• AI-Powered Customer Success & Predictive Analytics with Arun Balakrishnan and Preetam Jinka of FunnelStory | Episode 057
    Jun 18 2024

    Send us a Text Message.

    Preetam Jinka and Arun Balakrishnan, co-founders of FunnelStory, join the podcast to discuss how we’re just scratching the surface with AI and machine learning. They chat with Alex about how FunnelStory is revolutionizing customer success strategies, enabling teams to predict churn, optimize user engagement, and drive revenue growth through data-driven insights.

    Additionally, Arun & Preetam share their own insights on A.I. and how Product teams best work with Customer Success.

    Chapters:
    04:35 - Arun's background in cybersecurity and product managemen
    05:25 - How Preetam got started in AI and data engineering
    14:00 - The difference between AI and machine learning
    18:10 - Some practical applications of AI in customer success
    21:14 - An overview of the FunnelStory platform
    24:26 - Predictive and prescriptive elements
    27:46 - Product telemetry and customer insights
    30:26 - Collaboration between product and customer success teams
    33:11 - Innovative uses of predictive analytics in customer engagement
    38:19 - Discovering hidden metrics through data analysis
    39:16 - Leveraging AI and ML for pattern recognition in CS

    Enjoy! I know I sure did...

    Preetam's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/preetamjinka/
    Arun's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/balakrishnanarun/
    FunnelStory: https://funnelstory.ai/

    +++++++++++++++++

    This episode was edited by Lifetime Value Media, a media production company founded by my good friend and fellow CS veteran Dillon Young. Lifetime Value aims to serve the audio/video content production and editing needs of CS and Post-Sales professionals. Lifetime Value is offering select services at a deeply discounted rate for a limited time. Navigate to lifetimevaluemedia.com to learn more.

    +++++++++++++++++

    What If? So What?
    We discover what’s possible with digital and make it real in your business

    Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify

    Support the Show.

    +++++++++++++++++

    Like/Subscribe/Review:
    If you are getting value from the show, please follow/subscribe so that you don't miss an episode and consider leaving us a review.

    Website:
    For more information about the show or to get in touch, visit DigitalCustomerSuccess.com.

    Buy Alex a Cup of Coffee:
    This show runs exclusively on caffeine - and lots of it. If you like what we're, consider supporting our habit by buying us a cup of coffee: https://bmc.link/dcsp

    Thank you for all of your support!

    The Digital Customer Success Podcast is hosted by Alex Turkovic

    Show more Show less
    51 mins
  • SaaS Economics & Driving Customer Outcomes Digitally with Jay Nathan | Episode 056
    Jun 11 2024

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    Jay Nathan is the co-founder of GrowthCurve.io, Chief Customer Officer at Churnkey, and one of the most respected voices in the customer success community. He joins Alex as they explore Jay’s early career as a software engineer, the integration of AI with other digital tools, and navigating the economic landscape of SaaS.


    Chapters:

    • 00:02:28 - Introducing Jay Nathan
    • 00:04:44 - A background in software engineering & web development
    • 00:08:52 - Institutionalizing customer centricity
    • 00:11:05 - Creating a great culture for employees
    • 00:13:19 - Customer success and organizational capability
    • 00:15:22 - Validating usability through customer interviews
    • 00:17:26 - The ABCAI methodology
    • 00:19:34 - Driving outcomes with digital
    • 00:21:43 - AI in the customer success world
    • 00:23:49 - Tailoring technologies for different team structures
    • 00:25:54 - The changing economics of SaaS
    • 00:30:13 - Human-to-human connections
    • 00:32:32 - Managing the customer life cycle
    • 00:34:37 - The intersection of company culture and ROI
    • 00:36:40 - Automating the business development function
    • 00:38:41 - Engaging with customers using marketing tricks

    00:40:40 - Shout outs

    Enjoy! I know I sure did...

    20% off of the Cover Your SaaS course: https://growthcurve.io/products/coveryoursaas?promo=dcs

    Jay's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaynathan/

    +++++++++++++++++

    This episode was edited by Lifetime Value Media, a media production company founded by my good friend and fellow CS veteran Dillon Young. Lifetime Value aims to serve the audio/video content production and editing needs of CS and Post-Sales professionals. Lifetime Value is offering select services at a deeply discounted rate for a limited time. Navigate to lifetimevaluemedia.com to learn more.

