How to Turn Customer Feedback Into Your Competitive Edge | Ft. Tony Tom

Episode 84 of the The Sales Machine podcast, hosted by John Rankins, titled "How to Turn Customer Feedback Into Your Competitive Edge | Ft. Tony Tom" was published on May 14, 2025 and runs 49 minutes.

May 14, 2025 ·49m · The Sales Machine

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Summary

Let’s be real, most businesses are so focused on closing new deals, they forget about the ones they already have.But if you’re not keeping your customers, you’re just spinning your wheels. That’s why I brought on Tony Tom, founder of Orca AI, to show you how the smartest B2B companies are flipping the script—using AI to retain customers, reduce churn, and turn customer success into a growth engine.Tony’s been in the trenches. From engineering to building tech companies, he knows what it takes to win post-sale. And in this episode of The Sales Machine, we talk about how AI is changing the customer success game, why retention matters more than ever, and what most companies get wrong about post-sale engagement.If you’re a founder, sales leader, or customer success pro looking to future-proof your business—you need this episode in your ears.👉 Here’s what you’ll walk away with:Why most companies are reactive in customer success (and how to fix that)How to use AI to predict churn before it happensWhy engagement is everything in B2B post-salesThe #1 mistake founders make when building product featuresWhy product-led growth isn't just a trend, it’s the new standardHow Tony went from engineer to building one of the smartest CS platforms out thereIf you're ready to future-proof your retention strategy and make AI your unfair advantage, this episode's for you.Episode Highlights“90% of the code that we have built the platform on today is written by AI. That doesn’t mean we are skipping humans—but humans are much more efficient now.” - Tony Tom“If you don’t take care of your customers, somebody else will—and they’ll use AI to do it faster.” - John Rankins“Customer success has become a growth machine. Your customers have to put in work for you, just like your product and sales team.” - Tony Tom“Sales, marketing, and customer success must merge to become a growth engine. That’s the future.” - John Rankins“Finding people is easy. But finding quality people is still really hard.” - Tony Tom“The companies that win in the next 5 years will be the ones that engage customers automatically with empathy.” - John RankinsChapters(01:54) - How Orca Started Solving Churn(06:03) - Retention & the Power of Post-Sale(09:58) - Building Engagement That Lasts(14:09) - When Customer Success Becomes the Growth Engine(18:09) - Using AI to Predict Risk(25:26) - AI in Software Development(26:12) - Building Based on Customer Needs(30:28) - Efficient Product Strategies(31:47) - From Engineering to Founder(33:39) - AI Intimidation Is Real(35:36) - Why “Orca”?(37:14) - Making CS a Priority from Day One(41:40) - Firefighting vs. Scaling(43:19) - Product-Led Growth in Practice(46:28) - Hiring Technical Talent That Gets ItConnect with Tony TomLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tonytom/ Website: https://getorca.ai/ Connect with John RankinsWebsite: https://thesalesmachine.com/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheSalesMachineOfficialInstagram:https://www.instagram.com/thesalesmachine_official/LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/company/thesalesmachineofficial/YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/@JohnRankinsOfficial

Episode Description

Let’s be real, most businesses are so focused on closing new deals, they forget about the ones they already have.

But if you’re not keeping your customers, you’re just spinning your wheels. That’s why I brought on Tony Tom, founder of Orca AI, to show you how the smartest B2B companies are flipping the script—using AI to retain customers, reduce churn, and turn customer success into a growth engine.

Tony’s been in the trenches. From engineering to building tech companies, he knows what it takes to win post-sale. And in this episode of The Sales Machine, we talk about how AI is changing the customer success game, why retention matters more than ever, and what most companies get wrong about post-sale engagement.

If you’re a founder, sales leader, or customer success pro looking to future-proof your business—you need this episode in your ears.

👉 Here’s what you’ll walk away with:

Why most companies are reactive in customer success (and how to fix that)
How to use AI to predict churn before it happens
Why engagement is everything in B2B post-sales
The #1 mistake founders make when building product features
Why product-led growth isn't just a trend, it’s the new standard
How Tony went from engineer to building one of the smartest CS platforms out there

If you're ready to future-proof your retention strategy and make AI your unfair advantage, this episode's for you.

Episode Highlights

“90% of the code that we have built the platform on today is written by AI. That doesn’t mean we are skipping humans—but humans are much more efficient now.” - Tony Tom

“If you don’t take care of your customers, somebody else will—and they’ll use AI to do it faster.” - John Rankins

“Customer success has become a growth machine. Your customers have to put in work for you, just like your product and sales team.” - Tony Tom

“Sales, marketing, and customer success must merge to become a growth engine. That’s the future.” - John Rankins

“Finding people is easy. But finding quality people is still really hard.” - Tony Tom

“The companies that win in the next 5 years will be the ones that engage customers automatically with empathy.” - John Rankins

Chapters

(01:54) - How Orca Started Solving Churn

(06:03) - Retention & the Power of Post-Sale

(09:58) - Building Engagement That Lasts

(14:09) - When Customer Success Becomes the Growth Engine

(18:09) - Using AI to Predict Risk

(25:26) - AI in Software Development