EP 196 - Chris Dishman (Totango) Prioritising Customer Success During Challenging Times

Today on the show we have Chris Dishman, Sr. VP of Customer Success at Totango.

In this episode, we discussed Chris's unique transition from being a customer of Totango to becoming a crucial part of its team. We explored how his past experiences as a customer offered invaluable insights to shape the company's approach to customer success.

We then dove into an overview of Totango and its innovative customer success platform. Chris shed light on the concept of composable customer success and the importance of refining the customer journey. He shared interesting cases and surprising use cases of Totango, emphasizing that the principles of customer success are not limited to the software industry.

The conversation took a compelling turn as we discussed the importance of customer-centricity in a company's culture and strategy. With the increasing emphasis on customer success in the face of layoffs and budget constraints, Chris highlighted the role of robust Customer Success Platforms (CSPs) in boosting team efficiency.

We then navigated the realm of data and automation. We addressed how companies are focusing on automating onboarding and improving their processes to scale with limited resources. Chris flagged data integration as a major challenge in this domain and emphasized the significance of clean, consistent data for a seamless customer journey.

We wrapped up by discussing actionable strategies for improving customer retention. Chris advised against overcomplication and recommended focusing on one area at a time, refining it before moving on to the next. In a hypothetical scenario where he has 90 days to improve retention, he suggests starting with the value proposition and effectively communicating it to customers.

As usual, I'm excited to hear what you think of this episode, and if you have any feedback, I would love to hear from you. You can email me directly at [email protected].

Churn FM is sponsored by Vitally, the all-in-one Customer Success Platform.