    +++++++++++++++++

    What If? So What?
    We discover what’s possible with digital and make it real in your business

    Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify

    Support the Show.

    +++++++++++++++++

    Like/Subscribe/Review:
    If you are getting value from the show, please follow/subscribe so that you don't miss an episode and consider leaving us a review.

    Website:
    For more information about the show or to get in touch, visit DigitalCustomerSuccess.com.

    Buy Alex a Cup of Coffee:
    This show runs exclusively on caffeine - and lots of it. If you like what we're, consider supporting our habit by buying us a cup of coffee: https://bmc.link/dcsp

    Thank you for all of your support!

    The Digital Customer Success Podcast is hosted by Alex Turkovic

    Show more Show less
    44 mins
  • The Generative AI Primer for CSMs | Episode 055
    Jun 4 2024

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    In this, my second solo episode - I wanted to spend some time trying to demystify Generative AI for CSMs and CS leaders alike. According to statistics, only 25% of CS workers utilize AI in the workplace on a regular basis, which I think is WAY too low - especially considering how stretched thin most CSMs really are.

    So - in this episode, we focus on proper prompting, a few tools that exist out there and a plethora of use-cases for you to dig into:

    0:00:00 - Introduction
    0:03:55 - Topic introduction. Why GenAI for CSMs
    0:08:42 - Why prompting is a fundamental skill to have
    0:09:36 - Using the RISEN framework for prompting
    0:11:31 - Taking care with proprietary and sensitive information when using Gen AI
    0:19:58 - Why it’s a bad idea to just copy and send, without proofreading and personalizing
    0:23:01 - Utilizing ChatGPTs memory feature to prevent having to copy/paste your prompts
    0:23:55 - Teaching ChatGPT on my tone of voice
    0:26:19 - Chaining prompts
    0:27:55 - Integrating this into your daily workflow
    0:30:21 - ChatGPT vs. Perplexity vs. Google
    0:32:42 - Perplexity research use cases for CSMs
    0:36:30 - The proliferation of new tools
    0:37:19 - AgentCopilot & HeyGen create personalized video for your contacts at scale
    0:39:45 - Ariglad analyzes support tickets to create and update knowledge base articles
    0:40:48 - Malik automates the creation of decks using your data and insights
    0:41:55 - Outro

    One link discussed in the show is the DCS Tech Stack on the website: https://digitalcustomersuccess.com/tech-stack/

    Enjoy!

    What If? So What?
    We discover what’s possible with digital and make it real in your business

    Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify

    Support the Show.

    +++++++++++++++++

    Like/Subscribe/Review:
    If you are getting value from the show, please follow/subscribe so that you don't miss an episode and consider leaving us a review.

    Website:
    For more information about the show or to get in touch, visit DigitalCustomerSuccess.com.

    Buy Alex a Cup of Coffee:
    This show runs exclusively on caffeine - and lots of it. If you like what we're, consider supporting our habit by buying us a cup of coffee: https://bmc.link/dcsp

    Thank you for all of your support!

    The Digital Customer Success Podcast is hosted by Alex Turkovic

    Show more Show less
    44 mins
  • AI Insights to Power Your Business with Josh Schachter of Update AI | Episode 054
    May 28 2024

    Send us a Text Message.

    Matik's Scale + CS Virtual Conference: https://bit.ly/scalecs-aturkovic

    Josh Schachter is the Founder and CEO of UpdateAI, the conversation intelligence tool built specifically for the customer success profession. He sits down with Alex to talk product management, the unorthodox genesis of UpdateAI, and, of course, artificial intelligence itself.

    Key topics:

    • 00:00 - Introduction
    • 02:50 - Josh's background in product management
    • 05:17 - Joining Idea Lab and finding inspiration
    • 07:52 - How UpdateAI got its name
    • 10:25 - A different perspective as a product manager
    • 13:02 - Commercialization and expansion of a product
    • 15:51 - The value of customer insights
    • 18:24 - Snackable & actionable insights for different stakeholders
    • 23:17 - The future of artificial intelligence in the industry
    • 28:50 - Human interaction in digital
    • 31:37 - Robots on the front line in technical support
    • 34:27 - The power of Chat GPT as a CSM
    • 37:04 - Future plans for UpdateAI
    • 39:41 - Shoutouts
    Enjoy! I know I sure did...

