<![CDATA[CX Signals]]>CX Signals brings together the most influential voices in Customer Experience to share what’s working, what’s changing, and what’s next in digital CX. Co-hosted by Samantha Murray and Courtney Sembler, we create a space for honest conversations about what it really takes to lead CX functions in today's B2B SaaS landscape—beyond the polished LinkedIn posts and conference stages.

]]>https://cxsignals.com/Riverside.fm (https://riverside.com)Thu, 28 May 2026 04:37:50 GMTTue, 09 Dec 2025 19:20:24 GMT60Samantha Murray & Courtney Sembler<p>CX Signals brings together the most influential voices in Customer Experience to share what’s working, what’s changing, and what’s next in digital CX. Co-<b>hosted by Samantha Murray and Courtney Sembler,</b> we create a space for honest conversations about what it really takes to lead CX functions in today's B2B SaaS landscape—beyond the polished LinkedIn posts and conference stages.</p>episodicSamantha Murray & Courtney Semblersamantha@alignedcx.comno<![CDATA[How Rewst Uses AI to Raise the Bar on Course Quality with Clea Mahoney]]>What does it actually take to build an AI workflow that holds the bar on quality? Not the theory — the real thing, with all the context window limitations, mid-project pivots, and "why are you failing me, Claude?" moments.

Clea Mahoney is a Learning Experience Design Manager at Rewst, a workflow automation platform for managed service providers, and the CE challenge there is one of the most complex I’ve come across. Every single customer is building something different, which means there's no standard, no one-size-fits-all. She has to figure that out fresh every time.

What makes this conversation so good is that Clea isn't talking about AI in theory. She walks us through the actual workflow she's built inside Claude to audit, update, and maintain her course library — from the Notion drafts to the instructional design rubric she trained Claude on, to the multi-chat structure she uses to keep context windows from getting overwhelmed. It’s specific, it’s practical, and it’s the most honest account you'll hear of what it actually takes to build an AI workflow that holds the bar on quality.

In this episode, we get into:

  • The course audit lifecycle she built — and how it's still evolving
  • Why breaking work into focused, separate chats is the key to quality output
  • How human expertise remains non-negotiable in the review process
  • What it feels like to manage a "team" of AI agents instead of humans

Oh, and baby Willow made a cameo. That's just how we do things here.

Find Clea on LinkedIn to keep the conversation going: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cleamahoney/ 

Connect with Samantha on LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/samantha-murray613/   

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction

03:44 Clea's Journey in Customer Education

06:34 Understanding Roost and Its Challenges

08:50 Adapting to Team Changes and AI Integration

11:04 Transitioning to Claude AI for Workflow Design

13:40 Developing Effective Curriculum with AI

18:47 Iterating on Course Design and Content Creation

21:59 Incorporating Feedback for Quality Content

24:38 Adapting Terminology for User Understanding

26:49 Breaking Down Complex Processes

30:41 Automating Course Updates and Maintenance

35:48 The Role of Human Expertise in AI

37:53 Managing AI Agents as Team Members

41:37 Continuous Optimization in Learning Design

]]>2cf5c30c-6198-42b5-a648-b83b555bda83Wed, 20 May 2026 01:36:00 GMT<p>What does it actually take to build an AI workflow that holds the bar on quality? Not the theory — the real thing, with all the context window limitations, mid-project pivots, and "why are you failing me, Claude?" moments.</p><p></p><p><b>Clea Mahoney</b> is a L<b>earning Experience Design Manager at Rewst</b>, a workflow automation platform for managed service providers, and the CE challenge there is one of the most complex I’ve come across. Every single customer is building something different, which means there's no standard, no one-size-fits-all. She has to figure that out fresh every time.</p><p></p><p>What makes this conversation so good is that Clea isn't talking about AI in theory. She walks us through the actual workflow she's built inside Claude to audit, update, and maintain her course library — from the Notion drafts to the instructional design rubric she trained Claude on, to the multi-chat structure she uses to keep context windows from getting overwhelmed. It’s specific, it’s practical, and it’s the most honest account you'll hear of what it actually takes to build an AI workflow that holds the bar on quality.</p><p></p><p><b>In this episode, we get into:</b></p><ul><li>The course audit lifecycle she built — and how it's still evolving</li><li>Why breaking work into focused, separate chats is the key to quality output</li><li>How human expertise remains non-negotiable in the review process</li><li>What it feels like to manage a "team" of AI agents instead of humans</li></ul><p></p><p>Oh, and baby Willow made a cameo. That's just how we do things here.</p><p></p><p>Find Clea on LinkedIn to keep the conversation going: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/cleamahoney/" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/cleamahoney/</a> </p><p>Connect with Samantha on LinkedIn:</p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/samantha-murray613/" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/samantha-murray613/</a>   </p><p></p><p><b>Chapters:</b></p><p>00:00 Introduction</p><p>03:44 Clea's Journey in Customer Education</p><p>06:34 Understanding Roost and Its Challenges</p><p>08:50 Adapting to Team Changes and AI Integration</p><p>11:04 Transitioning to Claude AI for Workflow Design</p><p>13:40 Developing Effective Curriculum with AI</p><p>18:47 Iterating on Course Design and Content Creation</p><p>21:59 Incorporating Feedback for Quality Content</p><p>24:38 Adapting Terminology for User Understanding</p><p>26:49 Breaking Down Complex Processes</p><p>30:41 Automating Course Updates and Maintenance</p><p>35:48 The Role of Human Expertise in AI</p><p>37:53 Managing AI Agents as Team Members</p><p>41:37 Continuous Optimization in Learning Design</p>no00:44:1110How Rewst Uses AI to Raise the Bar on Course Quality with Clea Mahoneyfull<![CDATA[Building for the Agentic Learner With Talya Reynolds ]]>In this episode of CX Signals, Samantha sits down with Talya Reynolds, former Manager of Customer Education, AI & Automations at Pendo, to explore what it looks like to build customer education infrastructure for a world where the learner is no longer always human — and why the people who understand how to design for learning are about to become the most important people in the room.

