In a world obsessed with speed, Paris invites you to slow down. To savour. To notice the beauty in the in-between moments. It’s not every day you get to discuss churn rates over pain au chocolat. 

Our Customer Success Snack event was a chance to step away from dashboards and deadlines,to have real conversations about what matters most: building trust, driving long-term value, and showing up for customers in ways that feel deeply human. No fluff. Just meaningful exchange, shared wisdom, and of course… a few too many croissants.

Together with our moderators – Amilcar Pinto, Harri Carroll, Nadia Nicolai, Rachel Herlihy, Nabil Saidi, Yonatan Souid, Guillaume Harbottle, and Julie Cotovio, we discussed key concepts that revolved around the following topics:

1. AI & Prompt Engineering
2. CS Enablement and Scaled CS in 2025
3. Upselling together with Sales & Marketing
4. Conflict Management and Feedback
5. Client Change management, Success Plans & tooling
6. Communities, Playbooks, Automation, and Customer Engagement
7. Value-based communication, Time to value & Stakeholder management
8. For leadership only: CS Processes and Metrics

AI & Prompt Engineering

Spearheaded by Amilcar Pinto, and Guillaume Harbottle, this session explored how AI accelerates efficiency across customer success roles, without losing the human touch. From using ChatGPT for tailored messaging to tools like Gong for smarter interactions, we’re seeing how AI can free up time for what really matters: deeper relationships and proactive support. But as we move faster, boundaries, trust, and human insight remain more critical than ever.

Here’s a summary of the key learnings we had:

1. Use AI as a Time-Saver, Not a Replacement
   Take advantage of AI for the repetitive stuff,like drafting emails, taking notes, or sorting through data. This frees up your time to focus on the more important things, like building relationships and crafting strategies. But don’t let AI do all the talking! Keep the personal touch in your interactions,add that human insight, creativity, and empathy. AI can help you get started, but it’s you who brings the heart to the conversation.
   
   
2. Know that Boundaries & Trust Are Essential
   Make sure you and your team are clear on what AI tools can and can’t do. Work with your IT and legal teams to create simple guidelines on AI usage, making sure data is kept secure and that everything is compliant. Before sharing anything AI-generated with customers, double-check it. It’s always a good idea to have someone review the output to make sure it’s accurate, appropriate, and aligned with your message.
   
   
3. Better Insights = Proactive CS
   Bring your AI tools together with your CRM and other systems to gather customer insights from every possible angle,emails, social media, internal databases. This gives you a fuller picture of what your customers need. Don’t just wait for issues to pop up,use those insights to reach out to customers before things get complicated. Whether it’s offering proactive help or just checking in, show them you’re on top of things and thinking ahead.
   

Start,Stop,Continue

Start	Stop	Continue
Establish clear AI tool usage boundaries and policies in collaboration with IT and data security teams.	Relying solely on AI without human checks for context, tone, and accuracy.	Automating low-value or time-consuming tasks like note-taking, research, data searching, translations, and slides/formula creation.
Create an internal library of approved tools by use case (e.g., messaging, research, automation).	Using tools that haven’t been vetted for compliance or data safety.	Integrating systems to centralize insights and improve customer understanding.
Use AI as a brainstorming partner to boost creativity and problem-solving.	Letting AI dictate communication styles,don’t lose your personality.	Using available data to approach clients with proactive, well-informed touchpoints.

Resources:

Wisprflow – AI tool to record voice everywhere

Briefly AI / Gong.io – To record meetings 

CS Enablement and Scaled CS in 2025

During our session, led by Harri Carroll, Nadia Nicolai, and Rachel Herlihy, it became clear that scaling customer success operations is crucial to meet the ever-growing demands of modern business. Traditional support systems give way to smarter, more efficient approaches that don’t compromise the customer experience. Here’s a summary of what we have all shared and concluded. 

1. Harness Automation for Efficiency

Automate the repetitive tasks so you can focus on the strategic, human-centered interactions that really matter. This way, you can boost productivity without losing that personal touch customers love.

2. Scale up on personalization

Use customer data and smart segmentation to deliver personalized experiences to a larger audience. This ensures you’re always sending the right message to the right people, even as your customer base grows.

3. Use Proactive Engagement Models

Adopt tools like predictive analytics and customer health scores to stay ahead of customer needs. Being proactive helps you address potential issues before they become problems, keeping customers loyal.

