving customer satisfaction and advocacy:

1. Improved customer sentiment
   • Achieved a 23% YoY increase in customer sentiment, rising from an average of 20% in 2023 to 43% in 2024.
   • Sentiment was measured through VoC data combined with CSAT, CES, NPS, and ticket-specific CSAT scores.
2. Increased customer advocacy
   • 70% increase in award submissions authorized by Antavo customers (17 in 2024 vs. 10 in 2023).
   • 20% increase in customer case studies published, showcasing loyalty program success stories.
3. Retained and attracted customers: Advocacy metrics strengthened retention and attracted new business by highlighting award-winning, best-in-class loyalty programs.

Looking ahead

Sara’s framework has not only boosted customer sentiment and advocacy but also set the foundation for scalable feedback analysis with AI. By combining actionable feedback, data-driven improvements, and a focus on customer success, her team has created a strategy that drives loyalty, satisfaction, and long-term growth. Her exceptional efforts have earned her the prestigious Silver Badge, recognizing her remarkable achievements and innovation in the Customer Success field.

⭐️ Julie Fox | CIN7

Growth at Scale: Launching a Strategic Upsell Program for 8k Customers

Julie Fox is a seasoned, award-winning leader in Customer Success with a passion for building meaningful connections and driving impactful results. As Global Director of Customer Success at CIN7, she combines strategic vision with hands-on expertise to ensure customer-centric growth and retention. Julie's exceptional contributions to the field have earned her the prestigious Silver Badge, recognizing her achievements and dedication to advancing the industry. She is also an advocate for fostering innovation, mentoring talent, and promoting best practices in Customer Success.

The challenge

When Julie joined the team at Cin7, upsell efforts were largely organic, relying primarily on customers to add users or connections independently. The company lacked a structured upsell strategy or an Account Management framework. With over 8,000 customers and only one Account Manager, the challenge was to create a scalable program to drive sustainable growth.

The solution

Julie and her team implemented a scaled upsell strategy, introducing innovative, high-impact approaches to maximize engagement and revenue growth:

1. Group demos and office hours: Hosted five global group demos weekly, accommodating diverse customer needs and product sets.
2. In-app walkthroughs and purchasing: Enabled self-service upsells within the platform, empowering customers to act immediately.
3. Automated welcome journeys: Delivered resources and guides automatically, setting customers up for success from day one.
4. Partner for Success program: Collaborated with Partners to provide added value for customers and additional growth opportunities, ensuring mutual benefit.
5. Automated closed-lost nurture campaigns: Re-engaged previous customers with personalized, targeted messaging.
6. Trigger-based nurtures: Delivered relevant offers and messaging based on customer behavior or key milestones, creating timely touchpoints.

The outcome

Julie’s scaled upsell strategy produced exceptional results:

1. High engagement in demo: Over 100 customers attended the first group demos during the program’s first week, showcasing strong interest and interaction.‍
2. Self-service upsell success: Customers actively purchased upsells through in-app guides, automated videos, and email nurtures, demonstrating the effectiveness of the self-service model.‍
3. Exceeding goals: Achieved 198% of the upsell goal within the program’s first month.‍
4. Future growth trajectory: Positioned the program to achieve 20% growth in total upsell revenue by 2025.

Looking ahead

By leveraging automation, personalized experiences, and scalable touchpoints, Julie transformed upsell efforts into a streamlined and impactful growth engine. This strategy not only delivered immediate success but also laid a robust foundation for continued growth, ensuring customers’ success aligned seamlessly with the company’s expansion goals.

⭐️ Addie Batson | CXAppv

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Scaling Made Simple: 90% CSAT and Global Wins with HY-LAP

Addie Batson has been immersed in Customer Success for over eight years, beginning their journey at Uber as a Customer Operations Coordinator after graduating university. Their career has spanned pivotal roles at high-growth Unicorns like Clearco and Lane Technologies, along with consulting engagements at Bird Scooters and Shopify. Most recently, Addie served as an Enterprise Customer Success Manager at CXApp (CXAI), partnering with global brands like PepsiCo, DoorDash, Pinterest, and HPE to drive adoption, retention, and business growth. As a thought leader, Addie designed North America’s first accredited Customer Success Certification program at York University in Toronto, solidifying their impact on the industry’s professional development. Addie's exceptional contributions and dedication to the field have been recognized with the prestigious Expert Choice Badge, further highlighting their influence and leadership in Customer Success.

The challenge

Addie faced a monumental task: launching CXApp, a workplace experience platform from CXAI, as a white-label solution for some of the most prominent global brands—PepsiCo, Visa, DoorDash, and HPE. The stakes were high:

• Multinational brands required scalable, brand-aligned strategies that resonated with their unique identities.
• Adoption was complex, spanning different regions, cultures, and employee needs.
• The timeline was tight, with A platinum partner, who is one of the largest Food and Beverage distributors in the world giving just 100 days to deliver a seamless, impactful launch.

The goal was to create a solution that not only launched the app but embedded it into employees’ daily routines across global regions.

The creative solution

Addie developed the Hybrid Launch Activation Package (HY-LAP), a comprehensive, scalable, and creative strategy that turned app rollouts into engaging, high-impact adoption stories.

Key components of HY-LAP:

1. Custom-Branded Launch Collateral
   • Designed quick guides, posters, video tutorials, and digital assets tailored to each brand’s voice and style.
   • Ensured CXApp looked and felt like a natural extension of each client’s operations.
2. Smart Landing Pages
   • Created immersive, app-specific landing pages accessible via QR codes.
   • Delivered intuitive, branded experiences to guide employees through the app.
3. In-App Engagement Content
   • Developed post-launch announcements, feature tips, and how-to guides to sustain momentum.
   • Focused on making the app indispensable for daily tasks.
4. Regional Scalability
   • Adapted materials for global deployment, ensuring relevance to local cultures and needs.
   • Rolled out tailored versions for regions like AMER, EMEA, and APAC.
5. On-Site Activations with a Twist
   • Hosted live demos, created engaging booth setups, and even distributed cookies with QR codes for app downloads.

The outcome

The Hybrid Launch Activation Package delivered exceptional results, setting new standards for app rollouts:

1. Adoption Success:
   • For the1st client who adopted HY-LAP, who happens to be one of the largest Food & Beverage distributors in the world, over 50% of HQ employees downloaded the app in the first three weeks, with regional adoption reaching 74%+ by the end of the first month.
   • Thousands of desk bookings and service requests were made within weeks, showing immediate, active use.
2. Global Scalability:
   • Successfully launched across +10 countries in six months, a timeline originally slated for a year.
   • Each launch felt personalized and on-brand, regardless of region.
3. Engagement Excellence:
   • Features like room bookings and live maps were immediate hits.
   • Seamlessly retired their old employee space reservation system, with no disruptions.
4. Revenue Impact:
   • Generated over five figures in new revenue, delivering an incredible 25,000% ROI.
   • Established HY-LAP as a repeatable offering for other platinum clients like Visa and HPE.
5. Customer Delight:
   • Achieved a 90% CSAT score, with glowing feedback from the initial HY-LAP client and others.
   • The Client even invited Addie (and his mom!) to their HQ for their anniversary celebrations, showcasing her designs across the campus.

