Experts of Experience – Episode: "5 Customer Success Trends You Can’t Ignore in 2025"

In the latest episode of Experts of Experience, hosted by Lauren Wood from Mission.org and presented by Salesforce Customer Success, listeners are treated to an in-depth exploration of the evolving landscape of customer success (CS). Released on March 19, 2025, this episode features a compelling conversation with Mary Beth D'Souza, a principal at Deloitte Consulting, who brings over a decade of expertise in customer success leadership, including her pivotal role at Salesforce. Mary Beth delves into the forefront of customer success trends, shedding light on how emerging technologies like AI and GPT are reshaping customer relationships and organizational strategies.

Introduction to Mary Beth D'Souza

Lauren Wood opens the episode by introducing Mary Beth D'Souza, highlighting her impressive journey from customer success leadership at Salesforce to a strategic role at Deloitte. Mary Beth is recognized for pioneering innovative approaches that position customer success as the heartbeat of modern business. As Lauren notes, Mary Beth's insights are invaluable for understanding the state of customer success in 2025 and beyond.

Mary Beth D'Souza [00:00]: "Customer success is facing an identity crisis right now. How do we just fundamentally turn customer success on its head?"

The Five Emerging Trends in Customer Success

Mary Beth shares findings from Deloitte's recent research, which involved interviews with over 35 leading companies. Five key themes have emerged, each pivotal in shaping the future of customer success:

1. Identity Crisis in Customer Success

   • Description: CS is grappling with inconsistent definitions and roles across various organizations, leading to confusion and misalignment.
   • Quote:

     Mary Beth D'Souza [03:58]: "The first is that customer success is facing an identity crisis right now."

2. Investment in Digital Capabilities

   • Description: Economic pressures and budget constraints are pushing CS leaders to prioritize digital tools and technologies to enhance efficiency and scalability.

3. Customer Success as a Company-Wide Mindset

   • Description: CS is no longer siloed within a single team but is becoming an integrated mindset that permeates the entire organization, influencing all stages of the customer lifecycle.

4. Disruption Within Customer Success Teams

   • Description: The roles and skill sets within CS teams are evolving, presenting new opportunities and challenges in talent management and career development.

5. Collaboration and Integration with Product Teams

   • Description: Tight integration between CS and product teams is essential for driving insights, fostering growth, and ensuring cohesive customer experiences.

Addressing the Identity Crisis in Customer Success

Lauren Wood probes into the first trend, questioning the lack of standardization in CS functions across organizations. Mary Beth emphasizes the necessity of defining a clear, revenue-focused role for CS to drive financial results effectively.

Mary Beth D'Souza [08:23]: "Customer success as an identity is thriving and there's opportunity for them to continue to grow and make an impact in the organization."

Mary Beth advocates for CS leaders to "pick a lane," making decisive statements about their team’s differentiated value and aligning cross-functionally to support organizational goals.

Proving ROI in Customer Success

A significant challenge highlighted is demonstrating the return on investment (ROI) of CS initiatives. Mary Beth outlines three essential data categories that CS teams should focus on:

1. Performance Metrics:

   • Focus: Product or service usage levels and engagement rates.

2. Experience Value:

   • Focus: Customer sentiment, ease of interactions, and responsiveness.

3. Financial Value:

   • Focus: Direct correlation between CS activities and customer business growth, such as increased revenue or reduced churn.

Mary Beth D'Souza [11:27]: "Customer success can be an orchestrator of the customer experience."

Mary Beth underscores that CS acts as a proactive orchestrator, aligning various data points to provide a comprehensive view of the customer journey and driving meaningful business outcomes.

AI's Impact on Customer Success

The conversation shifts to the transformative role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in CS. Mary Beth categorizes AI applications in CS into three buckets:

1. Efficiency Enhancements:

   • Examples: Automating routine tasks, optimizing workflows, and improving call preparation.

