The Customer Success Café Newsletter

The Customer Success Café Newsletter

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Reliability Is Revenue: The CS Playbook For Incidents
Resolve AI’s $1B headline is a warning for CS leaders. Here’s the reliability-to-retention system that prevents surprise churn and protects expansion.
 • Hakan Ozturk | The CS Café
If Everything Is Critical, Nothing Is
Shipping fast is good. Rebuilding enablement every release is not. Here’s the CS triage system that protects adoption and renewals in fast-moving PLG…
 • Hakan Ozturk | The CS Café
Your Next Churn Problem Starts On The Website
Salesforce acquiring Qualified is the headline. The real story is AI agents setting expectations before CS. Here’s the guardrail system to stop churn.
 • Hakan Ozturk | The CS Café
Low-Tier Customers Aren’t Tough, Your Boundaries Are Soft
A $3K account can quietly drain your team. See the guardrail system CS leaders use to reset support tiers and reclaim ~30% capacity.
 • Hakan Ozturk | The CS Café
AI Agents Are Eating Calls. What PolyAI’s $86M Means For CS
Voice AI is no longer support automation. It sets expectations, escalations, and renewal trust. This is the new CS ownership line.
 • Hakan Ozturk | The CS Café

Recent posts

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Inside Microsoft's CSAM Role: The Complete Guide for $120K-$200K Customer Success Careers
Get the insider's view of Microsoft's Customer Success Account Manager role, with real salary data, daily responsibilities, and career progression paths…
 • Hakan Ozturk | The CS Café
How To Stop Winning Deals You Can’t Keep
Sales promises. CS inherits. Trust leaks. Here’s the Proof Card system and 14-day rollout that turns customer wins into defensible proof plus an Excel…
 • Hakan Ozturk | The CS Café
Your AI Spend Is Growing. Are The Guardrails?
Snowflake’s $2B+ AWS Marketplace run isn’t just hype. See the scorecard, 30-day plan, and CS plays to keep AI spend tied to revenue and NRR.
 • Hakan Ozturk | The CS Café
The One Dashboard That Separates Good Enterprise CSMs From Great Ones
Turn uptime from a support metric into a revenue system. Download the exact 28-field dashboard, alert rules, and templates. Protects 7-figure accounts.
 • Hakan Ozturk | The CS Café
CSMs: Stop Guessing And Start Running This System
A simple CS workflow that sharpens your day, protects renewals, and gives you clarity in under 5 minutes. Includes the CS Daily Command Center XLSX…
 • Hakan Ozturk | The CS Café
Cut Kickoff Prep From 90 Minutes To 10
Turn 2-hour sales calls into a 5-minute AI workflow. This kickoff prep system cuts busywork, reduces surprise churn, and makes promotion talks easier to…
 • Hakan Ozturk | The CS Café
If Customers Repeat Themselves, Your AI Is Failing.
Sales teams now enter calls supercharged with AI. But when that context doesn’t reach Customer Success, churn starts at kickoff. Here’s how leaders fix…
 • Hakan Ozturk | The CS Café
Salesforce–Gainsight Incident: What CS Leaders Must Do Now
A clear breakdown of the Salesforce–Gainsight OAuth incident and what it means for your health scores, renewals, and executive trust. Includes your…
 • Hakan Ozturk | The CS Café
CSM Overload: Fix The Role Before It Kills Your NRR
Turn CSM overload into a clear headcount and NRR story. Get the charter, capacity model, and Excel tool to show execs exactly where you are over the…
 • Hakan Ozturk | The CS Café
Best Customer Success Platforms 2025: Complete Buyer's Guide [10 Platforms Compared]
Expert guide that compares 10 leading CSPs including Gainsight, Vitally & SmartKarrot. Find your perfect platform to reduce churn, optimize workflows …
 • Hakan Ozturk | The CS Café
Crack Your Final VP of Customer Success Interview
Sitting down with the VP of Customer Success next? Get the leadership playbook, story framework, and Excel prep checklist that top CS candidates rely…
 • Hakan Ozturk | The CS Café
Become The Vendor Champion Hiring Managers Remember
Templates trusted by 4,300+ CS pros: decks, scripts, tracker, and a step-by-step plan to ship assets and accelerate promotions.
 • Hakan Ozturk | The CS Café