Talya stumbled into customer education the way most of us do — sideways, and completely by accident. A master's in conflict resolution, early instructional design work, a CS role at a boot-stage startup — none of it was planned. By the time she landed at Pendo, her north star for years, her conviction was clear: customer education's biggest problem wasn't content — it was that the field had never learned to define the business problem it was actually solving.

What makes Talya's perspective so sharp is how far ahead of the curve she was building. At Pendo, she owned "Pendo on Pendo" — their own in-product learning experience — which gave her a rare opportunity to architect a fully orchestrated learning motion using the very tool she was educating customers on. What she discovered reframes the debate our industry keeps having about whether academies are dying. They're not dying. The learner is changing.

We dig into how Talya went cross-functional — aligning marketing, lifecycle, community, and CS teams around shared definitions of adoption and health. We get into the data infrastructure behind it: combining Salesforce, Zendesk, and unstructured call data to build a true picture of user maturity. And we go deep on modular content architecture — why managing bite-sized, tagged content from a single source of truth is the foundational move that makes omnichannel orchestration actually possible. The boring infrastructure work, it turns out, is what makes the agentic future viable.

In this episode, we cover:

  • Why the agentic era doesn't kill academies — it demands better ones
  • How Talya used product telemetry, ticket data, and AI to build a unified picture of user maturity at Pendo
  • Modular content architecture: the unglamorous unlock for in-product delivery, omnichannel distribution, and AI personalization
  • Cross-functional alignment — how she got marketing, lifecycle, and CS on the same page without stepping on toes
  • Curating the corpus: what it means for CE leaders to define guardrails, build feedback loops, and govern agentic learning
  • Getting your team bought in on AI: why a skills hackathon changed everything

If you've been feeling the pressure of AI adoption and wondering what your role looks like on the other side of it, this episode will reframe the whole conversation.

Chapters:

00:10 The Signal

02:05 Falling Into Customer Ed Head Over Feet

07:44 From Order Taker to Learning Orchestrator

11:36 Pendo on Pendo — The Dream Come True

22:14 The Cross-Functional Long Game

30:56 Modular Content Is the Infrastructure Play

39:00 When the UI Disappears — The Agentic Future

44:52 Stop the Fear, Start With Your Team

Connect with Talya on LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jillglynn/ 

Connect with Samantha on LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/samantha-murray613/   

Connect with Courtney on LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/courtney-sembler/