Looking ahead

Addie’s HY-LAP turned a daunting challenge into a global success story. By combining creativity, strategy, and execution, she created a scalable model for high-impact app launches that delivered real results—proving that even the most complex challenges can be met with innovative solutions. 🎶 This is how HY-LAP became a global wow! 🎶

⭐️ Rachel Provan | Provan Success  

The Focus Formula Program: Achieving 90% Strategic Completion with 1 Hour a Day

Rachel Provan is a top 25 CS Influencer and Coach specializing in nurturing the next generation of customer success leaders. With over 15 years of experience in CS Leadership, Rachel has built and scaled CS departments across diverse markets, from seed-stage startups to Fortune 500 companies. Her passion for fusing psychology with business strategy has empowered CS leaders to create revenue-driving customer success divisions. Rachel’s unique approach integrates proven strategic frameworks with psychological principles, fostering positive outcomes for CS leaders, their organizations, and their customers. Her outstanding contributions to the field have earned her the prestigious Silver Badge, recognizing her 2 times excellence and innovation in Customer Success.

The challenge

Rachel observed that most Customer Success teams operated in reactive mode, constantly firefighting customer issues. This left little time to focus on strategy, which was the only sustainable way to break the cycle. Without proactive initiatives, teams struggled with:

• Improving efficiency.
• Strengthening customer health.
• Driving meaningful, long-term outcomes.

The challenge was to carve out time and create a framework that allowed teams to prioritize strategic work without disrupting their day-to-day operations.

The creative solution

Rachel developed The Focus Formula, a structured plan to help CS leaders and their teams dedicate one hour per day to strategic work.

Key components of The Focus Formula:

1. Strategic time blocking
   • Teams reserved one hour daily for proactive work, ensuring uninterrupted focus.
   • CS leaders focused on one strategic initiative per quarter, such as customer journey mapping, onboarding new tools, or creating digital journeys.
2. Data-driven insights for CSMs: CSMs used their strategic hour to analyze their books of business, identifying patterns, trends, and insights from customer feedback and financial data.‍
3. AI-powered tools: CS leaders were equipped with AI tools to break large initiatives into manageable, daily tasks, making complex projects more achievable.‍
4. Mindset training: Included mindset work to help CS professionals resist the urge to drop or reschedule their strategic time in response to ad hoc requests.

The outcome

The Focus Formula delivered transformative results:

1. Strategic initiative completion: 90% of CS leaders who adopted the framework completed a major strategic initiative within three months.‍
2. Improved efficiency: Teams became more proactive, reducing the time spent in reactive firefighting.‍
3. Enhanced customer health: Initiatives such as journey mapping and feedback analysis directly improved customer experiences and outcomes.‍
4. Cultural shift: The mindset work helped teams prioritize strategic time, embedding it as a non-negotiable part of their day.

Looking ahead

Rachel’s Focus Formula proved that dedicating just one hour a day to strategic work could transform CS teams from reactive to proactive. This simple yet powerful framework empowers teams to drive long-term results, ensuring efficiency, customer health, and a clear path to sustainable success.There are a few more details beyond just blocking off an hour. If you’d like to learn them and try the focus formula yourself, you can grab it free below:

⭐️ Stijn Smet | Whale  

Driving Revenue Contribution from 33% to 56% with AI-Driven Customer Success Expansion

Stijn Smet, or Stino, has been in the Customer Success game for over five years. Known for mixing his vibrant personality into his work, he provides a professional yet deeply personal approach to his customers, team, and life in general. Stijn strives to be the ultimate cheerleader in every aspect of life and work, all while maintaining a top-notch knowledge base about the Real Housewives. His dedication and creativity have been recognized with the Silver Badge, awarded for winning the Most Creative CS Leader award two times. Additionally, Stijn has earned the Expert Choice Badge, a testament to his exceptional expertise and contributions to the Customer Success field.

The challenge 

Stijn identified a need to transform the traditional Customer Success (CS) approach, which often focused on support and retention, into a core revenue-driving engine. The team faced several challenges:

1. Leveraging product usage data effectively to identify expansion opportunities.
2. Predicting churn risks and mitigating them before they impacted customer relationships.
3. Bridging silos between CS, Sales, and Product teams to create a cohesive strategy.
4. Establishing CS as a primary contributor to revenue growth, surpassing Sales.

The creative solution

Stijn developed a cutting-edge Customer Success Program powered by AI and real-time data analytics. This program turned product metrics into actionable insights, creating a scalable system for growth and retention.

Key components of the solution:

1. Data-Driven Expansion
   • Real-time analysis of product usage patterns and feature adoption.
   • Automated alerts for upsell opportunities based on customer behavior and engagement signals.
2. AI-Powered Churn Prediction
   • Implemented AI algorithms to monitor health scores, engagement frequency, and usage trends.
   • Shifted from reactive to proactive customer success with personalized interventions targeting at-risk accounts.
3. Seamless Integration Across Teams
   • Shared CS insights with Sales for expansion-ready accounts and with Product for feedback on feature enhancements.
   • Created a unified feedback loop to align cross-functional efforts toward customer value and growth.
4. Expansion-First Mindset
   • Focused on identifying accounts with high expansion potential early.
   • Empowered CS teams to drive upsell and cross-sell opportunities, turning customer interactions into revenue growth triggers.
5. Personalized Customer Journeys
   • Tailored support based on customer-specific data, ensuring proactive engagement and deeper loyalty.
   • Delivered a personalized experience that aligned product value with customer needs.

The outcome

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Stijn’s AI-driven strategy delivered exceptional results:

1. Revenue growth from Customer Success: Increased CS revenue contribution from 33% to 56%, surpassing Sales as the company’s primary revenue generator.‍
2. Expansion revenue growth: Achieved a 47% increase in upsell and cross-sell opportunities, driven by AI-backed insights.‍
3. Enhanced customer loyalty: Proactive and personalized engagement significantly improved retention and deepened customer relationships.‍
4. Cross-functional collaboration: Tight integration between CS, Sales, and Product teams maximized customer value and streamlined business expansion efforts.

Why it stands out

• AI at the core: Moves CS from reactive support to proactive, predictive revenue growth.
• Revenue-focused CS: Demonstrates that CS can not only retain customers but also drive significant expansion.
• Proven results: Surpassing Sales in revenue contribution highlights the effectiveness of the program.

Looking ahead

Stijn’s strategy exemplifies the power of leveraging product usage data as an expansion machine. By integrating AI and fostering cross-team collaboration, his program positions Customer Success as a leading force in driving business growth and customer loyalty. This innovative approach sets a new standard for modern CS strategies.