    Josh's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jschachter/
    Update AI: https://update.ai

    Shoutouts:

    • Kristi Faltorusso
    • Jon Johnson

    +++++++++++++++++

    This episode was edited by Lifetime Value Media, a media production company founded by my good friend and fellow CS veteran Dillon Young. Lifetime Value aims to serve the audio/video content production and editing needs of CS and Post-Sales professionals. Lifetime Value is offering select services at a deeply discounted rate for a limited time. Navigate to lifetimevaluemedia.com to learn more.

    What If? So What?
    We discover what’s possible with digital and make it real in your business

    Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify

    Support the Show.

    +++++++++++++++++

    Like/Subscribe/Review:
    If you are getting value from the show, please follow/subscribe so that you don't miss an episode and consider leaving us a review.

    Website:
    For more information about the show or to get in touch, visit DigitalCustomerSuccess.com.

    Buy Alex a Cup of Coffee:
    This show runs exclusively on caffeine - and lots of it. If you like what we're, consider supporting our habit by buying us a cup of coffee: https://bmc.link/dcsp

    Thank you for all of your support!

    The Digital Customer Success Podcast is hosted by Alex Turkovic

    Show more Show less
    43 mins
  • "Your First" Digital Customer Success Motions with Stijn "Stino" Smet of Whale | Episode 053
    May 21 2024

    Send us a Text Message.

    Matik's Scale + CS Virtual Conference: https://bit.ly/scalecs-aturkovic

    In this special edition, Alex sits down with Stijn "Stino" Smet, Head of Customer Success at Whale.io, the host of *two* customer success podcasts, and all-around loose cannon. He joins Alex (in his studio!) for a very special joint episode of their podcasts to discuss career journeys, getting started with a digital practice, and more.

    The “more”:
    00:00 - Where to start with digital
    03:35 - Your First Digital CS Experience
    07:12 - The Core of a True Digital Team
    10:44 - Meeting an “Idol”
    14:15 - Transitioning to Digital Customer Experience
    18:03 - Quick Wins in Digital CS
    21:28 - Being Ahead of the Curve with Digital Customer Success
    25:11 - Stino’s Famous Playbook
    28:38 - Achieving Revenue Growth
    32:14 - “Light” Success Services
    35:40 - Creating and Tracking Campaign Metrics
    39:04 - Reviewing and Iterating on Strategies
    42:36 - The Sweet Spot
    49:48 - Laser beams and confetti
    53:40 - Shout Outs

    Enjoy! I know I sure did...

    Stino's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stijn-smet-%F0%9F%90%B3-330435a9/

    Shoutouts:

    • Kristi Faltorusso: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristiserrano/
    • Erika Villareal: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erivillarreal/
    • Anika Zubair: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anikazubair/
    • Diana de Jesus: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dianadejesus/
    • Dillon Young: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dillonryoung/
    • Prashanth Jothi: https://www.linkedin.com/in/prashanthjothi/


    +++++++++++++++++

    This episode was edited by Lifetime Value Media, a media production company founded by my good friend and fellow CS veteran Dillon Young. Lifetime Value aims to serve the audio/video content production and editing needs of CS and Post-Sales professionals. Lifetime

    What If? So What?
    We discover what’s possible with digital and make it real in your business

    Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify

    Support the Show.

    +++++++++++++++++

    Like/Subscribe/Review:
    If you are getting value from the show, please follow/subscribe so that you don't miss an episode and consider leaving us a review.

    Website:
    For more information about the show or to get in touch, visit DigitalCustomerSuccess.com.

    Buy Alex a Cup of Coffee:
    This show runs exclusively on caffeine - and lots of it. If you like what we're, consider supporting our habit by buying us a cup of coffee: https://bmc.link/dcsp

    Thank you for all of your support!

