Archive - The CS Cafe Newsletter

The Account That Looks Fine Is the One You Should Worry About

A Fortune 100 company builds an internal replacement, and the vendor never saw it coming. The four layers that protect a strategic account before it's…

Mar 26 • Hakan Ozturk | The CS Café

You Cannot Coach Consistency Against Vibes

Most CS teams run on instinct and isolated talent. These 7 artifacts are what a real operating system leaves behind, and what makes the work survivable.

Mar 22 • Hakan Ozturk | The CS Café

The Churn Signal Hiding Outside Your Dashboard

Green accounts churn. Red accounts renew. Your health score isn't broken. It's measuring the wrong things. Here's what predictive scoring actually looks…

Mar 18 • Hakan Ozturk | The CS Café

What a CFO Hears When You Say "87% Feature Adoption"

Most renewals don't fail because of adoption. They fail because CSMs answer the wrong question. Here's the CFO-level system that changes that.

Mar 15 • Hakan Ozturk | The CS Café

Enterprise Renewals Just Got More Security Driven

Google’s $32B Wiz deal is not just security news. It signals a new renewal risk for Customer Success: silent trust debt.

Mar 12 • Hakan Ozturk | The CS Café

The CS Coverage Mistake That Quietly Hurts Renewals

Great CS teams do not manage every account equally. Here’s the portfolio model CS and revenue leaders can use to protect GRR, NRR, and exec trust.

Mar 10 • Hakan Ozturk | The CS Café

Renewal Is Not The Win. Longer Terms Are

Most CS teams chase renewal. The best ones earn longer commitments earlier by building proof, trust, and operational dependence first.

Mar 10 • Hakan Ozturk | The CS Café

Why Enterprise Renewals Fail Before The Renewal Call

Healthy accounts still churn when SSO, SCIM, audit logs, and IT ownership are ignored too long. The real renewal risk starts months earlier.

Mar 7 • Hakan Ozturk | The CS Café

SAP Just Ended The CS Handoff Playbook

SAP unified CS + Delivery under one CCO. The era of handoffs is over. Here's the 4-part framework every CS leader needs before this model arrives at…

Mar 5 • Hakan Ozturk | The CS Café

The Friday Ritual That Prevents Renewal Surprises

Stop saying “customers are frustrated.” Walk in with volume, ARR, renewal timing, and a recommendation. This script changes Product meetings.

Mar 4 • Hakan Ozturk | The CS Café

What Does Your CSM Say When The Churn Flag Fires?

Most CS teams have cracked churn detection. Almost none have a system for diagnosing why a customer is upset before outreach. This framework closes that…

Mar 1 • Hakan Ozturk | The CS Café

February 2026

Stop Counting QBRs. Start Counting Decisions.

QBR volume is a vanity KPI. Use decision rate, risk retirement, and tiered cadence to restore signal and prevent renewal surprises.

Feb 25 • Hakan Ozturk | The CS Café

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