⭐️ Marcus Euzebio | Logicalis  

Achieving a 20% Increase in Renewals with a Hybrid Tech-Touch Model

Marcus Euzébio has 20 years of experience in the technology sector and is a recognized leader in Customer Success. Known for his strategic vision and innovative thinking, he guided Logicalis to win the Cisco Partner of the Year CX award in Brazil for three consecutive years (2022, 2023, and 2024), aligning client goals with measurable outcomes. In 2024, Marcus was named one of the Most Creative CS Leaders by EverAfter, an honor he has now received twice, earning him the prestigious Silver Badge. His exceptional contributions were further recognized with the Expert Choice Badge, highlighting his industry expertise and innovative approach. Marcus also actively contributes to the global Customer Success community through published articles and engagement with networks in Europe and Silicon Valley, driving industry benchmarks and thought leadership.

The challenge

Marcus and his team faced a common challenge in Customer Success: their 1:1 high-touch model, tailored for large accounts, was effective but limited their ability to scale support for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). To achieve sustainable growth, the team needed to:

1. Scale support to serve more customers effectively.
2. Maintain the human touch that set their service apart.
3. Address the needs of SMB clients while driving growth opportunities.

The creative solution

Marcus spearheaded the development of a hybrid support model that combined personalized automation with proactive human intervention to scale support without compromising the quality of engagement. The strategy was built on three key pillars:

1. Personalized Automation
   • Implemented a tagging system to segment customers by their stage in the journey.
   • Used automatic triggers to deliver targeted, relevant communications.
   • Ensured each interaction felt personalized, reinforcing the company’s customer-centric approach.
2. Proactive CSM Intervention
   • Identified critical points in the customer journey where personal engagement was most impactful.
   • Empowered CSMs to intervene during these key stages, such as renewals and expansions.
   • Delivered hands-on guidance to customers during pivotal moments.
3. Education and Value-Driven Communication
   • Developed webinars and educational content tailored to customer usage and goals.
   • Automated the distribution of these materials, while personalizing recommendations for each customer.
   • Strengthened customer engagement by consistently showcasing the value of products and services.

The outcome

The hybrid approach delivered impressive results, enabling the team to scale their support while maintaining exceptional service quality:

1. Increased renewal rates: Achieved a 20% increase in contract renewals, reflecting stronger alignment with customer needs.‍
2. Expansion of mid-market accounts: Converted 35% of SMB clients into mid-market accounts through targeted communication and proactive support.‍
3. Higher lead generation by CSMs: Improved CSM effectiveness in identifying growth opportunities, leading to a 25% increase in lead generation among smaller clients.‍
4. Improved customer satisfaction scores (CSAT): Increased CSAT scores by 15%, as customers felt more supported and valued throughout their journey.‍
5. Reduction in churn: Reduced churn by 10% due to the enhanced engagement and seamless support experience.

Marcus’s innovative approach successfully balanced automation and human touch, ensuring that every customer, regardless of size, received appropriate support to achieve their goals. This strategy not only drove business growth but also set a new standard for excellence in scalable customer service.

⭐️ Boaz Gordon | Centrical  

Maximizing QBR Effectiveness: 90% CSM Buy-In with AI-Enhanced, Dynamic GPT Tools

Boaz has been working for almost 20 years in the tech industry, during which he has been instrumental in helping global Customer Success organizations achieve scale, improve operational processes, and maintain efficiency while focusing on quality and value. Building solutions for enterprise and Fortune 500 companies worldwide, Boaz has enabled these organizations to maximize their business results and attain a higher and faster rate of return on their investments. In recognition of his exceptional contributions, Boaz has been awarded the Silver Badge for winning the Most Creative CS Leader award twice. Additionally, he has been a lecturer at Ben Gurion University for the past decade, sharing his expertise and shaping the next generation of leaders in the tech and Customer Success fields.

The challenge

At Centrical, Quarterly Business Reviews (QBRs) play a pivotal role in demonstrating ROI, driving contract expansions, and reinforcing value for large enterprise customers. Boaz and his team faced the challenge of ensuring the substantial time and effort invested in these highly detailed, personalized QBRs consistently delivered impactful outcomes such as:

• Enhanced customer engagement.
• Increased renewals and expansions.
• Strategic alignment with customer goals.

The need arose to support Customer Success Managers (CSMs) in refining their QBR presentations to make them more impactful and tailored to customers’ transformation journeys.

The creative solution

Boaz spearheaded the introduction of a ChatGPT-based solution to elevate the QBR process, focusing on scalability and immediate value. This innovative strategy involved three key components:

1. Hands-on workshops to foster adoption
   • Designed and delivered a two-part workshop to introduce generative AI in Customer Success.
   • Focused on building CSM understanding of ChatGPT’s potential, addressing emotions and apprehensions around AI.
   • Engaged teams in hands-on exercises, assigning ChatGPT roles like “executive sponsor,” “experienced CSM,” and “data analyst” to simulate real-world scenarios.
2. Development of dynamic GPTs
   • GPT as Executive Sponsor: Simulated customer executives, offering feedback and questions tailored to the QBR deck. This helped CSMs anticipate objections, refine their messaging, and align with executive priorities.
   • GPT as Experienced CSM: Provided expert advice and probing questions to help align presentations with customer goals and the CSM’s objectives, ensuring confidence in delivery.
3. Integration into QBR preparation
   • Made the GPTs dynamic and adaptable, personalizing insights based on customer profiles and strategic goals.
   • Enabled CSMs to iteratively refine their presentations, making them more aligned with customer needs and business outcomes.

The outcome

Even in the early stages of implementation, the results of this initiative have been promising:

1. Post-workshop feedback:
   • 90% of CSMs reported a deeper understanding of generative AI’s value in enhancing QBRs.
   • CSMs recognized the tools as effective in anticipating executive questions and refining presentations.
2. Improved alignment with customer needs: CSMs reported better alignment of QBR content with customer goals and executive priorities, leading to more focused and relevant discussions.‍
3. Enhanced quality of discussions: QBR meetings became more strategic and tailored, as CSMs were able to address executive concerns proactively.

Looking ahead

Boaz’s AI-driven approach is still in its early stages, but the dynamic GPTs are already proving to be indispensable tools for refining QBRs. As adoption grows, Centrical anticipates gathering quantifiable data on:

• Improved effectiveness of QBRs.
• Stronger customer engagement and alignment.
• Increased contract expansions and renewals.

Boaz’s innovative use of generative AI has set a new standard for scalable, impactful QBRs, empowering Centrical’s CSMs to deliver results-driven presentations and foster deeper customer relationships.

⭐️  Francesca
Barnes | Orealvnc  

Increased Retention and Saving £500K ARR with a Proactive Risk Program

Francesca Barnes has experience in building, scaling and transforming Customer Success organizations in B2B SaaS companies. Over the past half a decade she’s helped companies redefine Customer Success resulting in increased retention, revenue growth and advocacy. She does this by specializing in customer’s use of market-leading SaaS solutions to ensure they achieve their goals while navigating complex data privacy and security challenges.