]]>13cc14dc-5039-4c25-8e2e-1c1785a2bbd5Tue, 05 May 2026 10:00:00 GMT<p>In this episode of CX Signals, Samantha sits down with Talya Reynolds, former Manager of Customer Education, AI &amp; Automations at Pendo, to explore what it looks like to build customer education infrastructure for a world where the learner is no longer always human — and why the people who understand how to design for learning are about to become the most important people in the room.</p><p></p><p>Talya stumbled into customer education the way most of us do — sideways, and completely by accident. A master's in conflict resolution, early instructional design work, a CS role at a boot-stage startup — none of it was planned. By the time she landed at Pendo, her north star for years, her conviction was clear: customer education's biggest problem wasn't content — it was that the field had never learned to define the business problem it was actually solving.</p><p></p><p>What makes Talya's perspective so sharp is how far ahead of the curve she was building. At Pendo, she owned "Pendo on Pendo" — their own in-product learning experience — which gave her a rare opportunity to architect a fully orchestrated learning motion using the very tool she was educating customers on. What she discovered reframes the debate our industry keeps having about whether academies are dying. They're not dying. The learner is changing.</p><p></p><p>We dig into how Talya went cross-functional — aligning marketing, lifecycle, community, and CS teams around shared definitions of adoption and health. We get into the data infrastructure behind it: combining Salesforce, Zendesk, and unstructured call data to build a true picture of user maturity. And we go deep on modular content architecture — why managing bite-sized, tagged content from a single source of truth is the foundational move that makes omnichannel orchestration actually possible. The boring infrastructure work, it turns out, is what makes the agentic future viable.</p><p></p><p>In this episode, we cover:</p><ul><li>Why the agentic era doesn't kill academies — it demands better ones</li><li>How Talya used product telemetry, ticket data, and AI to build a unified picture of user maturity at Pendo</li><li>Modular content architecture: the unglamorous unlock for in-product delivery, omnichannel distribution, and AI personalization</li><li>Cross-functional alignment — how she got marketing, lifecycle, and CS on the same page without stepping on toes</li><li>Curating the corpus: what it means for CE leaders to define guardrails, build feedback loops, and govern agentic learning</li><li>Getting your team bought in on AI: why a skills hackathon changed everything</li></ul><p></p><p>If you've been feeling the pressure of AI adoption and wondering what your role looks like on the other side of it, this episode will reframe the whole conversation.</p><p></p><p><b>Chapters:</b></p><p>00:10 The Signal</p><p>02:05 Falling Into Customer Ed Head Over Feet</p><p>07:44 From Order Taker to Learning Orchestrator</p><p>11:36 Pendo on Pendo — The Dream Come True</p><p>22:14 The Cross-Functional Long Game</p><p>30:56 Modular Content Is the Infrastructure Play</p><p>39:00 When the UI Disappears — The Agentic Future</p><p>44:52 Stop the Fear, Start With Your Team</p><p></p><p>Connect with Talya on LinkedIn:</p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jillglynn/" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/jillglynn/</a> </p><p>Connect with Samantha on LinkedIn:</p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/samantha-murray613/" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/samantha-murray613/</a>   </p><p>Connect with Courtney on LinkedIn:</p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/courtney-sembler/" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/courtney-sembler/</a></p>no00:50:0510Building for the Agentic Learner With Talya Reynolds full<![CDATA[How LinkedIn Is Orchestrating Seamless Digital CX at Scale with Jill Glynn]]>

In this episode of CX Signals, Samantha sits down with Jill Glynn, Director of Customer Engagement at LinkedIn, to explore what it really looks like to orchestrate a fully connected digital CX motion — across academy, community, in-app, and scaled email — and why the unsexy work of content architecture is the thing that makes all of it possible.

Jill leads scaled learning, digital engagement, and community across some of LinkedIn's most complex enterprise products. She didn't build that scope overnight — it's the result of years of deliberate organizational alignment, pulling digital CS, customer learning, and community under one roof before moving the whole function into marketing.

What stands out most is how grounded she is in the fundamentals. Jill believes personalization at scale isn't a technology problem — it's an architecture problem. If you haven't done the unglamorous work of tagging your content, mapping it to product actions, and auditing what's actually driving outcomes, no amount of tooling will save you.

We dig into what it takes to move from a "more is more" content strategy to a simplified happy path model, how LinkedIn measures learning effectiveness through Action Learner Rate — whether a customer takes a specific product action within seven days of completing a course — and why years of diligent content tagging is now the foundation powering their content lake, in-product help experiences, and AI personalization roadmap. The unsexy stuff, it turns out, was always the strategy.

Here's some of what we cover:

  • Why content architecture is the unglamorous unlock for personalization, AI, and in-product learning
  • How LinkedIn uses "stuck user moments" to identify where customers fall off — and meet them there
  • Action Learner Rate: measuring whether learning actually drives product behavior
  • Building cross-functional alignment with sales, CS, and product — and what finally made it click
  • The vision for contextual, in-the-flow-of-work learning at LinkedIn's scale

If you're in customer education, digital CS, or CX leadership, this episode is a masterclass in what it looks like to build for scale without losing the signal.

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction

00:09 Jill Glynn's Career Journey

01:09 The Evolution of Customer Success at LinkedIn

04:00 Understanding LinkedIn's Product Offerings

06:40 Onboarding New Customers

09:21 Simplifying the Customer Experience

12:10 Personalization and Content Architecture

14:42 Governance and Content Management

23:59 The Importance of Historical Archives

24:34 Foundational Elements for AI Success

26:36 Personalization in Education and Training

28:54 Community Engagement and User-Generated Content

32:04 Leveraging Data for Customer Insights

36:02 Connecting Learning to Business Outcomes

42:07 Collaboration Between Teams for Success

49:40 Embracing Simplicity in a Fast-Paced Environment

50:44 Key Takeaways for Effective Team Strategy

Connect with Jill Glynn on LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jillglynn/ 

Connect with Samantha Murray on LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/samantha-murray613/   

Connect with Courtney Sembler on LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/courtney-sembler/

]]>94f871e7-8a02-4017-bf78-2f0ed42eb327Tue, 21 Apr 2026 14:00:00 GMT<hr /><p>In this episode of CX Signals, Samantha sits down with Jill Glynn, Director of Customer Engagement at LinkedIn, to explore what it really looks like to orchestrate a fully connected digital CX motion — across academy, community, in-app, and scaled email — and why the unsexy work of content architecture is the thing that makes all of it possible.</p><p></p><p>Jill leads scaled learning, digital engagement, and community across some of LinkedIn's most complex enterprise products. She didn't build that scope overnight — it's the result of years of deliberate organizational alignment, pulling digital CS, customer learning, and community under one roof before moving the whole function into marketing.</p><p></p><p>What stands out most is how grounded she is in the fundamentals. Jill believes personalization at scale isn't a technology problem — it's an architecture problem. If you haven't done the unglamorous work of tagging your content, mapping it to product actions, and auditing what's actually driving outcomes, no amount of tooling will save you.</p><p></p><p>We dig into what it takes to move from a "more is more" content strategy to a simplified happy path model, how LinkedIn measures learning effectiveness through Action Learner Rate — whether a customer takes a specific product action within seven days of completing a course — and why years of diligent content tagging is now the foundation powering their content lake, in-product help experiences, and AI personalization roadmap. The unsexy stuff, it turns out, was always the strategy.</p><p>Here's some of what we cover:</p><p></p><ul><li>Why content architecture is the unglamorous unlock for personalization, AI, and in-product learning</li><li>How LinkedIn uses "stuck user moments" to identify where customers fall off — and meet them there</li><li>Action Learner Rate: measuring whether learning actually drives product behavior</li><li>Building cross-functional alignment with sales, CS, and product — and what finally made it click</li><li>The vision for contextual, in-the-flow-of-work learning at LinkedIn's scale<p></p></li></ul><p>If you're in customer education, digital CS, or CX leadership, this episode is a masterclass in what it looks like to build for scale without losing the signal.</p><p></p><p><b>Chapters:</b></p><p>00:00 Introduction</p><p>00:09 Jill Glynn's Career Journey</p><p>01:09 The Evolution of Customer Success at LinkedIn</p><p>04:00 Understanding LinkedIn's Product Offerings</p><p>06:40 Onboarding New Customers</p><p>09:21 Simplifying the Customer Experience</p><p>12:10 Personalization and Content Architecture</p><p>14:42 Governance and Content Management</p><p>23:59 The Importance of Historical Archives</p><p>24:34 Foundational Elements for AI Success</p><p>26:36 Personalization in Education and Training</p><p>28:54 Community Engagement and User-Generated Content</p><p>32:04 Leveraging Data for Customer Insights</p><p>36:02 Connecting Learning to Business Outcomes</p><p>42:07 Collaboration Between Teams for Success</p><p>49:40 Embracing Simplicity in a Fast-Paced Environment</p><p>50:44 Key Takeaways for Effective Team Strategy</p><p></p><p>Connect with Jill Glynn on LinkedIn:</p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jillglynn/" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/jillglynn/</a> </p><p>Connect with Samantha Murray on LinkedIn:</p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/samantha-murray613/" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/samantha-murray613/</a>   </p><p>Connect with Courtney Sembler on LinkedIn:</p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/courtney-sembler/" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/courtney-sembler/</a></p>no00:53:258How LinkedIn Is Orchestrating Seamless Digital CX at Scale with Jill Glynnfull<![CDATA[How ZoomInfo Made Digital Onboarding a Growth Engine with Mary Iapicca]]>In this episode of CX Signals, we sit down with Mary Iapicca, VP of Customer Experience at ZoomInfo, to explore what it really looks like to build a post-sale CX operation from the ground up — and how a deliberate, segmented approach to onboarding becomes the foundation for a truly scalable customer experience.

Mary oversees 7 functions at ZoomInfo: onboarding, technical implementation, customer education, community, customer success, delivery, and CX operations — across a team of over 250 people. And she didn't inherit that scope. She built it, one function at a time over four years.

What stands out most isn't just the scale of what she's built, but how she thinks about growth — both for her customers and her own career. Mary believes you don't need to pitch your way into expanded scope. You just need to be the name that comes up in the room when a decision needs to be made. That philosophy shapes everything, from how she's designed her team structure to how she approaches her own professional development.

