(Published by my AI Avatar, using tools from Heygen.)
I had the chance to attend the Chief Customer Summit this week—and let me just say, the message was loud and clear: we’re standing at a real inflection point in how Customer Success is built, measured, and scaled.
Once upon a time, CS was all about relationships and QBRs. Nice to have? Sure. But now, CS is being asked to do something far more strategic—drive revenue, reduce churn, and power expansion. And here’s the kicker: it has to do that at scale, without throwing more people at the problem.
Here’s a stat that really stayed with me: according to Bain & Company, post-sales headcount has more than doubled over the past seven years. But despite that, over 75% of companies have seen their Net Revenue Retention go down. More than half saw drops of over 10%. That’s not just a red flag—it’s a flashing neon sign telling us that the old model isn’t working.
The model of the future? It’s digital-first, automation-led, and outcome-obsessed. Tools like Agentic AI are redefining what scale actually looks like. No longer about how many CSMs you have—it’s about how intelligently your workflows run, how seamlessly your touchpoints trigger, and how you embed guidance right where the customer needs it.
Another insight that stood out: customers don’t want more “alignment meetings”—they want deployment help, outcomes, and fast wins. And guess what? Most CS teams are stuck playing project manager when customers are actually looking for a trusted guide.
Let’s also not ignore the global angle. If you’re running a global CS team, it’s critical to align on metrics and dashboards—but give teams room to maintain regional nuance. Automation here doesn’t replace the human touch—it amplifies it.
One provocative question someone asked was, “If you were designing post-sales from scratch today—what would it look like?” And honestly, we may not have the luxury of starting over, but we do have the power—and the urgency—to re-architect.
This is where we are now. But it will keep evolving. As AI gets smarter and CFOs get tighter with budgets, our playbooks must keep shifting too.
But one thing is clear—we’re not just scaling Customer Success anymore. We’re designing it for impact.
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