In the first episode of One Vital Question, six top Customer Success leaders reveal the most effective strategies they've used to build productive, impactful CS teams. From metrics and frameworks to culture and customer alignment, these are the must-have insights for any CS leader looking to scale success.
Featured Participants:
- Tyler Diderich, Manager, Senior Manager of Customer Success Engineering at RunZero
- Kristen Gray Psychas, Director of Customer Success at Banzai
- Rachel Provan, Founder & CEO at Provan Success
- Chad Horenfeldt, Former Head of Customer Success at Meta’s Kustomer
- Miranda Dziekonski, Customer Success Executive
- Jeff Heckler, Director of Customer Success Solutions at MarketSource
Structured Autonomy Empowers Smarter Decisions
Tyler Diderich explains that the key to an effective Customer Success strategy is providing "structured autonomy." His approach uses a defined set of best practices and measurable goals that allow CSMs to adapt to each customer’s needs without losing strategic alignment. This enables consistency while still empowering creativity.
Speak About Customers in the Universal Language — Revenue
Kristen Gray Psychas emphasizes aligning Customer Success with financial outcomes. Her focus on Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) to Lifetime Value (LTV) ratio helps cross-functional teams measure and support customer profitability. Democratizing key revenue metrics builds a shared understanding of success and improves decision-making across the customer journey.
If Everything Is a Priority, Nothing Is
Rachel Provan reminds us that overworked CS teams often chase too many goals. Her strategy prioritizes tasks that directly impact Net Revenue Retention (NRR). By identifying high-value customers and the most critical CS activities, teams can stop trying to do everything—and start doing the right things exceptionally well.
Culture Is the Backbone of CS Team Performance
Chad Horenfeldt points out that no Customer Success framework works without the right Customer Success culture. He highlights how hiring diverse, empathetic people and building psychological safety enables teams to collaborate deeply and perform consistently. Rituals, shared values, and trust are foundational to sustained success.
A Strong ‘Why’ Creates Meaningful Engagement
Miranda Dziekonski centers her CS leadership on purpose. She co-creates vision and KPIs with her team, invests in their growth, and ensures every CS process is aligned to the customer. When team members understand the impact of their work, they’re more invested and more effective.
Excellence Is a System, Not an Accident
Jeff Heckler provides a blueprint for scaling a Customer Success team: hire for curiosity, align customer outcomes to internal goals, segment accounts effectively, and use automation to surface insights. His playbook builds a system of excellence based on data, process, and recognition.
Conclusion: Building an Effective Customer Success Team in 2025
The future of Customer Success will be led by teams that are not only data-driven but also deeply human. Whether it's structured flexibility, metric alignment, or culture-first leadership, these strategies show that effective Customer Success teams thrive when they operate with clarity, purpose, and adaptability. Leaders looking to scale CS in 2025 should take note: success is a system built with intention.
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