    The Digital Customer Success Podcast is hosted by Alex Turkovic

    Show more Show less
    59 mins
  • State of the Industry and Promise of AI with Jeff Heckler | Episode 052
    May 14 2024

    Send us a Text Message.

    Link to Matik's Scale + CS Virtual Conference: https://bit.ly/scalecs-aturkovic.

    Today, I'm joined by Jeff Heckler - a CS veteran with a lot of wisdom to share around the state of the industry, the AI tools with the most promise, and Slack overwhelm.

    In this episode, we cover a wide variety of topics, including:

    • 00:00:00 - Welcome To The Digital Customer Experience Podcast
    • 00:01:31 - Join The Matik Conference, Earn A $20 Uber Eats Gift Card Giveaway
    • 00:02:56 - Introduction
    • 00:04:21 - Leaving Business Intelligence & Falling Into Software
    • 00:10:17 - Digital Customer Success Since Covid-19
    • 00:11:43 - The Rise Of QR Code
    • 00:13:19 - Contraction In Headcounts And Budgets
    • 00:14:51 - The Economics Of AI And Tech’s Current Struggles In Today’s Economy
    • 00:16:26 - The Most Prominent Digital Trends In CS
    • 00:19:36 - Leveraging Ai Chat Bots For Support Ticket Deflection, Among Other Things
    • 00:20:58 - Communication Overload And Digital Emotions
    • 00:22:29 - Optimizing Digital Workflows And Tools
    • 00:23:58 - The Stickiness Of Tools
    • 00:25:34 - Learning From Mistakes And Cross-Functional Allegiances
    • 00:27:05 - Setting Up A Cadence For Product Sales Marketing Support
    • 00:28:20 - Shifting Mindset For Customer Success Managers
    • 00:29:36 - The Importance Of Cross Collaboration
    • 00:31:01 - Shout Out To Dickey Singh And Cast.App

    Enjoy! I know I sure did...

    Jeff's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffheckler/

    Shoutouts:

    • Irit Eizips: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eizips/
    • Dickey Singh of Cast.app: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dickey/

    +++++++++++++++++

    This episode was edited by Lifetime Value Media, a media production company founded by my good friend and fellow CS veteran Dillon Young. Lifetime Value aims to serve the audio/video content production and editing needs of CS and Post-Sales professionals. Lifetime Value is offering select services at a deeply discounted rate for a limited time. Navigate to lifetimevaluemedia.com to learn more.

    +++++++++++++++++

    What If? So What?
    We discover what’s possible with digital and make it real in your business

    Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify

    Support the Show.

    +++++++++++++++++

    Like/Subscribe/Review:
    If you are getting value from the show, please follow/subscribe so that you don't miss an episode and consider leaving us a review.

    Website:
    For more information about the show or to get in touch, visit DigitalCustomerSuccess.com.

    Buy Alex a Cup of Coffee:
    This show runs exclusively on caffeine - and lots of it. If you like what we're, consider supporting our habit by buying us a cup of coffee: https://bmc.link/dcsp

    Thank you for all of your support!

    The Digital Customer Success Podcast is hosted by Alex Turkovic

    Show more Show less
    35 mins
  • Emotional Intelligence in Digital and Treating Customers Like Humans with Jenelle Friday | Episode 051
    May 7 2024

    Send us a Text Message.

    Jenelle Friday of Forecastable and the Customer Success Collective’s “CS Leader of the Year” for 2023 is someone who is easily liked. She's hyper-in tune with what makes people tick, and is even the author of her own framework on emotional intelligence in customer success.

    In this wonderful chat, we talk about:
    00:00 - Caring for your customers
    02:27 - Being Authentic in Customer Success
    04:41 - A Journey to Customer Success and Emotional Intelligence
    06:53 - The Importance of Being Human in Business Relationships
    09:11 - Being True to Yourself in Business
    11:19 - Acknowledging Fears and Embracing Imperfection
    13:29 - Emotional Intelligence and Self-Awareness in Customer Success
    15:37 - The Importance of Work in Relationships
    17:42 - The Importance of Human Interaction
    20:11 - Elevator Pitch for Digital Customer Success
    22:25 - The Importance of Emotional Intelligence in Digital Communications
    24:39 - Using Emotional Intelligence for Customer Engagement
    26:47 - The Importance of Social Awareness in Decision-Making Process
    29:06 - Cultural Differences in Customer Success
    31:21 - Building a Customer Community
    33:33 - Coordinating Communication Across Departments
    35:42 - Understanding the Customer Perspective
    38:01 - Living Boldly and Courageously
    40:26 - Developing Soft Skills in Business
    42:27 - Fostering Emotional Intelligence in the Workplace
    44:51 - The Importance of Emotional Intelligence in Digital Customer Success
    46:54 - Book Recommendations and Finding Normalcy
    49:04 - Soft Skill Development and Giving Back to the Community