NEWS

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Reliability Is Revenue: The CS Playbook For Incidents
Resolve AI’s $1B headline is a warning for CS leaders. Here’s the reliability-to-retention system that prevents surprise churn and protects expansion.
 • Hakan Ozturk | The CS Café
MoEngage’s $280M Raise: The New CS Retention Playbook
This isn’t a marketing story. It’s a retention signal. See the shift behind MoEngage’s $280M and the lifecycle system premium members get.
 • Hakan Ozturk | The CS Café
Your Next Churn Problem Starts On The Website
Salesforce acquiring Qualified is the headline. The real story is AI agents setting expectations before CS. Here’s the guardrail system to stop churn.
 • Hakan Ozturk | The CS Café
Stop Selling Value. Engineer Dependence.
Most CS teams sell value. The best teams engineer dependence. Here’s the Operational Lock-In Playbook that turns adoption into budget-line renewals.
 • Hakan Ozturk | The CS Café
AI Agents Are Eating Calls. What PolyAI’s $86M Means For CS
Voice AI is no longer support automation. It sets expectations, escalations, and renewal trust. This is the new CS ownership line.
 • Hakan Ozturk | The CS Café
Opine’s $5M For A Unified AI Workspace: What It Means For Customer Success
What a unified AI workspace means for CS: cleaner handoffs, earlier risk signals, and faster first value—plus plays you can run this week.
 • Hakan Ozturk | The CS Café
Agentic AI Isn’t A Feature. It’s An Operating Model.
What the deal signals for CS leaders: agentic AI moving from demos to outcomes—ownership, guardrails, and metrics that protect and grow NRR.
 • Hakan Ozturk | The CS Café
Aaru’s $1B Headline Round Signals A New Era For Customer Research
AI agents can compress research from weeks to minutes. Get the why now—and upgrade to access the step-by-step 30-day playbook for real revenue impact.
 • Hakan Ozturk | The CS Café
Your AI Spend Is Growing. Are The Guardrails?
Snowflake’s $2B+ AWS Marketplace run isn’t just hype. See the scorecard, 30-day plan, and CS plays to keep AI spend tied to revenue and NRR.
 • Hakan Ozturk | The CS Café
Brevo’s €500M Raise Is Your New Stack Wake-Up Call
Platforms are consolidating, AI is the new UX, and execs want proof. See what Brevo’s €500M means for your stack, governance, and renewals now.
 • Hakan Ozturk | The CS Café
Salesforce Q3 FY26 Signals: Talk Like A VP, Win Budget Faster
Copy the investor language: cRPO-style forward book, agent impact metrics, data SLAs, and payback—plus scripts and calculators inside.
 • Hakan Ozturk | The CS Café
Yoodli’s $40M: Experiential Learning For Customer Success
Funding is news; execution is value. Unlock the premium playbook to pilot AI roleplays in 30 days, prove impact, and boost NRR with confidence.
 • Hakan Ozturk | The CS Café

TEMPLATES

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13 LinkedIn Templates That Get CS Pros Hired: 40%+ Response Rates
Stop sending LinkedIn messages that go nowhere. These 13 field-tested templates have helped CS professionals land interviews at top companies. Free…
 • Hakan Ozturk | The CS Café
Your Micro-OKR™ Playbook: Scale Customer Success Without Headcount Bloat
Stop drowning in chaos! Grab the exact framework that helped 42 teams boost retention & slash workload. Free template + step-by-step playbook inside.
 • Hakan Ozturk | The CS Café
Value Discovery Template: The Ultimate CS Framework Guide
Get the template CS teams use to uncover $2,000-5,000 in monthly value. Includes 4 proven frameworks, conversation guides & implementation roadmap. Used…
 • Hakan Ozturk | The CS Café
The Ultimate CS Value Discovery Framework
Learn how CS teams achieve 37% better retention, save $50,000/year, and uncover 15-20% new revenue with my proven framework. Join 100+ CS leaders…
 • Hakan Ozturk | The CS Café
[Templates] QBRs: Why 72% of Customers Find Them Worthless
67% of QBRs fail to deliver value. Learn how industry leaders are transforming customer reviews with proven frameworks for success. Check these out now!
 • Hakan Ozturk | The CS Café
The Ultimate Customer Success Templates Collection: Boost Your CS Strategy
Improve customer success with my ultimate template collection. Boost efficiency, retention, and growth. Get started today!
 • Hakan Ozturk | The CS Café
10-Step Customer Onboarding Checklist: Set Your Customers Up for Success
Want to improve customer retention and satisfaction? My 10-step checklist helps you create an effective onboarding process. Download now and start…
 • Hakan Ozturk | The CS Café
Free Customer Success Plan Template | Boost Your CS Strategy
Get my comprehensive Customer Success Plan Template for free! 14-point plan, case study, and industry tips included. Subscribe to CS Café for instant…
 • Hakan Ozturk | The CS Café