2. Experience Improvements:

   • Examples: Enhancing success planning processes with data-driven insights and making customer interactions more seamless.

3. Exponential Changes:

   • Examples: Redefining CS by empowering customers with personalized recommendations and facilitating proactive value realization.

Mary Beth D'Souza [22:42]: "The introduction of AI is really just helping to make that, I would say table stakes now..."

Mary Beth highlights that while many companies have initiated AI pilots, scaling these initiatives requires robust data models, infrastructure, governance, and cross-functional collaboration.

Cross-Functional Collaboration in Customer Success

Mary Beth and Lauren delve into the importance of CS as a company-wide mindset, emphasizing the need to dismantle functional silos. They advocate for journey mapping as a vital tool to align different departments on customer needs and expectations throughout the lifecycle.

Mary Beth D'Souza [35:45]: "Embrace it... functional silos and work through how to drive that integrated experience."

Lauren Wood [38:54]: "It's always like onboarding. Everyone's on top of the customer and there's like all this redundant work happening."

Effective journey mapping ensures that all teams are synchronized, minimizing redundancies and closing gaps in customer experience management.

Advice for Customer Success Professionals

Mary Beth offers strategic advice for CS professionals aiming to stay ahead in the evolving landscape:

1. Technical Expertise:

   • Focus: Deep understanding of products, industry-specific knowledge, and advisory capabilities.

2. Data and Insights:

   • Focus: Proficiency in analyzing data to inform strategic decisions and actions.

3. Enduring Human Skills:

   • Focus: Managing executive relationships, navigating conflicts, and operating effectively in ambiguous situations.

Additionally, Mary Beth emphasizes the importance of collaboration and influence, especially as professionals advance into leadership roles.

Mary Beth D'Souza [44:14]: "Don't underestimate the amount of time that is needed to influence and collaborate cross-functionally."

Rapid-Fire Insights and Final Thoughts

In a brief rapid-fire segment, Mary Beth shares her positive experience with DoorDash, praising their rapid innovation, ease of use, and exceptional issue resolution.

She concludes with a poignant piece of advice for customer experience leaders:

Mary Beth D'Souza [44:14]: "Don't underestimate the amount of time that is needed to influence and collaborate cross-functionally."

Lauren Wood echoes this sentiment, highlighting the necessity of cross-functional collaboration and strategic alignment to meet and exceed customer expectations.

Conclusion

This episode of Experts of Experience offers a comprehensive and insightful examination of the critical trends shaping customer success in 2025. Mary Beth D'Souza’s expertise provides listeners with actionable strategies to navigate challenges, leverage emerging technologies, and foster a customer-centric organizational culture. As customer expectations continue to evolve, the insights shared in this episode are invaluable for businesses striving to deliver exceptional customer experiences and drive sustained growth.

Notable Quotes

• Mary Beth D'Souza [00:00]: "Customer success is facing an identity crisis right now."

• Mary Beth D'Souza [03:58]: "The first is that customer success is facing an identity crisis right now."

• Mary Beth D'Souza [08:23]: "Customer success as an identity is thriving and there's opportunity for them to continue to grow and make an impact in the organization."

• Mary Beth D'Souza [11:27]: "Customer success can be an orchestrator of the customer experience."

• Mary Beth D'Souza [22:42]: "The introduction of AI is really just helping to make that, I would say table stakes now..."

• Mary Beth D'Souza [35:45]: "Embrace it... functional silos and work through how to drive that integrated experience."

• Mary Beth D'Souza [44:14]: "Don't underestimate the amount of time that is needed to influence and collaborate cross-functionally."

This detailed summary captures the essence of the podcast episode, providing a structured and comprehensive overview of the key discussions, insights, and actionable conclusions shared by Mary Beth D'Souza and Lauren Wood. It is crafted to be informative and engaging for those who have not listened to the episode, offering a clear understanding of the critical trends and strategies in customer success for 2025.