Experts Share Words of Wisdom for Customer Success in 2018

It’s been a big year for Customer Success as we’ve seen a greater share of Cisco partners get started with implementing a practice within their own organizations. The reasons to do so are powerful: according to Gartner, companies that prioritize the customer experience generate 60% higher profit than their competitors. Customer Success initiatives also lead to stronger sales and increased customer retention and loyalty. But creating a culture of Customer Success doesn’t happen overnight, and keeping a program going strong is no easy feat either.

To help Cisco partners navigate the challenges, we established our SuccessTalk webinar series a few years ago, tapping into the expertise of business leaders around the world, including Cisco executives and other industry experts from organizations such as TSIA.

SuccessTalk Rewind: Watch highlights from 2017 webinar sessions

In reflecting on all the valuable advice these leaders shared in 2017, we’ve captured the most memorable quotes and takeaways from our top 10 webinars this past year (rated by 1,000-plus attendees). Here are just a sampling of some of their “words of wisdom”:

“Customer success is a service capability with a sales result.” — Phil Nanus, VP Research & Customer Success, TSIA
From the webinar: Making the Case for Customer Success

“Today’s customer expects an immediate response, and they expect to receive highly personalized, real-time, useful content at the right stage of their journey. They are much more self-serve.” — John Stone, Senior Manager, Digital Experience & Analytics, Cisco

From the webinar: Getting Your Customers to Take Notice

“Digitization is breeding savvy, self-empowered buyers who increasingly turn first, if not exclusively, to digital channels when they are evaluating products and services.” — Curt Rask, Manager, System Engineering, Cisco

From the webinar: Customer Success – The Inside Sales Toolkit

“If you’re really going to go in and talk to that customer, you have to understand where they are going, where their pain points are, and where their road map is so you can help them along that journey.” — Teresa Lewis, Global Enablement Manager, Cisco
From the webinar: Prioritizing Product Usage for Collaboration

“Many businesses still view data as a byproduct of their transactions, rather than as a strategic asset.” — Sanjiv Patel, Director, Data Science, Cisco
From the webinar: Data Intelligence in a Virtual World

We’re honored to have had so many experts weigh in on the importance of Customer Success, and to have so many partners engage in dialogue with us during SuccessTalk sessions this past year. If you missed a few of the webinars, check out our SuccessTalk Rewind page for 2017 highlight reels.

Also, as you plan ahead for 2018, we hope you’ll take advantage of SuccessHub. In addition to all of the tools and complimentary resources available, we’ve just added a Top 10 Countdown of our 2017 SuccessTalk sessions as well as a video interview with a panel of experts, featuring their top tips on Customer Success, and how to start strong in 2018 – you can view both here.