GUIDES

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Handle Any Escalation Like a Boardroom-Level CS Leader 🚀
Transform tough customer escalations into retention wins. Get expert frameworks, scripts, and tools trusted by 4,300+ CS leaders. Download your toolkit…
 • Hakan Ozturk | The CS Café
CSMs: Stop the 73% longer "quick sync" trap
'Just a quick sync' = 90-minute marathon. 4,200+ CS pros use these frameworks to save 8+ hours weekly. Finally take control of your calendar.
 • Hakan Ozturk | The CS Café
The CS Leader’s Guide to Confident Price Conversations
Templates, ROI calculators, and battle-tested tactics to run price increases that customers respect. Built for Customer Success leaders, used by 4,200…
 • Hakan Ozturk | The CS Café
Stop Repeating Yourself: AI Video Docs for CS Teams
No more repeat how-to emails. Learn how top CS teams use AI videos to deflect tickets, boost NRR, and scale without burnout.
 • Hakan Ozturk | The CS Café
Drowning in Emails? This AI Trick Fixes It
Learn how companies achieve 15%+ retention improvements with AI-powered CRMs. Includes implementation timelines for teams of all sizes.
 • Hakan Ozturk | The CS Café
Stop 'Spray and Pray': Use These Triggers Instead
Stop sending generic newsletters to your free users! Here's how you can achieve 27% higher feature adoption in 30 days while reducing email volume by…
 • Hakan Ozturk | The CS Café
How a 5-Person CS Team Scaled to 500 Clients (Without Burning Out)
Stuck scaling your lean CS team? See the exact toolkit, automations, and sprint framework that replaced 4 FTEs. Join 4,100+ leaders mastering micro-team…
 • Hakan Ozturk | The CS Café
The Ultimate QBR Playbook: 42% Upsell Tactics from Gong & Snowflake
Discover how Gong & Snowflake transformed QBRs into boardroom wins. Free F.O.R.C.E. template + automation scripts inside. Turn vendors into partners.
 • Hakan Ozturk | The CS Café
[Playbook] Fix Your Sales-to-CS Handoffs: Cut Churn 33%
Learn how this one company saved $180k by fixing broken sales handovers. Includes AI-powered promise detection framework and structured handover…
 • Hakan Ozturk | The CS Café
Stop Being the CS Helpdesk: Recover 296 Minutes Daily [Guide]
Discover the exact system that helped Angel go from daily firefighting to Director in 18 months. Includes templates, frameworks & implementation plan.
 • Hakan Ozturk | The CS Café
🚨Turn Budget Cuts Into Career Growth [+ Templates]
Get the exact playbook that helped a CSM secure $2.7M in renewals & land a VP role during budget cuts. Includes templates from edu tech leaders.
 • Hakan Ozturk | The CS Café
🚨 Customer Gone Silent? 5 Steps to Save Them (+ Templates)
Boost retention + your career now. Rescue at-risk accounts with battle-tested email scripts & diplomatic probing tactics. Ready-to-use scripts inside 👇
 • Hakan Ozturk | The CS Café
Join 4,300+ other Customer Success leaders and practitioners now!

CAREER

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The Age Of The Builder Is Reshaping Customer Success
When customers build instead of wait, CS either becomes strategic or reactive. Here’s how the role is changing and who wins.
 • Hakan Ozturk | The CS Café
Crack Your Final VP of Customer Success Interview
Sitting down with the VP of Customer Success next? Get the leadership playbook, story framework, and Excel prep checklist that top CS candidates rely…
 • Hakan Ozturk | The CS Café
Build Receipts That Win Job Offers
Hiring isn’t bad—it’s selective. Use a 5-column Outcome Log and CRR stories to prove revenue impact. Paid: templates, talk tracks, and a 7-day build.
 • Hakan Ozturk | The CS Café
Breaking Into Customer Success From Non-Tech Roles (Government, Education, Retail)
Practical playbook to pivot into CS: target roles, assets to build, tools to learn, resume metrics, interview scripts, and a 2-hour/day job search plan.
 • Hakan Ozturk | The CS Café
How John Went From 2 Rejections To Same-Day Job Offer
After 2 final-round rejections, John mastered 1 strategic skill and got a same-day job offer. See the 3-act framework that transformed his career…
 • Hakan Ozturk | The CS Café
AI Jobs: Land $120K+ Roles in 2025
Microsoft data reveals 95% of top companies hiring AI CS roles. Discover the exact 90-day framework helping CS pros earn $25K-$75K salary increases.
 • Hakan Ozturk | The CS Café
HR to Customer Success: Complete Career Transition Guide
Ready to pivot from HR to Customer Success? This practical guide shows you how to leverage your skills, ace interviews & land your first CSM role.
 • Hakan Ozturk | The CS Café
Red Flags Most CSMs Miss (Until They Get Laid Off)
Too many talented CSMs ruin their careers chasing startup equity. Get the expert framework to evaluate opportunities and negotiate like a pro.
 • Hakan Ozturk | The CS Café
The Shadow Portfolio™: How to Land a $120K CS Role Without Traditional Experience
Stuck with the CSM title but no real customer work? Learn how to build a strategic portfolio that demonstrates your CS expertise and lands premium…
 • Hakan Ozturk | The CS Café
CS Interview Mastery: The Path to 6-Figure Offers
Revealed: The interview questions 83% of CS leaders ask in 2025, plus word-for-word scripts that boosted one member's offer by $37K. Trusted by 4,200…
 • Hakan Ozturk | The CS Café
4 Traits of Top-Performing CSMs That Make $120K+ Salaries
Access my proven CS Portfolio Method™ that helps CSMs land interviews 2-3x faster and increase salaries by 28%. Discover the frameworks used by $120K…
 • Hakan Ozturk | The CS Café
From Code to Customer Success: A Developer's Career Transition Guide
Discover how your technical knowledge becomes your secret weapon in customer success. Learn the proven framework that's helped developers land…
 • Hakan Ozturk | The CS Café