4. Develop Scalable Resources

Build self-help resources like knowledge bases, webinars, and peer-driven communities so customers can solve their own problems. This reduces the need for constant direct support while still adding value.

5. Balance Customer Engagement

Find the sweet spot between high-touch and low-touch engagement. While your high-value or at-risk customers get personalized attention, others can still enjoy helpful content that meets their needs at scale.

6. Practice a Cross-Functional Collaboration

Work together with sales, marketing, and product teams to make sure you’re incorporating customer feedback into your overall strategy. This helps ensure a seamless experience across all touchpoints in the customer journey.

We also discussed a Start, Stop, Continue model that revolved around:

Start	Stop	Continue
Leverage other teams to support upskilling CSMs: Utilize the executive team for strategic relationships, product team for product enablement, value engineers for value creation, and pre-sales for pitches.	Focusing only on successes and wins: Shift the conversation to include challenges, so the team can brainstorm and find solutions together.	Focus on building quality relationships: Prioritize strong, lasting connections with customers.
Implement a buddy system with senior team members to support upskilling and career progression, going beyond just management mentoring.	Avoid management-led discussions during open forums: Let CSMs facilitate and lead the discussion to promote open sharing and learning.	Use personality tools (like 16 Personalities): Help CSMs understand how different clients think, react, and make decisions. Tailor interactions based on individual personalities.
Encourage peer-led learning sessions: Let CSMs share client strategies, tools, and lessons learned in regular knowledge-sharing meetings.	Stop relying solely on direct interactions: Record and review challenging client conversations to share best practices with the team.	Continue providing clear career paths: Ensure CSMs know what skills they need to succeed and align expectations for career growth.

Upselling together with Sales & Marketing

Upselling doesn’t have to feel like a hard sell,it can be a natural part of the customer journey when done right. The key is to approach it with care, collaboration, and, most importantly, a customer-first mindset. 

With Yonatan Souid and Nabil Saidi moderating the discussion, the focus was clear: how do we ensure that upselling feels like an added value, rather than a push for more sales? It’s all about leveraging the right tools, staying connected across teams, and always keeping the customer’s needs at the forefront. Let’s dive into how this approach works and why it’s essential for sustainable growth.

1. CS Teams as Upsell Catalysts

Customer Success teams are in the best position to identify upsell opportunities due to their deep understanding of customer needs, usage patterns, and engagement. Upselling should be co-created with the customer, building on trust and delivering meaningful, relevant solutions. CS professionals act as trusted advisors, opening the door to upsell conversations when the time is right, not pushing products.

2. Clear Metrics and Collaborative Targets

Setting specific upsell targets, such as the 25% target for CS teams, aligns efforts across CS, Sales, and Marketing. These targets should always focus on adding value to the customer, ensuring that upselling feels like a natural extension of the relationship rather than a sales-driven effort. Collaboration across departments is key to achieving these goals.

3. Seamless Collaboration Between CS, Marketing, and Sales

Upselling and renewals are best achieved through a unified approach. Marketing’s role is critical, offering personalized content, success stories, and campaigns that nurture the client relationship. When all teams work together, customers receive a consistent experience, and upsell opportunities emerge more naturally.

4. Guiding Questions for Effective Upsell Conversations 

Before initiating an upsell, ask key questions: Has the customer shown interest in additional services? Have they achieved measurable results that justify an upsell? Who should lead the conversation? Is the upsell positioned as a true value-add? Approaching the conversation with care and relevance is critical to maintaining trust and customer satisfaction.

5. Trust, Relevance, and Customer Willingness are Key

The foundation of every successful upsell is trust. Relevance,timing, context, and alignment with the client’s goals,ensures that the upsell resonates. The customer’s willingness to engage should be invited, not pressured. CS teams should act as strategic advisors, guiding customers to solutions that genuinely support their business growth.

6. Best Practices for Seamless Upsell Execution

Seamless upsell execution relies on several best practices: begin upsell conversations early, ideally within the first three months when customer results are strong; focus efforts on clients who are actively using the product and have already seen its value; collaborate closely with Marketing on campaigns like “Road to Market” that introduce new solutions while reinforcing existing relationships; and consistently monitor customer usage and engagement to time upsell opportunities effectively.

The Start, Stop, Continue model is a straightforward and effective tool for reflection and improvement. It encourages individuals and teams to think critically about their actions by identifying what new practices they should start doing, what existing behaviors they should stop, and what successful habits they should continue. Here’s what we were able to summarize from the session.