The challenge

When Francesca stepped into her role as Team Lead, customer retention was unpredictable, leaving revenue at risk and making churn prevention reactive rather than proactive. SaaS customers often face challenges such as technical hurdles, shifting priorities, or difficulty seeing the full value of the product. Francesca sought to create a system to safeguard revenue, nurture relationships, and prevent churn before it became critical.

The creative solution

Francesca developed a dedicated at-risk program to enable her Customer Success Manager (CSM) team to identify risks early, deliver personalized solutions, and re-engage customers with data-driven strategies.

The program included:

• Customer health dashboard: Provided real-time insights into customer engagement and risk factors using predictive analytics.
• Personalized outreach plans: Allowed CSMs to create tailored strategies to address specific customer concerns.
• Bi-weekly at-risk workshops: Facilitated regular collaboration to identify trends, align strategies, and share best practices across the team.
• Executive escalation paths: Created direct escalation channels for critical accounts, ensuring swift action and top-level support when needed.

What made this program unique was its blend of automation and human interaction, combining data-driven insights with personalized touchpoints. The program fostered cross-functional collaboration across teams to deliver a seamless and proactive customer experience.

The outcome

Francesca’s at-risk program delivered remarkable results within its first six months:

• Boosted retention: Achieved an average 98% retention rate across the team’s portfolio.
• Revenue protection: Safeguarded approximately £500,000 in Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) by addressing at-risk accounts early.
• Trust rebuilding and growth: Turned at-risk accounts into success stories, with increased usage and improved customer satisfaction.

Key takeaway

Francesca’s proactive approach to identifying and addressing customer risks showcased the power of synergy between human expertise and technology. By combining predictive analytics, personalized outreach, and collaboration, she not only safeguarded revenue but also strengthened customer trust and engagement.

Looking ahead

Francesca’s innovative at-risk program provides a repeatable framework for success in SaaS. It ensures that customers feel supported, valued, and aligned with their business goals, laying the foundation for sustainable growth and long-term partnerships.

⭐️ Stephanie Workman-Bolden | Discovery Education  

Driving Adoption and Retention with Goal-Aligned Engagement

The challenge

Stephanie’s Partner Success Management (PSM) team at Discovery Education faced the challenge of adapting their customer engagement strategy to emphasize goal-aligned behavior that delivered measurable outcomes aligned with their product value propositions. The team needed to:

1. Align partner engagement with their specific goals and KPIs.
2. Improve user adoption and reduce partner disengagement.
3. Foster collaboration across sales, success, and marketing to create a unified approach.

The creative solution

Stephanie and her leadership team launched a partner segmentation initiative to align partners with the right adoption journey. They developed a multi-prong strategy that included:

1. Partner segmentation and tailored journeys: Classified partners into segments to provide customized adoption pathways.‍
2. Training for PSMs: Designed training sessions and resources to help PSMs lead effective goal-oriented conversations with partners. Equipped PSMs to better understand partner needs and align product adoption strategies with partner-identified KPIs.‍
3. Collaborative cross-functional efforts: Involved sales, success, and marketing teams to ensure shared language, consistency, and improved customer insights.

The outcome

This goal-alignment strategy produced measurable impacts across several key areas:

1. Improved partner engagemenא
   • PSMs focused on goal-aligned activities, reducing partner disengagement.
   • Partners became more engaged in adoption activities that directly supported their goals.
2. Enhanced tool adoption and educational outcomes
   • Partners achieved greater alignment within their internal teams on tool expectations, leading to:
     • Increased instructional time on K12 campuses.
     • Positive feedback from teachers and students.
     • Improved student performance on curricular objectives.
3. Cross-functional alignment and product expansion
   • Shared language across sales, success, and marketing enhanced collaboration and insights into customer trends.
   • Supported product expansion efforts, strengthening partnerships.

Looking ahead

Stephanie’s goal-alignment approach has transformed how PSMs at Discovery Education engage with partners, creating deeper alignment between adoption strategies and partner success. By fostering collaboration across teams and focusing on measurable outcomes, her initiative has set a new standard for improving adoption and retention in the education sector.‍

⭐️ Himanshu Garg | Druva

Achieving 30% Engagement Increase and 84% Renewal Rate with AI-Powered Customer Success Programs in Long-Tail Customer Segment

With 16+ years in IT and 10+years in customer success, I have earned recognition as a two-time Top 100 CS Strategist and was the first in India and Southeast Asia to achieve CCSM Level 5 certification. I specialize in helping organizations tackle complex challenges to elevate customer experiences and showcase measurable ROI and leverage data and actionable insights for better decision-making. My focus is on driving efficiency through process optimization and enhancing customer service. I am dedicated to creating impactful strategies that foster lasting customer relationships and business growth.

The challenge

Managing over 5,000 long-tail customers without dedicated Customer Success Managers (CSMs) was a significant hurdle. Ensuring touchpoints, fostering engagement, and driving renewals posed ongoing challenges for this segment.

The creative solution

To address this, the team implemented a data-driven and scalable engagement model:

1. Customer feedback collection: Conducted NPS surveys across the 5,000+ customer base, focusing on ways to proactively enhance customer engagement.
2. Actionable Insight-driven tool development: Built an in-house tool integrated with Salesforce (SFDC) and Sigma to deliver actionable insights on customer usage and consumption patterns. Keep improvising the tool with every passing quarter’s data, feedback and analysis. 
3. Regular communication with templates: Created reusable deck templates and shared them regularly with customers via email and coordinated marketing campaigns.
4. Mass outreach initiatives: Conducted webinars and sessions showcasing best practices, adoption techniques, and business use cases, demonstrating how other customers successfully utilized the product. Sharing video testimonials, 1 pager case studies with customers in the form of various campaigns. 
5. Gamification: Added a gamified layer to webinars and sessions, encouraging participation through recognition and rewards.

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The outcome

This creative and scalable engagement strategy yielded remarkable results:

1. Increased engagement: Response rates improved by 30%, with participation hitting an all-time high—62% of customers attending webinars and sessions.
2. Higher renewal rates: Achieved an 84% renewal rate for the long-tail segment over the last three quarters.
3. Enhanced adoption and retention: Adoption rates grew by 30%, while retention improved by 10%, thanks to the proactive and data-driven engagement model.

This innovative approach transformed long-tail customer management into a streamlined and effective process, driving growth and fostering stronger customer relationships.

⭐️ Ankit Aggarwal | Moengage  

Driving 7-Figure in ARR with a CSQL-Based Upsell Strategy.

Ankit Aggarwal, a.k.a. The CS Mentor, is a result-oriented Customer Success Ops and Enablement Leader. Transitioning from a technical background to excel in customer success, Ankit is known for his tech-savvy expertise and exceptional passion for driving initiatives within the CS community in India. As the founder of Customer Success India, the largest community of Customer Success Professionals in the country with over 2,500 active members on WhatsApp, Ankit has played a pivotal role in advancing the profession. His outstanding contributions and leadership have earned him the prestigious Expert Choice Badge, recognizing his impact and influence in the global Customer Success field.

