Episode 19: Customer Success is a Strategy, Not Just a Function

Customer success teams are facing mounting pressure to prove their worth as organizations tighten budgets and shift priorities. Ed Powers, an expert in customer success and account management, joins Alex Raymond to discuss the challenges of reducing churn and demonstrating customer value in a way that resonates with decision-makers. Why do some customers leave while others stay and deepen their engagement? Ed points out the importance of understanding this dynamic and argues that true success lies in connecting day-to-day activities with tangible business outcomes.

 

The discussion also examines the evolving role of customer success, from bridging gaps in the customer journey to aligning efforts with revenue goals. Ed shares insights on measuring value and creating a compelling narrative that positions customer success teams as indispensable. This episode invites leaders to rethink their strategies and focus on what truly drives retention, loyalty, and long-term growth.

 

Quotes

• “What is the economic impact of building trust with a customer? Well, that has been very fuzzy. It’s a lot of hand-waving. There’s no real numbers that tie those two things together. And if you don’t have that, if you can’t kind of convincingly show that cause and effect, then they’re not going to put money into it, right? They’re going to take the easy way out, which is, well, just give them a quota number.” (07:17 | Ed Powers)
• “No one’s really paying attention to that customer’s experience of value, closing the gap between the expectation and the realization of that value. Nobody owns that. It just gets lost in all the silos.” (15:30 | Ed Powers)
• “When customers achieved a certain milestone, a certain value realization milestone, the odds of them renewing and expanding increased by a factor of five and a half times, five and a half times versus those who didn’t get there.” (39:30 | Ed Powers) 
• “Understand why your customers leave and why others stay and buy more. If you’re not crystal clear on that and you can’t quantify that, you’re lost already. Start with what is driving the behavior of your customers. That is the secret to everything.” (41:33 | Ed Powers) 

 

Links

Connect with Ed Powers:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ed-powers-ab5315/

Website: https://se-partners.com/

 

Connect with Alex Raymond:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/afraymond/

Website: https://amplifyam.com/

Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm