Moving from Customer Service to Customer Success with Lena Theres Zimmermann

Join the VIP Waitlist for RevUP: https://www.thecustomersuccesspro.com/revupIn this episode, Anika Zubair discusses the transition from customer service to customer success with Lena Therese Zimmerman, Head of Customer Experience at Do Instruct. They explore the importance of curiosity, team collaboration, and the need for a strategic approach in customer success. Lena shares her journey in transforming a reactive customer service team into proactive customer success managers, emphasizing the significance of aligning internal goals with customer success metrics. The conversation highlights the shift in mindset required to prioritize customer success over mere customer happiness, and the strategies for educating customers about the role of customer success managers. In this conversation, the speakers delve into the intricacies of customer success, focusing on the challenges faced during onboarding, the importance of empathy, and the need for effective communication. Chapters00:00 Introduction 02:52 Transitioning from Customer Service to Customer Success05:52 Understanding the Role of Customer Experience08:51 The Importance of Team Collaboration in Customer Success12:07 Curiosity as a Key Trait in Customer Success15:02 Transforming Reactive Teams into Strategic Partners18:11 Aligning Internal Goals with Customer Success21:10 The Shift from Customer Happiness to Customer Success23:53 Educating Customers on the Role of Customer Success28:38 Understanding Customer Fears and Onboarding Challenges31:38 Empathy in Customer Success33:02 Overcoming Customer Hesitation34:32 Communicating Effectively During Onboarding36:09 Setting Expectations: The Importance of Honesty39:33 The Balance of Saying No: Guiding Customers to Success41:00 Collaboration Between Sales and Customer Success43:40 Transitioning from Support to Strategic Advisor47:59 Lessons Learned: Shifting from Service to Revenue Focus51:25 The Future of Customer Success: Embracing AI52:59 Changing Perceptions of Customer SuccessConnect with Anika Zubair:Website: https://thecustomersuccesspro.com/LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/anikazubair/CSM RevUP Academy: https://thecustomersuccesspro.com/revupConnect with Lena Theres Zimmermann:Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lena-theres-zimmermann/Lena Zimmermann is Head of Customer Experience at doinstruct, a fast-growing Compliance Tech startup. With over 7.5 years of experience in SaaS, she has led Customer Success teams across DACH and BENELUX, helping companies create meaningful, long-term customer relationships.Lena is passionate about turning Customer Success into a strategic growth lever — especially in contexts where customer bases are more traditional and starting their digital transformation. Her leadership approach blends structure with empathy, enabling scalable processes that support retention, adoption, and revenue expansion.Grab our FREE resources here: https://thecustomersuccesspro.com/resources Want to be our next podcast guest? Apply here: https://www.thecustomersuccesspro.com/podcast-guest Book Anika as a speaker at your next team event: https://www.thecustomersuccesspro.com/team-event