93% of Companies Aren’t Confident in Their Customer Success Model

Mar 6, 2026

They dig into a 132-company survey exposing a customer success identity crisis. They compare team sizes, reporting lines, and where CS lands on the P&L. Compensation models and which metrics to pay on get heated debate. They tackle who actually owns expansion and whether charging for CS makes sense.

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ANECDOTE

CJ's Play Date Friend Hunt

CJ opens with a personal story about making adult friends via play dates and awkwardly missing getting a new contact's phone number.
The anecdote frames the episode theme: customer success is essentially 'making friends' with customers.

INSIGHT

Most Companies Split CS Accounting

Companies split CS P&L treatment: ~36% put in COGS, ~36% allocate between support and OPEX, ~27% place in sales.
CJ notes a defensible approach is splitting costs across COGS, sales, and R&D when CS functions are mixed.

INSIGHT

CS Staffing Favors Coverage By Customer Count

Most companies staff CS by customer count, treating it as a coverage problem with tiered ratios (one-to-one for largest, scaled one-to-many for mid, digital for small).
Kyle Poyar explains scaled digital motions handle low end while largest customers get white-glove CSMs.

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