Guy Galan, the Chief Customer Success Officer at Obrela, has spent his career shaping exceptional customer experiences in the cybersecurity landscape. Based in Tel Aviv, Guy brings a wealth of expertise to his role, blending technical understanding with a customer-centric mindset developed over two decades in post-sales roles, including technical consultancy, support, and account management. His diverse journey underscores a deep understanding of customer needs and how to meet them effectively.
What advice do you have for someone's first 100 days as head of CS?
When stepping into a leadership role in Customer Success, Guy advises focusing on three critical areas: understanding the product, identifying the ideal customer profile, and analyzing the customer journey. Leaders must ask questions internally and externally, mapping out the onboarding process and the expected outcomes for customers. Engaging with customers early, armed with a solid knowledge foundation, helps align expectations and priorities for long-term success.
What does your CS strategy focus on currently and in the future?
At Obrela, Guy’s strategy involves simplifying the onboarding process and bridging customer knowledge gaps. Recognizing that traditional usage-based metrics often fall short in cybersecurity, his team emphasizes demonstrating clear value through innovative engagement and consistent communication.
Looking ahead, Guy sees the need for deeper automation and leveraging data-driven insights to deliver value. His team experiments with AI to analyze historical data, offering proactive recommendations and fostering a leadership role in the customer’s cybersecurity ecosystem.
How Do You Measure Success With CS?
Success, according to Guy, hinges on tailored metrics for each customer segment. For onboarding, his team defines specific milestones and durations based on customer complexity. They complement these metrics with customer satisfaction surveys and structured feedback mechanisms like QBRs and service reviews. By maintaining a close feedback loop, they ensure alignment with customer expectations and continuously refine their approach.
What pain points do you have leading a CS team?
Guy acknowledges the unique challenges of the cybersecurity sector, where customer engagement often transcends platform usage. A key focus is determining health scores accurately reflecting customer engagement and satisfaction. Metrics like response times to incidents and proactive customer inquiries help gauge the quality of interactions and overall customer health. Additionally, his team prioritizes using internal data to identify opportunities for innovation and new service offerings.
How do you establish partnerships and gain buy-in with the C-suite?
Effective CS leadership requires trust and alignment with organizational goals. Guy emphasizes collaboration across departments, making customer satisfaction a shared responsibility. He champions understanding the objectives of C-suite colleagues and aligning CS initiatives with their priorities. By positioning CS as a partner in achieving broader business goals, Guy fosters a culture of mutual support and collective success.
Do you have an example of utilizing customer feedback to improve your company?
For Guy, customer feedback is a gold mine of actionable insights. His team leverages feedback from onboarding surveys and annual satisfaction surveys to identify areas for improvement. This input is carefully analyzed, with ownership assigned to relevant departments, ensuring customer insights translate into meaningful action plans.
What is the future of CS?
The CS profession is at a crossroads, with organizations scrutinizing its value in a SaaS-driven world. Guy envisions a future where CS drives measurable revenue impact and operational efficiency. He advocates equipping CS teams to identify and qualify revenue opportunities while maintaining strong collaboration with sales teams. Simultaneously, he sees AI as a tool to streamline operations, freeing CS professionals to focus on strategic customer engagement.
About Guy Galon
Outside of work, Guy is a passionate writer and athlete. He has authored two books—a science fiction novel and a contemporary novel—marking milestones in his journey. As an avid athlete, daily training fuels his energy and focus.
For those interested in following Guy’s career, he is active on LinkedIn and shares resources on his website, The CS Cycle. His platform offers playbooks, articles, and tips for the CS community, making his insights accessible to professionals seeking guidance in their journeys.
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.