Start, Stop, Continue

Start	Stop	Continue
Collaborate closely with Sales: Work hand-in-hand with the Sales team from the beginning to identify key business challenges for the client, creating alignment from the start.	Avoid siloed KPIs: Sales and CS KPIs should be aligned, with Renewal Rate (RR) being the most common metric to measure success across both teams.	Client Community Building: Keep fostering a client community where business challenges, not just product usage, are addressed. This builds a more engaged, loyal customer base.
Develop peer-to-peer meetings for C-Level executives: Organize dedicated events to bring together clients and share valuable insights.	Difficulties with Marketing ROI: Marketing efforts for upselling are often not perceived as effective because tracking ROI can be challenging. Reconsider this approach.	Clear RACI: Maintain a clear Responsibility, Accountability, Consulted, and Informed (RACI) framework to ensure clarity in roles and responsibilities.

Conflict Management and Feedback

When conflicts arise, the most impactful thing a CSM can do is listen,truly listen. Active listening means tuning in to not just what’s said, but what’s felt. It allows us to uncover the deeper root of an issue, whether it’s frustration over unmet expectations or confusion about product use. This empathetic approach helps build trust and opens the door for thoughtful, long-lasting resolutions. In this session headed by Nadia Nicolai, we discussed a few things that fall under the Conflict Management in Customer Success.

1. Conflict Management

• Active Listening: By listening attentively, CSMs can better understand the root causes of conflicts and work towards a resolution that respects both the customer’s and the company’s needs.
  
• Clear and Respectful Communication: Transparent, empathetic communication is key to resolving disputes and building mutual trust.
  
• Collaborative Problem-Solving: Involving the customer in finding solutions shows commitment to their success and helps strengthen the relationship.
  
• Staying Objective: Keeping a calm and objective stance during conflicts ensures that solutions are focused on facts, minimizing misunderstandings.
  
• Proactive Issue Identification: Anticipating potential conflicts allows CSMs to address concerns early, avoiding future issues.
  

2. Feedback Utilization

• Soliciting Feedback: Asking for feedback helps CSMs understand customer perceptions and areas for improvement.
  
• Embracing Constructive Criticism: Viewing feedback as an opportunity for growth enables CSMs to enhance their skills and service delivery.
  
• Implementing Feedback: Actioning feedback shows customers that their input is valued and that changes are being made.
  
• Closing the Feedback Loop: Following up on feedback assures customers that their concerns are taken seriously and addressed.
  
• Continuous Improvement Culture: Cultivating a culture of feedback within teams and the organization ensures constant growth and excellence.
  

3. Managing Urgent Customer Escalations

• Effective Triaging: Quickly triaging issues to the right teams minimizes delays and confusion.
  
• Clear Internal Communication: Transparent communication with internal teams ensures coordination and prevents unnecessary pressure.
  
• Prioritization and Delegation: Working with teams to prioritize urgent issues helps resolve them promptly.
  
• Facilitating Interdepartmental Collaboration: Acting as a bridge between teams enhances cooperation and efficiency in solving escalations.
  
• Regular Customer Updates: Keeping customers updated regularly, even without significant changes, demonstrates commitment and attentiveness.
  
• Recognizing Team Efforts: Acknowledging internal teams fosters a positive and supportive work environment.
  
• Executive-Level Root Cause Analysis: Engaging leadership in root cause analysis builds stronger relationships with both customers and internal teams.
  
• Thoughtful Customer Value Enhancement: Instead of resorting to financial concessions, offering engagement opportunities like exclusive events or beta testing programs deepens customer investment in your brand.

Start, Stop, Continue

Start	Stop	Continue
Master Conflict Resolution. Practice active listening to uncover deeper customer concerns. Also communicate transparently and empathetically to build trust.	Break Reactive Habits. Stop waiting for issues to escalate before addressing them. Stop treating feedback as criticism instead of an opportunity.	Champion Customer-Centric Communication. Continue collaborating with customers to find solutions together.
Strengthen Feedback and Escalation Management. Proactively solicit feedback and implement changes based on input. Triage urgent issues quickly and keep customers regularly updated.	End Inefficient Communication. Stop isolating escalations within CS—promote cross-team collaboration. Stop leaving customers uninformed during critical escalations.	Drive Internal and External Trust. Continue celebrating internal team efforts during escalations.

