Why Your Marketing Team is the Key to CS Revenue Growth with Ashna Patel

What if I told you the secret to driving more upsells and expansion isn’t just in your QBR decks or product usage data—but in your alignment with marketing? In this episode of the Customer Success Pro Podcast, I sit down with Ashna Patel, a former CS leader turned marketer, to unpack the real, tactical ways Customer Success and Marketing can collaborate to unlock customer revenue. From product messaging to cross-sell campaigns, this episode is full of lightbulb moments every CS pro needs to hear. Let’s dive in.

From Customer Success to Marketing: Ashna’s Unique Perspective

Ashna’s journey from CS to marketing gives her a rare dual-lens view on how both functions can work together—not in silos. She spent nearly a decade in customer-facing roles before pivoting into marketing at Ascent Cloud, where she now helps bring the voice of the customer into every stage of the buyer and customer journey.

Her big realization? Marketing doesn’t stop at the top of the funnel.

And for CS teams looking to scale and hit their revenue targets, understanding this is key.

Why CS Teams Miss the Mark Without Marketing

Most Customer Success Managers work hand-in-hand with Product and Sales. But Marketing? Not so much.

Ashna admits that even in her own CS days, she underutilized the marketing team. She thought of them mainly for case studies or lead generation.

But marketing can—and should—be a powerful ally across:
• Onboarding
• Product adoption
• Renewals and upsells
• Customer communications
• Event engagement

When CS doesn’t partner with marketing, messaging becomes inconsistent, product features are poorly positioned, and expansion opportunities are missed.

How to Align With Marketing (and Why It Drives Revenue)

Here’s how CS teams can start collaborating with marketing teams today:

1. Get aligned on messaging

Your customer emails, feature updates, and QBR decks are all messaging tools. Use the same words and phrases marketing is using—they’ve tested and refined them based on real customer research.

“The messaging marketing uses is what your customers expect to hear. Don’t reinvent the wheel—leverage it.” – Ashna Patel

2. Use the marketing calendar

Know what’s coming up—newsletters, product releases, webinars, or customer campaigns—and plan your customer interactions accordingly. You’ll increase relevance and reduce customer fatigue.

3. Create joint KPIs

CS and Marketing can both benefit from better product adoption, user engagement, and event attendance. When both teams are held accountable for these shared outcomes, collaboration naturally improves.

4. Work together on customer stories

Yes, case studies are still important—but so are mini use cases, testimonial quotes, and user spotlights. Marketing can amplify these stories, while CS provides the front-line insights.

5. Let marketing own communication—CS adds the value

Marketing can create beautiful newsletters and feature announcements. It’s CS’s job to bring the content to life for each account and tie it back to value and outcomes.

The Bow Tie Model in Action

Ashna and I talked about the bow tie funnel—the full customer lifecycle. On the left is pre-sales (where marketing typically lives), and on the right is post-sales (where CS operates).

But here’s the truth: Marketing touches the whole bow tie.

From onboarding to expansion, marketing can help with:
• New feature announcements
• Customer newsletters
• Webinars for product education
• Personalized adoption campaigns
• Retention-focused events

If you’ve been viewing marketing as just a lead-gen engine, it’s time to zoom out.

Episode Recap

Here’s what we covered in this episode:
• Why Customer Success and Marketing need to stop working in silos
• How messaging is central to customer adoption, renewals, and upsells
• What CS pros can learn from marketing to influence better
• Tactics to build stronger alignment and co-own customer growth
• How the bow tie model applies beyond pre-sales
• Practical ways to integrate customer marketing into your CS workflow

Listen Now & Build Cross-Functional CS Strategies

This episode with Ashna Patel is a must-listen for CSMs, CS leaders, and anyone looking to break down silos between marketing and customer success.

🎧 Listen on your favorite platform:

🔹 YouTube

🔹 Spotify

🔹 Apple Podcasts

Want to take your CS career to the next level? 

✅ CSM RevUP Academy – My coaching program for ambitious CS professionals.

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