    Enjoy! I know I sure did...

    +++++++++++++++++

    This episode was edited by Lifetime Value Media, a media production company founded by my good friend and fellow CS veteran Dillon Young. Lifetime Value aims to serve the audio/video content production and editing needs of CS and Post-Sales professionals. Lifetime Value is offering select services at a deeply discounted rate for a limited time. Navigate to lifetimevaluemedia.com to learn more.

    +++++++++++++++++

    What If? So What?
    We discover what’s possible with digital and make it real in your business

    Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify

    Support the Show.

    +++++++++++++++++

    Like/Subscribe/Review:
    If you are getting value from the show, please follow/subscribe so that you don't miss an episode and consider leaving us a review.

    Website:
    For more information about the show or to get in touch, visit DigitalCustomerSuccess.com.

    Buy Alex a Cup of Coffee:
    This show runs exclusively on caffeine - and lots of it. If you like what we're, consider supporting our habit by buying us a cup of coffee: https://bmc.link/dcsp

    Thank you for all of your support!

    The Digital Customer Success Podcast is hosted by Alex Turkovic

    Show more Show less
    52 mins
  • Celebrating 50 Episodes: Your Digital Customer Experience Questions Answered | Episode 050
    Apr 30 2024

    Send us a Text Message.

    As we pop the champagne on our 50th show, a heartfelt thank you is in order for every listener & guest who's joined me on this wild ride through the evolving world of digital customer interactions. It's a transformational moment for the show as we shift from focusing on 'Digital Customer Success' to encompassing the broader 'Digital Customer Experience', ensuring we capture the essence of every digital touchpoint. As such, we are changing the name of the show to 'The Digital Customer Experience Podcast'!

    In this episode, I'm going through and answering some of the most frequently asked questions that I get on a regular basis, which leads to the following topics:

    • 00:47 - New Podcast Name Announcement
    • 06:34 - What is Digital Customer Success
    • 07:38 - Digital vs. Scaled
    • 09:49 - Where to start with Digital Customer Success
    • 11:52 - Commonly overlooked vehicles for digital motions
    • 13:13 - Building health scores without product telemetry
    • 14:31 - Identifying user personas based on their activity within your resource
    • 15:05 - SaaS economics and how they impact the proliferation of digital
    • 18:43 - Measuring the success of digital CS
    • 21:54 - Team structure for digital cs
    • 26:54 - Technology recommendations
    • 30:45 - Outro & Thank you!

    A couple of links from the show:

    • Website & Newsletter signup: https://digitalcustomersuccess.com
    • Digital CS Definition Word Map: https://digitalcustomersuccess.com/digital-cs-word-map/
    • DCS Tech Stack: https://digitalcustomersuccess.com/tech-stack/
    • Cover Your SaaS Course by Jeff Bruensbach & Jay Nathan: https://growthcurve.io/cover-your-saas
    What If? So What?
    We discover what’s possible with digital and make it real in your business

    Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify

    Support the Show.

    +++++++++++++++++

    Like/Subscribe/Review:
    If you are getting value from the show, please follow/subscribe so that you don't miss an episode and consider leaving us a review.

    Website:
    For more information about the show or to get in touch, visit DigitalCustomerSuccess.com.

    Buy Alex a Cup of Coffee:
    This show runs exclusively on caffeine - and lots of it. If you like what we're, consider supporting our habit by buying us a cup of coffee: https://bmc.link/dcsp

    Thank you for all of your support!

    The Digital Customer Success Podcast is hosted by Alex Turkovic

    Show more Show less
    33 mins