The challenge

As Ankit’s Customer Success team matured, they identified the need to transition from solely supporting customers to generating revenue through upsells. Tackling this challenge required building a robust system to:

1. Manage leads originating from multiple sources.
2. Notify CS teams effectively.
3. Track lead progress through various stages.
4. Provide stakeholders with visibility into lead statuses and trends.

With no established framework for these processes, the team had to create an innovative solution from scratch.

The creative solution

Ankit and the team designed a Customer Success Qualified Lead (CSQL) system, leveraging tools like Google Sheets, Zapier, and Gainsight to create an efficient, scalable process.

Key components of the solution:

1. Landing Pages for Capturing Intent
   • Created in-product landing pages to capture customer interest in specific modules.
   • Aggregated customer intent data from landing pages and other sources into a centralized Google Sheet.
2. Data Integration with Zapier
   • Automated the transfer of data from Google Sheets to Gainsight using Zapier, ensuring seamless integration.
   • Set up notifications in Gainsight to alert CSMs and CS leaders about new leads.
3. CSQL System for Lead Management
   • Configured Gainsight to allow CSMs to nurture leads through defined stages, from initial interest to qualification.
   • Enabled CSMs to disqualify leads when necessary, maintaining data integrity.
4. Automated Export for Stakeholder Insights
   • Used S3 exports to automate lead status updates back into Google Sheets.
   • Provided the product team with real-time visibility into which products and features had the highest demand.

The outcome

The CSQL-based upsell strategy delivered remarkable results:

1. Lead generation success: Generated 100+ CSQLs in just one quarter.‍
2. Revenue impact: Added 7-figures in Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) from CS-driven upsells.‍
3. Streamlined processes: Built a scalable lead management system that integrated tools and provided real-time updates for CS teams and stakeholders.‍
4. Improved collaboration: Empowered CS, product, and leadership teams with actionable insights, aligning efforts to meet customer demand.

Looking ahead

Ankit’s innovative system not only transformed Customer Success into a revenue-generating function but also demonstrated the strategic value of CSQLs in driving ARR growth. This scalable and efficient approach offers a blueprint for other teams looking to unlock revenue potential within their existing customer base.

⭐️ Dana Soza | Customer Everything

Driving 2X Revenue Growth and 3X Advocacy with the C.S.A.T. Growth Engine

Meet Dana Soza, EverAfter's 2025 Most Creative Customer Success Leader and the driving force and CEO behind Customer Everything Solutions and the soon-to-debut Customer Everything Agency. With a trophy case of awards including LinkedIn’s Top SaaS Voice, Top 50 Women Leaders in CS, Top 100 CS Strategist and many more, she is a seasoned expert at turning customers into growth engines for SaaS companies. Her unique approach—rooted in innovation, strategy, and her Signature C.S.A.T. Growth-Engine Tool—helps SaaS companies achieve record-breaking results.  Dana’s Mission is clear: empower SaaS companies to achieve exponential growth by leveraging their #1 asset…their customers.

The challenge

Dana observed that many SaaS companies viewed Customer Success as a cost center, primarily focused on post-sales support and retention. This perception created several challenges:

• Difficulty aligning CS efforts with revenue metrics.
• Limited investment in CS teams due to their inability to demonstrate clear, data-driven growth outcomes.
• Hindered ability to position CS as a strategic driver of expansion and investor appeal.

Dana identified the need for a framework that could shift CS from a reactive support function to a growth engine that fuels revenue and attracts investment.

The creative solution

Dana developed the C.S.A.T. Growth Engine Tool, a play on the traditional CSAT (Customer Satisfaction) score, but designed to measure and benchmark a SaaS company’s growth-engine maturity. The tool evaluates CS maturity across four key pillars—Charter, Strategy, Analytics, and Talent (C.S.A.T.)—and five stages of maturity, analyzing 60 data points.

Key features of the C.S.A.T. tool:

1. Benchmarking growth maturity:
   • Provides a comprehensive assessment of CS capabilities and progress.
   • Identifies specific areas for growth and optimization.
2. Aligning CS with strategic business goals: Transforms CS into a revenue driver by linking efforts to measurable outcomes.‍
3. Driving actionable insights: Delivers tailored recommendations to improve CS performance and unlock revenue opportunities.

The outcome

One notable success story highlights the tool’s transformative power:

Case study: High-growth utility SaaS company

1. C.S.A.T. growth-engine indicators:
   • Maturity: Increased 2.5X within 12 months.
   • Revenue: Achieved 2X revenue growth in just six months.
   • Expansion opportunities: Realized a 2X increase in CSQLs (Customer Success Qualified Leads) within one month.
2. Customer Success growth indicators:
   • Customer advocacy: Tripled (3X) the number of CSQA (Customer Success Qualified Advocacy) opportunities within one month.
   • Fast Time-to-Value (FTTV): Improved by 14%.
3. Other growth metrics:
   • Headcount: Increased by 14% in six months.
   • Career growth: Two promotions within six months.
4. Additional value: Attracted significant investor interest, culminating in a growth equity acquisition by a leading private equity firm.

Looking ahead

Dana’s C.S.A.T. Growth Engine Tool has proven to be a game-changer, transforming the perception of Customer Success into a revenue-generating, strategic business function. By helping SaaS companies unlock new revenue opportunities and enhance investor appeal, this framework not only drives growth but also establishes CS as an indispensable component of SaaS success.

⭐️ Guy Rahamim | LinearB

Boosting Retention and Forecasting with Ideal Customer Behavior (ICB) Metrics

Guy Rahamim is a dynamic leader in customer success, passionate about helping R&D teams achieve transformative business outcomes. With over a decade of global experience spanning EMEA, APAC, and LATAM, Guy combines strategic planning, leadership, and technical expertise to drive positive net revenue retention and high customer satisfaction. Currently, Guy is a Senior Manager of Customer Success at LinearB. He is also a founding lead at CS Insider and a member of CS Angel, a syndicate of customer success experts investing in innovative technologies. Guy holds a B.Sc. in Biomedical Sciences and an MBA and is recognized as a 2022 & 2023 Top 100 Customer Success Strategist. He is certified at all four levels of the Certified Customer Success Management Professional program, highlighting his dedication to continuous learning and excellence.

The challenge

Guy and his team faced critical challenges in understanding customer adoption and prioritizing efforts:

• Lack of visibility into customer adoption for desired solutions, making it unclear if habits were forming.
• Difficulty identifying priority accounts, as the churn score was a lagging indicator and needed to be actionable enough.

These gaps made it challenging to proactively address risks and focus on opportunities for retention and growth.