We dig into what it actually takes to design and execute a segmented onboarding transformation at scale — the kind that runs 1,500 new projects a month — and how moving to a more digital model unlocked data and personalization capabilities that a fully human-led motion simply can't match. Mary makes a compelling case that digital isn't a lesser experience; it's often a better one, precisely because of the signals and insights it surfaces.

A moment that stuck with us? Mary shares how ZoomInfo analyzed whether customers who received a fully digital experience versus a hybrid one actually differed in adoption or satisfaction — and found they didn't. That insight freed up her team to redeploy resources, up-level talent, and build a smarter, more personalized motion at scale.

In this episode, we get into:

  • Designing a segmented onboarding model that scales to 1,500 new projects a month
  • Why digital CX unlocks personalization and data signals that human-led motions can't match
  • How unifying seven post-sale functions under one leader creates a more orchestrated customer experience
  • The career philosophy of building readiness before opportunity, and why that's more powerful than pitching for scope
  • Connecting CX to go-to-market: why adoption is the real product launch

Chapters:

00:10 — Introduction

02:17 — From High School Teacher to Tech Executive

06:56 — Building One Function at a Time: How Mary Grew Her Scope at ZoomInfo

13:30 — Career Progression: Why Being the Name in the Room Beats Pitching for Scope

17:52 — Why ZoomInfo Unified Seven Post-Sale Functions Under One Leader

27:47 — CX as a Go-To-Market Engine: Why Adoption IS the Product Launch

35:11 — The Onboarding Transformation: Scaling to 1,500 Projects a Month

43:06 — Why Going Digital Unlocked Data, Signals & Personalization at Scale

49:10 — The Future of CX: AI, Digital Motions & What's Coming Next

50:41 — Advice for CX Leaders Modernizing Their Post-Sale Experience

Follow Mary on LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mwislotski/ 

Follow Samantha on LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/samantha-murray613/   

Follow Courtney on LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/courtney-sembler/

]]>f654ae79-76ef-4164-af8e-ecf849048687Tue, 14 Apr 2026 10:00:00 GMT<p>In this episode of <b>CX Signals</b>, we sit down with <b>Mary Iapicca, VP of Customer Experience at ZoomInfo</b>, to explore what it really looks like to build a post-sale CX operation from the ground up — and how a deliberate, segmented approach to onboarding becomes the foundation for a truly scalable customer experience.</p><p></p><p>Mary oversees 7 functions at ZoomInfo: onboarding, technical implementation, customer education, community, customer success, delivery, and CX operations — across a team of over 250 people. And she didn't inherit that scope. She built it, one function at a time over four years.</p><p></p><p>What stands out most isn't just the scale of what she's built, but how she thinks about growth — both for her customers and her own career. Mary believes you don't need to pitch your way into expanded scope. You just need to be the name that comes up in the room when a decision needs to be made. That philosophy shapes everything, from how she's designed her team structure to how she approaches her own professional development.</p><p></p><p>We dig into what it actually takes to design and execute a segmented onboarding transformation at scale — the kind that runs 1,500 new projects a month — and how moving to a more digital model unlocked data and personalization capabilities that a fully human-led motion simply can't match. Mary makes a compelling case that digital isn't a lesser experience; it's often a better one, precisely because of the signals and insights it surfaces.</p><p></p><p>A moment that stuck with us? Mary shares how ZoomInfo analyzed whether customers who received a fully digital experience versus a hybrid one actually differed in adoption or satisfaction — and found they didn't. That insight freed up her team to redeploy resources, up-level talent, and build a smarter, more personalized motion at scale.</p><p></p><p><b>In this episode, we get into:</b></p><ul><li>Designing a segmented onboarding model that scales to 1,500 new projects a month</li><li>Why digital CX unlocks personalization and data signals that human-led motions can't match</li><li>How unifying seven post-sale functions under one leader creates a more orchestrated customer experience</li><li>The career philosophy of building readiness before opportunity, and why that's more powerful than pitching for scope</li><li>Connecting CX to go-to-market: why adoption is the real product launch</li></ul><p></p><p><b>Chapters:</b></p><p>00:10 — Introduction</p><p>02:17 — From High School Teacher to Tech Executive</p><p>06:56 — Building One Function at a Time: How Mary Grew Her Scope at ZoomInfo</p><p>13:30 — Career Progression: Why Being the Name in the Room Beats Pitching for Scope</p><p>17:52 — Why ZoomInfo Unified Seven Post-Sale Functions Under One Leader</p><p>27:47 — CX as a Go-To-Market Engine: Why Adoption IS the Product Launch</p><p>35:11 — The Onboarding Transformation: Scaling to 1,500 Projects a Month</p><p>43:06 — Why Going Digital Unlocked Data, Signals &amp; Personalization at Scale</p><p>49:10 — The Future of CX: AI, Digital Motions &amp; What's Coming Next</p><p>50:41 — Advice for CX Leaders Modernizing Their Post-Sale Experience</p><p></p><p>Follow Mary on LinkedIn: </p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/mwislotski/" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/mwislotski/</a> </p><p>Follow Samantha on LinkedIn: </p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/samantha-murray613/" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/samantha-murray613/</a>   </p><p>Follow Courtney on LinkedIn: </p><p><a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/courtney-sembler/" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/courtney-sembler/</a></p><p></p>no00:54:107How ZoomInfo Made Digital Onboarding a Growth Engine with Mary Iapiccafull<![CDATA[How Seismic Scaled CS by Unifying Education, Community & Advocacy with Melissa VanPelt]]>In this episode of CX Signals, we sit down with Melissa VanPelt, VP of Customer Success at Seismic, to explore what it really looks like to unify education, community, advocacy, and digital CS into one cohesive operating model — and how that kind of consolidation becomes a growth engine at scale.