CS MY WAY

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Exclusive Interview: Lara Barnes, SVP Customer Success & Renewals at Sitecore
From first CSM to global SVP: Lara Barnes on telemetry, outcomes, and the playbooks that turn renewals into a non-event at Sitecore.
 • Hakan Ozturk | The CS Café
CS My Way #11: Gillian Core, Former SVP of Customer Success
Explore my exclusive interview with Gillian Core, former SVP of Customer Success at Placer AI, and discover her insights on customer success strategies…
 • Hakan Ozturk | The CS Café
CS My Way #10: Roxanne Rowe, AVP of Customer Success at TrackUnit
Discover exclusive strategies for driving customer success and boosting team performance with Roxanne Rowe, AVP of Customer Success at Trackunit. Dive…
 • Hakan Ozturk | The CS Café
CS My Way #9: Exclusive Interview with Kevin Herrholtz, Vice President of Customer Success at AddShoppers
Get actionable strategies from Kevin Herrholtz, VP of Customer Success at AddShoppers. Learn how to level up your customer success game in the field…
 • Hakan Ozturk | The CS Café
CS My Way #8: Exclusive Interview with Kirsten DiChiappari, VP of Customer Success at vCom Solutions
Explore Kirsten DiChiappari's journey at vCom Solutions. Learn about IT management strategies, customer retention, and industry insights shared in this…
 • Hakan Ozturk | The CS Café
CS My Way #7: Exclusive Interview with Krystel Leal - Head Of Customer Success, OneText
Discover exclusive insights on CS strategies, collaboration, and industry trends from Krystel Leal, Head of CS at OneText, only on the Customer Success…
 • Hakan Ozturk | The CS Café
CS My Way #6: Exclusive Interview with Melissa Garcia
Learn from the best! Get exclusive insights from Melissa Garcia, Director of Renewal Operations at Chief, in CS My Way #6. Accelerate your customer…
 • Hakan Ozturk | The CS Café
Jill Favro Sawatzky, Chief Customer Officer, Thought Industries
Explore my exclusive interview with Jill Favro Sawatzky, Chief Customer Officer at Thought Industries, and gain valuable insights into revolutionizing…
 • Hakan Ozturk | The CS Café
APAC Director, Customer Success at GitLab
Join Catherine Ballantyne, APAC Director, Customer Success at GitLab, on her unique CS journey. Gain insights into success strategies and achievements…
 • Hakan Ozturk | The CS Café
Christine Lavery, VP of Customer Success, AgentSync
Explore customer success strategies with Christine Lavery, VP of CS at AgentSync, in the exclusive 'CS My Way' interview. Gain insights into challenges…
 • Hakan Ozturk | The CS Café
Shirley Chapman, Head Of Customer Success, Forrester
Exclusive insights on customer success! Join Shirley Chapman, Forrester's Head of CS, in this in-depth interview. Discover strategies for success and…
 • Hakan Ozturk | The CS Café
Ming Zhang, VP Customer Success: Insights from A CS Expert
Explore the future of Customer Success with Ming Zhang, VP of CS. Gain insights on AI-driven strategies, operational efficiency, and career progression…
 • Hakan Ozturk | The CS Café
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