Client Change management, Success Plans & tooling

Change isn’t easy, especially for clients navigating new technology, shifting strategies, and evolving team dynamics. As Customer Success professionals, we’re often at the heart of that transformation. We’re not just onboarding a product; we’re guiding people through change. And that’s where real impact happens.

In this session moderated by Nabil Saidi, and Julie Cotovio, we explored how thoughtful change management, clear success plans, and the right tooling can turn uncertainty into clarity,and clients into champions. From aligning stakeholders to proactively identifying risks, from co-creating realistic success metrics to using tools that make value visible, every touchpoint is a chance to reinforce trust and direction.

Because when clients feel supported, understood, and empowered? That’s when adoption deepens, outcomes improve, and relationships grow stronger.

Start, Stop, Continue

Start	Stop	Continue
Bring CSMs in Earlier Let’s not wait until onboarding to loop in Customer Success. Getting CSMs involved even during pre-sales creates early alignment, builds trust, and helps everyone hit the ground running.	One-Size-Fits-All Onboarding Let’s stop rigidly following a checklist just for the sake of it. Some clients need more support, others less,so let’s stay flexible and tailor our approach based on their needs.	Start with the Demand Plan Begin every onboarding by validating the customer’s real needs. When we understand the “why,” we can guide the “how” much more effectivel
Meet the Stakeholders Early As soon as possible, connect with the key players,program managers, execs, field teams. Understanding their goals and concerns early makes everything smoother down the line.	Tracking Usage Manually Spreadsheets, be gone. It’s time to embrace platforms like Planhat and CRM tools that give us real-time, automated insights into how customers are engaging.	Adapt Communication to Fit Stay in touch regularly, but on the customer’s terms. Weekly, monthly, quarterly,whatever suits the complexity of their setup and pace of progress.
Weave in Change Management For bigger deals or major shifts in how a client operates, it’s worth introducing structured change management methods like ADKAR. It helps everyone navigate the journey with less friction.	Focusing only on successes and wins: Shift the conversation to include challenges so the team can brainstorm and problem-solve together.	Keep Reaffirming the Value Don’t let the excitement fade after the deal closes. Keep reminding stakeholders (old and new) why the solution matters to them.
Check the Pulse During Onboarding Don’t wait until the end of onboarding to find out if something’s off. Use NPS surveys and qualitative feedback during the process to catch potential bumps and fix them early.	Avoid management-led discussions during open forums: Let CSMs lead the conversation to promote sharing and peer learning.	Lean on Your Champions Top users are your secret weapon. Involve them in the rollout and let them help tell the story of success internally.
Create Scalable Playbooks Think about how you can reuse what’s working. Onboarding doesn’t have to be reinvented for every client,building at-scale strategies can save time and create shared success stories.	Tracking usage manually: Move away from spreadsheets. Use tools like Planhat or CRMs for real-time, automated engagement insights.	Ask the Big Question Early “What does success look like to you?” It’s such a simple question,but it unlocks so much clarity. Make it part of every kickoff.

Communities, Playbooks, Automation, and Customer Engagement

The future of Customer Success lies in scalable, community-driven, and highly personalized experiences. Playbooks, automation, and engagement strategies now sit at the heart of how we build lasting customer value. To lead in this future, we must intentionally refine our approach.

A well-crafted playbook acts as a strategic blueprint, offering CSMs a clear path to guide customers through onboarding, adoption, expansion, and renewal phases with best practices tailored to different customer segments

At the same time, automation has transformed the way teams can manage growing customer bases without sacrificing quality. By automating routine touchpoints—like usage reports, renewal reminders, onboarding check-ins, or tailored content delivery—CSMs can free up time to focus on strategic conversations that drive deeper value.