Melissa has spent the last ten years at Seismic, helping grow the business from $10 million to over $400 million in ARR. Along the way, she's built and led nearly every function that touches the post-sale customer experience — not as separate initiatives, but as a single, interconnected system designed to drive adoption, retention, and expansion at scale.

What stands out most isn't just the scope of what she's built, but how she thinks about it. For Melissa, every customer is a learner, and every interaction is a moment to educate, enable, and move them forward. That philosophy shapes everything — from how her team designs digital journeys to how they measure customer health.

We dig into what it actually takes to bring decentralized programs together onto a single platform, why unifying your tech stack unlocks a level of customer insight most teams don't have, and how Seismic is building what Melissa calls "systems of customer obsession" under a new CEO who has made the customer journey a company-wide mandate.

One of the standout moments? Melissa describes how consolidating community, university, and digital journey data into a single health model is surfacing risks faster and enabling her team to trigger the right intervention — human or digital — at exactly the right moment. It's a masterclass in what proactive CS actually looks like in practice.

Here’s some of what we cover:

  • Building a unified digital CS motion without losing the human touch
  • Using education, community, and advocacy as a flywheel for expansion
  • Why customer health scoring needs to go beyond product usage and support tickets
  • Designing cross-functional content strategy across the full customer lifecycle
  • Scaling impact through systems — not heroics

If you're in customer success, customer education, or digital CX, this episode will challenge how you think about the post-sale experience and what's possible when you stop treating these functions as silos.

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction and Background

02:38 Career Journey and Customer Education

04:50 Transitioning to Customer Education and Community Building

07:51 Integrating Functions for Cohesive Customer Experience

10:30 Hyper-Growth and Customer Centricity

12:03 Structuring for Customer Centricity

16:23 Digital and Human-Led Customer Success

17:17 The Need for Digital Engagement

19:59 Enhancing Human Interaction through Digital

22:15 Data Architecture and Customer Insights

25:38 Evolving Business Ecosystems

26:02 Cost-Efficient Growth Strategies

27:10 Customer Marketing and Revenue Expansion

30:16 Cross-Functional Collaboration for Customer Success

34:01 Future Objectives and Customer Education

40:03 Advice for Aspiring Executives

Follow Melissa VanPelt on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissa-vanpelt/ 

Follow Samantha Murray on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samantha-murray613/   

Follow Courtney Sembler on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/courtney-sembler/

