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The CCO Playbook for Durable Customer Growth
Episode 73
, published
January 23, 2026
With Jim Richmond
·
Chief Customer Officer
,
Smartling
<p>What does it take to lead customer teams in 2026 when value creation matters more than <a href="https://amplifyam.com/resources/how-to-run-renewals">renewals</a> and curiosity separates trusted guides from replaceable vendors?</p><p></p><p>That question drives Alex Raymond’s conversation with Jim Richmond, Chief Customer Officer at Smartling, and it frames a grounded look at modern customer leadership. Jim shares a clear belief that last year’s success expires quickly. Teams have to keep earning trust through sharper skills, better discovery, and more honest conversations. Why did a customer buy in the first place? What are they trying to accomplish now? How do you know the value you deliver actually matters to them? Those questions take curiosity and patience, not scripts or dashboards alone.</p><p></p><p>Jim also challenges how customer centricity is often misunderstood. Customers are the heroes of the story. Customer teams serve as guides who bring expertise, perspective, and the confidence to speak up when a better path exists. That mindset shows up in how Smartling measures success, how risk is surfaced early, and how bad news is handled without fear. Gross revenue retention sets the bar. Early warnings are welcomed. Escalations become moments to build trust rather than defend processes. The conversation leaves you wondering where your team still plays it safe, where curiosity could go deeper, and what would change if guiding customers mattered more than simply keeping them.</p><p></p><p><strong>Episode Breakdown:</strong></p><p>00:00 Leading Customer Teams Into 2026</p><p>03:09 Customer Value Creation as the Core Strategy</p><p>09:08 Curiosity, Empathy, and Modern Customer Centricity</p><p>18:11 Performance Standards, Retention, and Risk Management</p><p>27:01 The Future Skill Set for Customer Success Leaders</p><p></p><p><strong>Connect with Jim Richmond:</strong></p><p><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimrichmondatl/">Connect with Jim on LinkedIn</a></p><p><a href="https://www.smartling.com/">Visit the Smartling website</a></p><p></p><p><strong>Connect with Alex Raymond:</strong></p><p><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/afraymond/">Connect with Alex on LinkedIn</a></p><p><a href="https://amplifyam.com/">Visit the AMplify website</a></p><p></p><p>Podcast production and show notes provided by <a href="http://hivecast.fm"><strong>HiveCast.fm</strong></a></p></div><p class="section-label">Go deeper:</p><a href="https://amplifyam.com/resources/what-is-a-qbr">Quarterly Business Reviews — Complete Guide</a><script type="application/ld+json">{"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"PodcastEpisode","@id":"https://amplifyam.com/account-management-secrets/the-cco-playbook-for-durable-customer-growth-jim-richmond#episode","name":"The CCO Playbook for Durable Customer Growth","url":"https://amplifyam.com/account-management-secrets/the-cco-playbook-for-durable-customer-growth-jim-richmond","datePublished":"2026-01-23","episodeNumber":73,"partOfSeries":{"@id":"https://amplifyam.com/podcast"},"author":{"@id":"https://amplifyam.com/about"},"description":"Gross revenue retention as the north star with an only-bad-news post-it, multivariate risk scoring, and the escalation 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