Moving from Customer Service to Customer Success with Lena Theres Zimmermann

customer experience customer service proactive customer success strategic customer success strategy Aug 06, 2025

Customer success pros everywhere wrestle with the same question: How do we move beyond reactive ticket-slaying and become true growth partners for our customers and our companies?

In this episode recap, host Anika Zubair sits down with Lena Therese Zimmerman, Head of Customer Experience at Do Instruct, to share a blueprint for evolving from “make customers happy” to “make customers successful and stickier.” The conversation covers mindset shifts, cross-functional alignment, and proven tactics for guiding even the most traditional clients through digital change. Read on for the highlights and practical steps you can apply today.

The Mindset Shift – From Customer Service to Customer Success

The journey begins inside your own head. Lena argues that you cannot advise strategically if you still feel like support. Instead:

Define your new identity. Map out what a strategic CSM would do in a typical week: data-driven health checks, revenue opportunity spotting, stakeholder workshops, and clear boundary setting.
Say “no” when it matters. A “yes” culture breeds scope creep and erodes trust. Push back on low-value asks, explain why, and redirect clients toward outcomes.
Measure what matters. Happiness metrics like CSAT and NPS can be useful signals, but they rarely correlate directly with net revenue retention. Prioritise NRR, expansion pipeline, and adoption milestones.
Start every relationship with clarity. At Do Instruct, the kickoff call is entirely about roles, goals, and success metrics—not tool clicks. Customers leave knowing who owns what and why.

By re-engineering your self-perception and external messaging, you teach customers—and colleagues—to view CS as a consultancy rather than a help desk.

Revenue Alignment – Turning CS into a Growth Engine

Mindset alone is not enough; incentives and processes must line up, too.

Anchor on NRR. Do Instruct’s leadership tied Lena’s charter directly to net revenue retention. That singular focus clarified priorities for product, sales, and CS alike.
Create a seamless land-and-expand motion. Account Executives loop CSMs into late-stage deals so relationships start early, and CSMs invite AEs back for expansion negotiations. No hand-offs, no silos.
Align compensation and reporting. When both teams win from upsell and renewal, collaboration feels natural, not forced.
Replace vanity checkpoints with impact reviews. Quarterly business reviews examine usage growth, value realised, and new revenue paths—never a slide full of feel-good emojis.

The result: fewer dropped balls, faster expansions, and leadership that sees CS as indispensable to the top line.

Guiding Traditional Customers through Digital Transformation

Many Do Instruct clients are long-established manufacturers or logistics firms new to SaaS. Helping them succeed requires empathy and structure:

Acknowledge fear of change. Employees with decades on the shop floor worry a new tool could expose gaps in their skills. Address that head-on: “We’re here to make you the hero, not replace you.”
Break projects into digestible homework. Procrastination is real, so Lena’s team offers clear micro-tasks, deadlines, and gentle nudges—think teacher rather than tech evangelist.
Set boundaries on beta. A customer asked the team to “concentrate” so no bugs appear for two weeks. Instead of apologising for every glitch, Lena reframed expectations: beta means discovery, and each bug squashed makes the feature stronger.
Use goodies as garnish, not the main course. A deli box or dinner out is appreciated after value is delivered—never in place of it.

By marrying firm guidance with genuine care, CS earns trust even among customers who once viewed them as password-resetters.

Key Takeaways

Curiosity fuels growth. Keep learning about your product, your customer’s industry, and best practices—then share those insights proactively.
Internal alignment is step one. Secure leadership buy-in for revenue metrics before you try to change customer perception.
Kickoffs set the tone. Use them to define success, roles, and timelines, not to demo features.
Strategic “no” answers build credibility. Clients respect honest guidance more than endless yeses.
Joint incentives beat turf wars. Pay sales and CS on shared NRR targets to encourage smooth land-and-expand cycles.
Empathy enables adoption. Understand the human side of digital transformation and tailor your approach accordingly.