]]>21054c42-1918-4572-8f0d-672edc4d773eTue, 07 Apr 2026 10:00:00 GMT<p>In this episode of CX Signals, we sit down with <b>Melissa VanPelt, VP of Customer Success at Seismic</b>, to explore what it really looks like to unify education, community, advocacy, and digital CS into one cohesive operating model — and how that kind of consolidation becomes a growth engine at scale.</p><p></p><p>Melissa has spent the last ten years at Seismic, helping grow the business from $10 million to over $400 million in ARR. Along the way, she's built and led nearly every function that touches the post-sale customer experience — not as separate initiatives, but as a single, interconnected system designed to drive adoption, retention, and expansion at scale.</p><p></p><p>What stands out most isn't just the scope of what she's built, but how she thinks about it. For Melissa, every customer is a learner, and every interaction is a moment to educate, enable, and move them forward. That philosophy shapes everything — from how her team designs digital journeys to how they measure customer health.</p><p>We dig into what it actually takes to bring decentralized programs together onto a single platform, why unifying your tech stack unlocks a level of customer insight most teams don't have, and how Seismic is building what Melissa calls "systems of customer obsession" under a new CEO who has made the customer journey a company-wide mandate.</p><p></p><p>One of the standout moments? Melissa describes how consolidating community, university, and digital journey data into a single health model is surfacing risks faster and enabling her team to trigger the right intervention — human or digital — at exactly the right moment. It's a masterclass in what proactive CS actually looks like in practice.</p><p></p><p><b>Here’s some of what we cover:</b></p><ul><li>Building a unified digital CS motion without losing the human touch</li><li>Using education, community, and advocacy as a flywheel for expansion</li><li>Why customer health scoring needs to go beyond product usage and support tickets</li><li>Designing cross-functional content strategy across the full customer lifecycle</li><li>Scaling impact through systems — not heroics</li></ul><p></p><p>If you're in customer success, customer education, or digital CX, this episode will challenge how you think about the post-sale experience and what's possible when you stop treating these functions as silos.</p><p></p><p><b>Chapters:</b></p><p>00:00 Introduction and Background</p><p>02:38 Career Journey and Customer Education</p><p>04:50 Transitioning to Customer Education and Community Building</p><p>07:51 Integrating Functions for Cohesive Customer Experience</p><p>10:30 Hyper-Growth and Customer Centricity</p><p>12:03 Structuring for Customer Centricity</p><p>16:23 Digital and Human-Led Customer Success</p><p>17:17 The Need for Digital Engagement</p><p>19:59 Enhancing Human Interaction through Digital</p><p>22:15 Data Architecture and Customer Insights</p><p>25:38 Evolving Business Ecosystems</p><p>26:02 Cost-Efficient Growth Strategies</p><p>27:10 Customer Marketing and Revenue Expansion</p><p>30:16 Cross-Functional Collaboration for Customer Success</p><p>34:01 Future Objectives and Customer Education</p><p>40:03 Advice for Aspiring Executives</p><p></p><p>Follow Melissa VanPelt on LinkedIn: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissa-vanpelt/" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissa-vanpelt/</a> </p><p>Follow Samantha Murray on LinkedIn: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/samantha-murray613/" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/samantha-murray613/</a>   </p><p>Follow Courtney Sembler on LinkedIn: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/courtney-sembler/" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/courtney-sembler/</a></p>no00:46:206How Seismic Scaled CS by Unifying Education, Community & Advocacy with Melissa VanPeltfull<![CDATA[How Sendoso Is Building a Modern, Outcome-Driven Customer Education Program with Danielle Evans]]>In this episode of CX Signals, we sit down with Danielle Evans, Director of Customer Education at Sendoso, to explore what it really takes to build a modern, outcome-driven customer education program.

Danielle shares her journey from customer success into customer education, and how that foundation shaped her approach to scaling impact across the business. What stands out most isn’t just what she’s built, but how she thinks: strategically, creatively, and deeply aligned to business outcomes.

We dig into how she’s expanding her role beyond customer education to include internal GTM enablement, why AI-powered voice of customer workflows are more practical than you think, and how she uses data to drive smarter decisions without a data science background.

One of the standout moments? Danielle breaks down a coffee-themed gifting campaign that drove more certifications in a single month than the entire previous year — and how that momentum led to a major breakthrough: proving that accounts with a certified admin spend more than those without.

That’s the kind of impact every customer education leader is chasing, and Danielle walks us through exactly how she got there.

This conversation is equal parts strategic, tactical, and refreshingly real, with insights on:

  • Scaling customer education beyond customers
  • Using AI to uncover actionable insights (not just save time)
  • Turning voice of customer data into content strategy
  • Building programs that directly influence revenue
  • Leading with humanity in a fast-changing, AI-driven world

If you’re in customer education, enablement, or CX, this episode will challenge how you think about your role and what’s possible.

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction and Background

03:05 Career Journey into Customer Education

05:44 Current Role and Responsibilities

09:07 Championing Change in Customer Education

12:15 Leveraging AI in Customer Education

15:11 Voice of the Customer and Feedback Mechanisms

17:37 International Growth and Content Strategy

20:36 Engagement and Community Building

23:27 Conclusion and Future Outlook

28:59 The Power of Physical Gifting in Digital Relationships

32:06 Connecting Learning to Business Outcomes

35:57 Leveraging AI for Enhanced Learning Experiences

45:58 Human Connection in Leadership

52:22 Embracing Data for Educational Growth

Follow Danielle Evans on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniellemevans/ 

Follow Samantha Murray on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samantha-murray613/   

Follow Courtney Sembler on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/courtney-sembler/ 

