Sumitra Narayanan, the Manager of Customer Success, Scale at Braze, brings close to a decade of experience in customer success, particularly in B2B SaaS and high-tech environments. Her path to becoming a CS leader was serendipitous, starting when she joined CleverTap, a small series A startup at the time, as their first technical CSM. With a Master's in Computer Science, she was prepared for a purely technical role but was drawn to customer success's collaborative, human-centric nature. Her experience at CleverTap enabled her to wear many hats and shaped her ability to build and scale customer success programs globally.
After CleverTap she moved to LinearB, where she was again the first CS hire, tasked with building the CS function from the ground up -- playing a significant role in their growth from Series A to Series B company. This experience laid the foundation for her current role at Braze, where she leads a customer success team focused on rapidly scaling commercial customers.
What advice do you have for someone's first 100 days as head of CS?
For anyone stepping into a CS leadership role, Sumitra suggests breaking the first 100 days into three phases:
First 30 Days: Be a Sponge
Focus on listening, processing information, and building relationships. Engage with stakeholders, team members, and customers to understand what’s working and where improvements can be made.
30 to 60 Days: Planning
Start formulating your strategy by identifying key themes and areas that need attention. Evaluate customer segmentation, onboarding processes, and interdepartmental collaboration.
60 to 90 Days: Execution
Begin implementing your strategy, prioritizing based on impact and feasibility. This phase is about driving tangible outcomes and executing the plans laid in the first two phases.
What does your CS strategy focus on currently and in the future?
At Braze, Sumitra focuses on three main pillars in her CS strategy:
Customer Nurture
This focuses on retention and growth through strong relationships and delivering customer outcomes.
Customer Adoption
Helping customers fully utilize the platform to meet their goals.
Customer Advocacy
Encouraging satisfied customers to become advocates for the company through referrals and product feedback.
Additionally, Sumitra sees innovation as a key focus, particularly internal processes, collaboration, and external customer engagement.
How Do You Measure Success With CS?
Success is measured across these pillars using key metrics such as GRR (Gross Renewal Rate) and DBNR (Dollar-Based Net Retention). Adoption is tracked through feature usage, while advocacy is monitored by customer engagement in advocacy events, like providing referrals or participating in case studies.
What pain points do you have leading a CS team?
One of Sumitra’s main challenges is balancing the day-to-day tactical tasks with strategic oversight. To stay focused, she carves out time daily for self-reflection and management development. She also emphasizes the importance of building camaraderie with the team to maintain a human-centered approach in a goal-driven environment.
How do you establish partnerships and gain buy-in with the C-suite?
Sumitra explains that building relationships with the C-suite requires aligning CS efforts with high-level company goals. It’s crucial to communicate the value of customer success initiatives in terms of how they drive the company’s top-level metrics, like revenue growth and retention.
Do you have an example of utilizing customer feedback to improve your company?
At LinearB, Sumitra spearheaded an "Customer Storytime" initiative, in which customer feedback was shared with internal teams like marketing, product, and engineering. This feedback helped shape the product roadmap and informed marketing strategies, ultimately contributing to the company exceeding its ARR targets in one quarter.
What is the future of CS?
Sumitra believes that while AI and automation are gaining momentum in CS, human-centric skills like discovery are becoming even more critical. She highlights that understanding customer goals and being genuinely curious is key to delivering real value. The future of CS will likely see a blend of AI-powered efficiency alongside a human-first approach to relationship building.
About Sumitra Narayanan
Beyond her professional work, Sumitra is a founding contributor at CS Insider, where she shares thought leadership on customer success. She is also passionate about mentoring and coaching individuals looking to break into or advance in CS.
To stay connected with Sumitra, you can follow her on LinkedIn.
About CX Chats
CX chats is an interview series with Ben Holland, where we talk to industry leaders in the field of customer experience and customer success. Each interview dives deep into the insights from each leader and highlights how they became successful, tips for aspiring CX professionals, and their thoughts on the future of CX.