The solution

Guy partnered with the Data Team to replace the traditional churn score with ICB (Ideal Customer Behavior) metrics. Using Tableau dashboards and Slack integration, the team created a system to recognize risks and identify power users proactively.

Key components of the solution:

1. ICB metric development
   • Established benchmarks for Ideal Customer Behavior to track adoption habits and power-user tendencies.
   • Focused on behaviors that aligned with successful outcomes for each solution.

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2. Custom dashboards with Tableau
   • Developed real-time dashboards to visualize customer engagement and adoption patterns.
   • Enabled customer segmentation based on behavior and potential risks.

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3. Integration with Slack for proactive alerts
   • Automated notifications through Slack to flag at-risk accounts and highlight power users.
   • Ensured the team could act quickly to address challenges or capitalize on opportunities.

The outcome

Switching from churn scores to ICB metrics delivered significant results:

1. Increased retention: Proactive engagement based on ICB insights improved retention rates by addressing risks earlier.‍
2. More accurate forecasting: The ICB framework provided better visibility into customer health, allowing for more reliable predictions of renewals and churn.‍
3. Actionable insights: The system empowered the team to prioritize accounts effectively, focusing their efforts where they could make the most significant impact.

Key takeaway

Guy’s approach to replacing churn scores with ICB metrics brought clarity and predictability to customer success. Integrating real-time dashboards and proactive alerts ensured the team avoided risks while fostering stronger customer relationships.

Looking ahead

By implementing ICB metrics, Guy and his team set a foundation for scalable and actionable customer success strategies. The system not only improved retention and forecasting but also positioned the company to drive sustained growth and better customer outcomes.

 ⭐️ Irina Smirnova | AppsFlyer

Boosting Customer Engagement by 30% with EverAfter’s Unified Customer Interface

Irina Smirnova is a Customer Success Manager at AppsFlyer, a leading mobile attribution company. She is dedicated to helping her clients grow and succeed in their businesses through the use of innovative customer success management tools and project management technologies. Her commitment to excellence and creativity has earned her the prestigious Silver Badge, recognizing her as a two-time winner of the Most Creative CS Leader award and highlighting her significant contributions to the Customer Success field.

The challenge

At AppsFlyer, Irina faced the task of scaling customer engagement while ensuring a seamless and unified experience. To implement a 1-to-many approach, she needed a strategy that could:

1. Simplify and optimize customer onboarding and education.
2. Provide multilingual resources to cater to EMEA and LATAM regions.
3. Centralize updates, materials, and communication to improve customer experience (UX).

The creative solution

Irina spearheaded the adoption and optimization of the EverAfter Customer Interface, leveraging its capabilities to unify the customer journey in a single platform.

Key components of her approach:

1. Customized onboarding kits
   • Created tailored kits for EMEA and LATAM customers, including onboarding materials, product updates, and marketing resources.
   • Ensured materials were available in four languages, enhancing accessibility for diverse audiences.
2. Educational programs: Launched multilingual educational programs to support product adoption and optimize customer usage of AppsFlyer’s offerings.‍
3. Unified customer experience: Leveraged EverAfter’s capabilities to centralize resources and updates, creating a one-stop portal for onboarding, training, product updates, and marketing communication.‍
4. Tracking and engagement: Measured portal usage, focusing on customers who engaged with the platform in the last 30 days, to identify trends and opportunities for further optimization.

The outcome

Irina’s initiative delivered significant improvements in customer experience and engagement:

1. Enhanced customer UX: Unifying all resources in a single platform simplified access and improved customer satisfaction.‍
2. Increased adoption: The 1-to-many approach, combined with localized and centralized resources, drove higher engagement across EMEA and LATAM regions.‍
3. Efficient scaling: Streamlined onboarding and education processes allowed AppsFlyer to effectively support a broader customer base without compromising quality.

Looking ahead

Irina’s innovative use of the EverAfter Customer Interface showcases how adopting a unified, multilingual approach can transform customer engagement at scale. Her work has set a new standard for optimizing customer journeys and creating impactful, accessible experiences across diverse regions.

⭐️ Jackob Alaluf | Playtika  

Achieving 5%+ Revenue Growth in B2C with B2B Success Strategies

With over 25 years of experience as leader in Israeli and American B2B & B2C technology firms, Kobi filled many customer facing roles including Account & Program Management, Customer Success and Customer Relationship management, Sales, Business Dev, and International Business Operations. Holding strong technical background and substantial hands-on experience, combined with solid business orientation Kobi was responsible for Project Management, Professional Services and Customer Support in complex accounts with global customers, addressing customers’ business need and objectives, driving Growth, P&L management, Solution Adoption and Customer Success.

The challenge

Jacob faced a unique challenge when transitioning from traditional B2B methodologies to the dynamic, unpredictable world of B2C customer engagement at Playtika. Unlike B2B, where clear rules govern customer relationships—such as defined profiles, SLAs, and professional ethics—B2C presented a landscape with:

• Zero control over who the customer is.
• Undefined customer profiles.
• A lack of formal agreements to structure interactions.
• Communication driven by personal preferences and emotions.

The objective was to leverage B2B methodologies to drive B2C business KPIs, including revenue growth, paying user base expansion, and retention improvement, while navigating this unstructured environment.

The creative solution

Jacob spearheaded a multiphase program that adapted B2B strategies to the B2C world, focusing on:

1. Customer segmentation: Redesigned segmentation strategies to better align with user behaviors and needs in a B2C context.‍
2. CSM/customer ratio optimization: Reduced the ratio to allow CSMs to build deeper, more meaningful relationships with their customers.‍
3. Tool development: Built tools specifically designed to empower CSMs to drive key metrics such as revenue growth and user retention. Integrated AI tools to enhance efficiency while balancing personal and emotional customer interactions.‍
4. Best practices implementation: Applied lessons from B2B models to measure and improve SLAs without formal agreements & Introduced upselling techniques that resonated with B2C customers, focusing on emotional and value-driven communication.

The outcome

Jacob’s innovative approach delivered outstanding results:

1. Revenue growth:
   • Achieved over 5% growth in business revenue.
   • Expanded the percentage of paying users, driving financial success.
2. Operational excellence:
   • Reduced SLA response time from over 8 hours to less than 30 minutes.
   • Maintained high customer satisfaction scores exceeding 80%.
3. Revenue concentration: Increased directly managed revenue to over 70% of total business revenue.

1. Cost efficiency: implemented cost-effective service delivery, resulting in a 30% reduction in headcount without compromising performance.

Jacob’s ability to blend the structured methodologies of B2B with the fast-paced dynamics of B2C not only drove remarkable business outcomes but also demonstrated the adaptability and scalability of these principles in diverse environments. This journey serves as a blueprint for navigating the uncharted waters of B2C success.

