From Cost Center to Profit Center: Showcasing Customer Success Impact | Steven Cronin

Episode notes

In this episode I had the pleasure of speaking with Steven Cronin, a customer success leader with over 27 years of experience in the B2B space. We kicked things off by diving into Stephen’s career journey—from his beginnings as a customer support engineer to eventually managing entire post-sales teams, including customer success, support, and professional services. One of the most insightful parts of our conversation revolved around the importance of customer success managers showcasing their impact within the organization. Stephen emphasized how critical it is for CS teams to move away from being seen as cost centers and instead highlight their role in driving revenue growth through retention, upsells, and cross-sells. Just like sales teams celebrate their wins, customer success managers should also ring the bell when they help secure renewals or grow accounts. This isn’t just about recognition—it’s about making the entire organization more customer-centric by consistently communicating the value that CS brings. Here are my main takeaways: - CS teams need to move from being seen as cost centers to revenue drivers, highlighting their role in retention and growth.