Start, Stop, Continue

Start	Stop	Continue
Build User Communities Create online spaces for knowledge sharing, best practices, and peer engagement.	Align Internal Communications Prevent multiple teams from contacting customers separately with fragmented messages.	Host In-Person Events Organize office hours and gatherings to deepen customer relationships.
Showcase Customer Champions Host webinars featuring customers to highlight real success stories	Tailor Customer Meetings Move away from defaulting to QBRs without clear, demonstrated value.	Share Roadmaps Through Communities Use community channels to announce roadmaps and product updates by region or product line.
Integrate Learning Content Embed short videos, self-assessments, and certifications into community platforms	Balance Customization with Strategy Avoid over-customizing to individual requests at the expense of strategic impact.	Support Regional Community Growth Foster local communities while adapting to varying levels of maturity and engagement.
Gamify Engagement Use incentives and point systems to boost both user and employee participation.	Redefine Customer Success Value Shift Customer Success from a cost center to a growth and value driver.	Link Engagement to Business Outcomes Tie community efforts to measurable goals like renewals, satisfaction, and account growth.
Set Community Expectations Early Introduce communities as essential support tools during onboarding.	Run Strategic Meetings Ensure all meetings have clear agendas and focus on achieving strategic outcomes.	Maintain Pricing Transparency Be open about pricing discussions to build and maintain customer trust.
Adapt Regional Communication Use preferred local channels while maintaining consistent global messaging.	Champion Community Building Invest in community-building efforts even when the product feels intuitive, emphasizing storytelling and best practices.	Personalize Champion Outreach Send personal emails to champions even within automated or low-touch customer journeys.

Value-based communication, Time to value & Stakeholder management

Value isn’t a fixed metric,it’s subjective, fluid, and depends on who you’re speaking with. Whether you’re talking to an executive, a program manager, or a day-to-day user, each stakeholder will have a different idea of what success looks like. That’s why aligning on what “value” means for each person and organization is critical from the start,and needs to be revisited throughout the journey.

In this session, shared and moderated by Amilcar Pinto, Julie Cotovio and Rachel Herlihy, we learned and emphasized how working in sync with Sales and Marketing is essential to drive impact, set the right expectations, and evolve the partnership over time. 

Start, Stop, Continue

Start	Stop	Continue
Define Value Early (and Per Stakeholder): From day one, ask the right questions to understand what value means to each person involved. Use open-ended questions and discovery sessions to get to the core of what matters most.	Avoid Treating Value as Static: Value discovery isn’t just a kickoff exercise. As business goals evolve, so should your understanding of what matters to the customer.	Discover Value With Sales Early On: Wherever possible, sit in on discovery calls with Sales to start building that shared understanding of value before the deal is signed.
Tailor Messaging Based on Personas: Adapt how you communicate value to suit the audience,execs care about outcomes and strategy, power users care about efficiency and usability.	Stop Positioning ROI Alone: ROI is only part of the story. Value includes productivity, satisfaction, strategic alignment, and more.	Adjust Touchpoints to Drive Value: Whether in QBRs or quick check-ins, continuously reinforce progress and real-world outcomes.
Bring in the CSM Early: Aligning early in the process,sometimes even pre-sale,helps set shared goals and build trust faster	No More One-Size-Fits-All Approaches: Every company, team, and individual is different. Treating everyone the same dilutes your impact.	Leverage Champions and Use Cases: Showcase how your solution is helping their peers and share real examples of impact (“you saved 20 minutes a day,how is that helping your business?”).
Capture Impact Data Automatically: Build processes that capture key metrics during onboarding and implementation instead of relying on the customer to provide them later.	Stop Speaking in Your Own KPIs: Avoid internal jargon and metrics that may not resonate with the customer. Translate everything into their language and outcomes.	Build Trust Through Transparency: If something isn’t working, say it. Being honest builds trust and stronger collaboration.
Create Value Scorecards: Track relationships, pain points, progress, and outcomes in one place. This keeps things objective and gives a baseline to reference during renewals.	Focusing only on successes and wins: Shift the conversation to include challenges so the team can brainstorm and problem-solve together.	Keep Stakeholders in the Loop: Summarize progress and blockers regularly. Loop in key players so they’re always aware of how you’re delivering value.

Resources & Frameworks for Value Based Communication

• PVC Framework (People / Value / Communication): Helps keep all stakeholders engaged and ensures your communication is always targeted and relevant.
  
• Voice of Customer & Surveys: Collect qualitative data and measure satisfaction to support the value narrative.
  
• CRM & CS Tools (like Planhat): Automate tracking and reduce manual reporting so you can focus on insight and strategy.
  
• Market & Competitive Analyses: Help contextualize value and show your customer where they stand.
  
• Value Reviews & Business Cases: Co-create these with customers to build alignment, drive urgency, and solidify outcomes.

We’re excited to keep the momentum going! Stay tuned for our upcoming Customer Success Snacks — we can’t wait to learn, connect, and grow with you again soon.

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