⭐️ Raman Bindra | Recruiter Flow

45% Increase in Product Adoption and 30% Retention Growth with Tailored Onboarding

Raman Bindra is a result-oriented professional with over 13 years of extensive Customer Success and Account Management experience in the Indian and global markets. He is driven to build and maintain long-lasting professional relationships with clients and is a strong advocate for customer success, ensuring the highest standards of Customer Delight. Raman's exceptional contributions and unwavering commitment to excellence have earned him the prestigious Gold Badge, recognizing him as a three-time winner of the Most Creative CS Leader award. This achievement underscores his leadership and impact in driving innovation and customer-centricity.

The challenge

Raman’s team faced a significant decline in Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) during onboarding. Frequent delays and low adoption rates in the first 90 days—particularly among SMB customers—highlighted the need for a revamped approach.

The creative solution

Raman spearheaded the development of a Customer Onboarding Program Playbook, designed to address the unique needs of different customer segments, including SMBs and Enterprise accounts.

Key elements of the playbook:

1. Customer reseaches
   • Identified customer goals, team size, and prior experience with similar platforms.
   • Tailored onboarding to focus on features most relevant to the customer’s needs.
2. Account setup: Avoided redundant setup processes by analyzing features already familiar to the customer.‍
3. Business process alignment: Gained a thorough understanding of the customer’s industry, workflows, and KPIs to ensure onboarding aligned with their business objectives.‍
4. Customized onboarding timeline: Developed timelines tailored to each segment, providing a more structured and efficient process.‍
5. Regular account monitoring: Scheduled proactive check-ins to ensure customers fully utilized the platform and resolved support queries promptly.‍
6. Call audits for meaningful dialogue
   • Introduced regular call audits to shift the focus from scripted interactions to meaningful, customer-focused discussions.
   • Guided customers on how specific features aligned with their goals, fostering stronger connections and understanding.

The outcome

The revamped onboarding process delivered impressive results in just six months:

1. Increased product adoption: Achieved a 45% increase in product adoption among new customer's‍
2. Higher retention rates: Improved SMB customer retention by 30%, reflecting the effectiveness of the tailored approach.‍
3. Record-high CSAT scores: The onboarding team reached an all-time high CSAT score of 4.8 out of 5, highlighting improved customer satisfaction and engagement.

Looking ahead

Raman’s creative approach to onboarding has set a new standard for customer engagement, particularly in high-volume SMB segments. By combining personalized onboarding with proactive support and meaningful interactions, his team has driven remarkable growth in adoption and retention while creating a seamless and satisfying experience for customers.

⭐️ Shruti Sharma | Shruti Sharma  

Quick to Value: A Playbook for Rapid Customer Adoption

With a career spanning over 20 years in B2B SaaS, Shruti has worked across industries like E-Commerce, MarTech, HRTech, and Web Communications. Her consulting focuses on helping early to mid-stage SaaS companies strengthen customer relationships and build strategies that drive engagement and long-term loyalty.  She loves helping companies skip the trivialities, and focus on what really matters - their customers and their systems + With a career spanning over 20 years in B2B SaaS, Shruti has worked across industries such as E-Commerce, MarTech, HRTech, and Web Communications. Her consulting expertise helps early to mid-stage SaaS companies strengthen customer relationships and build strategies that drive engagement and long-term loyalty. Shruti is passionate about helping companies cut through the noise and focus on what truly matters—their customers, systems, and strategies.With a career spanning over 20 years in B2B SaaS, Shruti has worked across industries such as E-Commerce, MarTech, HRTech, and Web Communications. Her consulting expertise helps early to mid-stage SaaS companies strengthen customer relationships and build strategies that drive engagement and long-term loyalty. Shruti is passionate about helping companies cut through the noise and focus on what truly matters—their customers, systems, and strategies. Her dedication and innovative approach have earned her the prestigious Silver Badge, recognizing her as a two-time winner of the Most Creative CS Leader award and celebrating her impactful contributions to the Customer Success community.

The challenge

Shruty's client faced significant challenges during the handoff between Sales and Customer Success. These issues included:

• Miscommunications and delays in transferring critical information.
• Installation setbacks and unmet expectations.
• Slowed product adoption, leaving customers frustrated and delaying their ability to realize value.

This misalignment not only jeopardized early relationships but also posed a risk to long-term customer success.

The creative solution

Shruty developed a proactive, structured playbook that aligned internal teams and streamlined the customer journey from post-sale to full adoption. Her approach emphasized clarity, communication, and confidence-building at every step.

Key components of the playbook:

1. Smooth onboardin
   • Immediate alignment between Sales and Customer Success to ensure a seamless handoff.
   • Kickoff meetings and follow-up recaps to keep customers informed and engaged.
2. Hands-on installation and training
   • Real-time collaboration with installation partners to guarantee a flawless setup.
   • Customized training sessions to empower customers, covering product details like map configurations and playback modes.
3. Clarity with contract videos: Leveraged Vidyard to create personalized videos explaining contract terms, simplifying the signing process and building customer confidence.

1. Consistent follow-ups and documentation: Provided thorough documentation and recaps at every stage, reinforcing the partnership and ensuring key information was always accessible.

The outcome

Shruty’s playbook transformed the onboarding process, delivering tangible results:

1. Accelerated adoption : Reduced time to adoption from an average of 45 days to 25–30 days.‍
2. Early value realization: Customers began experiencing the benefits of the product sooner, feeling confident and supported from day one.‍
3. Improved customer satisfaction: Clear communication, proactive support, and structured training ensured a seamless and memorable customer experience.

Shruty’s innovative and customer-centric approach established a new standard for rapid adoption, fostering long-term success and stronger client relationships.

⭐️ Sumitra Narayanan | Braze  

Boosting GRR by Over 12% with a Multi-Threaded Customer Relationship Strategy

With nearly a decade of experience in the field, Sumitra currently leads a high-touch Commercial Customer Success team at Braze. Previously, she played a pivotal role in building and scaling Customer Success functions at companies like CleverTap and LinearB, driving their growth from early-stage to beyond growth-stage. Her approach blends operational excellence, relentless customer advocacy, technical expertise, and a focus on human-centric leadership and team development, all enriched by a global perspective gained from living in various parts of the world. Sumitra’s exceptional contributions to the Customer Success field have earned her both the Expert Choice Badge and the Silver Badge, recognizing her as a two-time winner of the Most Creative CS Leader award and celebrating her influence and impact in the industry.

The challenge

Sumitra’s Customer Success team faced the issue of surprise churn, which jeopardized their ability to maintain a strong Gross Renewal Rate (GRR). The unpredictable nature of these losses highlighted the need to strengthen customer partnerships and establish deeper connections across accounts.

The goal was clear:

1. Reduce surprise churn through better customer engagement.
2. Strengthen relationships to drive revenue outcomes, particularly GRR.

The creative solution

Sumitra implemented a multi-threading framework, designed to build deeper, more secure relationships across customer accounts. This approach ensured the team could mitigate risks early and proactively while fostering stronger customer partnerships.

What is multi-threading?
At its core, multi-threading involves establishing relationships with multiple contacts within a customer account, ensuring at least one has decision-making authority. This reduces reliance on a single point of contact and strengthens the overall partnership.

Key elements of the framework:

1. Building a stakeholder map: Created a basic customer stakeholder map to identify where relationships were single-threaded.‍
2. Prioritization criteria: Used factors such as renewal date and terms, customer sentiment, health score, ARR pricing tier, region, and custom segments (e.g., industry, product usage, use case) to prioritize customers.‍
3. Establishing new relationships: Developed strategies to engage with additional stakeholders in target accounts, focusing on:
   • Building trust and rapport.
   • Identifying decision-makers and key influencers.‍
4. ‍Leveraging relationships for broader outcomes:s Expanded the use of multi-threaded relationships beyond GRR and DBNR to drive customer advocacy and long-term partnerships.

The outcome

The multi-threading approach delivered measurable results, even amid tough economic conditions:

1. Improved GRR: Achieved a 12% YoY increase in Gross Renewal Rate between FY24 and FY25, for a ~$20M book of business.‍
2. Minimized surprise churn: Significantly reduced unexpected churn, enabling the team to identify and address risks early.‍
3. Strengthened customer relationships: Built broader, more resilient partnerships by connecting with multiple stakeholders in key accounts.‍
4. Enabled long-term initiatives: Leveraged relationships for customer advocacy and other strategic goals.

Looking ahead

Sumitra’s multi-threading framework has proven to be a scalable solution with significant potential. With a clear blueprint for CSMs and CS leaders, the team is well-positioned to continue driving growth and strengthening customer relationships, demonstrating that with this approach, the sky truly is the limit.

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⭐️ Arun PR | Omnify  

Scaling Success: Zero Delays, Proactive Excellence, and 100% Adoption

Arun PR, Growth Ops Human at Omnify, has 10 years of experience driving customer success, operational excellence, and automation, including building GPTs for CS professionals. He believes customer success is like the blood in a body—connecting and powering every team for seamless function. Arun also mentors CS professionals, and helps others find CS opportunities.

The challenge

Arun tackled a highly complex project for a major client—a global workshop for 2,000 employees aged 50+ and 50 trainers from multiple regions. Historically reliant on paper-based processes, the participants faced significant challenges adapting to new technology during the testing phase.

Key challenges included:

1. A tech-averse demographic requiring intuitive solutions.
2. A dual go-live strategy with separate phases for trainers and employees.
3. A focus on functionality over user experience, complicating platform adoption.

The creative solution

Arun designed a customized booking and scheduling solution, prioritizing usability, controlled onboarding, and proactive issue resolution.

Key elements of the solution:

1. Simplified user interface: Created a step-by-step interface to ensure ease of use, especially for the tech-averse demographic.
2. Phased go-live strategy: Trainers onboarded first to build confidence, followed by employees, allowing for a smoother transition.
3. Proactive issue resolution: Preempted potential challenges through detailed planning and scenario testing, minimizing disruptions.
4. Comprehensive support and training: Delivered live sessions, guides, and instant troubleshooting to support participants during onboarding.‍
5. Scalable innovations:
   • Implemented QR code-based self-check-ins, extending the solution’s scope for last-minute needs.
   • Seamlessly integrated web and mobile platforms for a unified user experience.

The outcomes

Arun’s solution delivered exceptional results aligned with critical Customer Success metrics:

1. Fast Time to Value (TTV): All 2,000 employees booked their sessions efficiently, achieving rapid adoption and usage.
2. Low Customer Effort Score (CES): Trainers checked in over 100 employees within 10 minutes, dramatically reducing effort and confusion.
3. Operational excellence: Zero support tickets during the event highlighted the solution’s robustness and seamless execution.
4. High user adoption: The intuitive interface and phased approach ensured high engagement and smooth technology adoption.
5. Customer satisfaction: Transitioned the client from paper-based processes to a streamlined digital workflow, elevating operational efficiency.

Key takeaway

Arun’s recipe for Customer Success Excellence—Fast TTV, Low CES, and Quick Preemptive Solutions—transformed a challenging project into a showcase of innovation, scalability, and customer-centric design.

⭐️ Yamika Cherukupally | SafetyConnect

Achieving a 95% Retention Rate with the Adoption Acceleration Program

Yamika is a seasoned Customer Success Leader with expertise in driving satisfaction, retention, and revenue in AI, ML, and IoT B2B SaaS. As a 3-year Management Committee member, she has excelled in leadership and fostering impactful customer relationships.

The challenge

Initially, Yamika’s team achieved strong onboarding results, with customers engaging well in the first stages of adoption. However, within a few weeks, adoption rates began to decline, raising concerns about long-term retention and renewal rates. Without swift intervention, the team risked:

1. Customer disengagement, resulting in lower product adoption.
2. Decreased retention, impacting overall renewal rates.
3. Missed opportunities for expansion revenue and customer advocacy.

The solution

To address this challenge, Yamika led the development of the Adoption Acceleration Program, a structured three-stage framework designed to stabilize adoption rates and foster long-term engagement.

Key components of the program:

Stage 1: Customize Adoption Playbook

• Fixed Early Cadence Meetings: Scheduled regular touchpoints with Single Points of Contact (SPoCs) to align on clear, actionable adoption goals.
• Analytics-Driven Interventions: Leveraged data to identify bottlenecks in adoption and implemented targeted solutions.
• Milestone Setup: Collaborated with SPoCs to define measurable success criteria and achievable timelines.

Stage 2: Trainings and Education

• Personalized Support: Assigned dedicated specialists to provide tailored, one-on-one guidance for customers.
• Customized Training: Delivered targeted resources and sessions to address specific use cases and customer challenges.

Stage 3: Engagement and Optimization

• Gamification: Introduced interactive challenges and leaderboards to boost user engagement and enthusiasm.
• Incentives and Rewards: Recognized customer milestones with meaningful rewards, reinforcing positive behaviors.
• ROI Analysis: Conducted regular business reviews to showcase ROI and highlight product value, keeping customers aligned with their goals.

The outcome

Yamika’s Adoption Acceleration Program produced outstanding results:

1. Increased adoption rates: Achieved a 90% adoption rate across the customer base, stabilizing and enhancing usage.‍
2. Enhanced retention: Maintained a 95%+ retention rate, demonstrating strong customer satisfaction and loyalty.‍
3. Boosted customer satisfaction: Proved CSAT scores, reflecting a better overall experience and alignment with customer needs.‍
4. Revenue growth: Achieved a 25%+ increase in Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) through better adoption and expansion opportunities.‍
5. Empowered advocacy: Transformed the customer journey from adoption to advocacy, creating enthusiastic brand ambassadors eager to promote their success stories.

Key takeaways

The Adoption Acceleration Program not only addressed the immediate challenges of declining adoption but also:

• Reinforced the importance of personalized, data-driven interventions.
• Fostered long-term alignment between customer goals and product value.
• Built a scalable framework for sustainable growth and retention.