]]>ff87417d-04c3-4b05-8f2b-ad5da39fffecTue, 31 Mar 2026 10:00:00 GMT<p>In this episode of <b>CX Signals</b>, we sit down with <b>Danielle Evans, Director of Customer Education at Sendoso</b>, to explore what it really takes to build a modern, outcome-driven customer education program.</p><p></p><p>Danielle shares her journey from customer success into customer education, and how that foundation shaped her approach to scaling impact across the business. What stands out most isn’t just what she’s built, but how she thinks: strategically, creatively, and deeply aligned to business outcomes.</p><p></p><p>We dig into how she’s expanding her role beyond customer education to include internal GTM enablement, why AI-powered voice of customer workflows are more practical than you think, and how she uses data to drive smarter decisions without a data science background.</p><p></p><p>One of the standout moments? Danielle breaks down a coffee-themed gifting campaign that drove more certifications in a single month than the entire previous year — and how that momentum led to a major breakthrough: proving that accounts with a certified admin spend more than those without.</p><p></p><p>That’s the kind of impact every customer education leader is chasing, and Danielle walks us through exactly how she got there.</p><p></p><p>This conversation is equal parts strategic, tactical, and refreshingly real, with insights on:</p><p></p><ul><li>Scaling customer education beyond customers</li><li>Using AI to uncover actionable insights (not just save time)</li><li>Turning voice of customer data into content strategy</li><li>Building programs that directly influence revenue</li><li>Leading with humanity in a fast-changing, AI-driven world</li></ul><p></p><p>If you’re in customer education, enablement, or CX, this episode will challenge how you think about your role and what’s possible.</p><p></p><p><b>Chapters:</b></p><p>00:00 Introduction and Background</p><p>03:05 Career Journey into Customer Education</p><p>05:44 Current Role and Responsibilities</p><p>09:07 Championing Change in Customer Education</p><p>12:15 Leveraging AI in Customer Education</p><p>15:11 Voice of the Customer and Feedback Mechanisms</p><p>17:37 International Growth and Content Strategy</p><p>20:36 Engagement and Community Building</p><p>23:27 Conclusion and Future Outlook</p><p>28:59 The Power of Physical Gifting in Digital Relationships</p><p>32:06 Connecting Learning to Business Outcomes</p><p>35:57 Leveraging AI for Enhanced Learning Experiences</p><p>45:58 Human Connection in Leadership</p><p>52:22 Embracing Data for Educational Growth</p><p></p><p>Follow Danielle Evans on LinkedIn: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniellemevans/" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniellemevans/</a> </p><p>Follow Samantha Murray on LinkedIn: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/samantha-murray613/" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/samantha-murray613/</a>   </p><p>Follow Courtney Sembler on LinkedIn: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/courtney-sembler/" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/courtney-sembler/</a> </p>no00:53:545How Sendoso Is Building a Modern, Outcome-Driven Customer Education Program with Danielle Evansfull<![CDATA[Ep. 4: From Content Team to Scaled CX: Building Programs That Actually Move the Needle]]>If you've spent any time in customer education, you already know his name. Adam Avramescu literally wrote the book on customer education — and then spent the better part of 15 years actually living it. He's built programs at Optimizely, Slack, and most recently Personio, where he scaled what started as a customer ed org into a full CX function. He's also the co-host of CELab.

In this episode, Sam and Courtney sit down with Adam for an honest, energetic conversation about what it actually takes to lead CX at a senior level. They dig into how to connect your programs to real business outcomes — not just content output — and how and when to move from siloed functions to a unified digital experience. They also get into the org decisions that either expand your seat at the table or quietly shrink it, and what a pragmatic AI strategy actually looks like when you strip away the hype.

Oh, and Adam drops some career news along the way. You'll want to stick around for that one.

If you're ready to lead the next era of CX, this conversation was made for you.

Follow Adam Avramescu on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-avramescu/ 

Follow Samantha Murray on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samantha-murray613/   

Follow Courtney Sembler on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/courtney-sembler/ 

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction

02:40 The Shift to Scaled Customer Experience

05:16 Aligning Customer Education with Business Goals

07:17 Creating a Portfolio of Programs

10:25 Team Structure and Functionality

13:00 Conclusion and Future Directions

17:35 Aligning Customer Outcomes with Enablement Strategies

21:38 The Importance of Organizational Structure in Customer Education

24:08 Navigating Change: Lessons from Reorganization

28:46 The Balance of Scope and Focus in Leadership

32:17 Collaboration Across Teams for Customer-Centric Solutions

36:59 The Role of AI in Customer Education

46:47 Leveraging AI Effectively in Learning and Development

49:56 AI in Localization and Content Development

52:03 The Importance of Quality Content for AI

54:01 The Shift from SEO to Answer Engine Optimization

57:04 Navigating Career Transitions and Relevance

01:02:19 Looking Ahead: The Future of Customer Education and AI

]]>bcf92192-7f9b-4c1e-8ada-dd3b29a7817dTue, 24 Mar 2026 10:00:00 GMT<p>If you've spent any time in customer education, you already know his name. Adam Avramescu literally wrote the book on customer education — and then spent the better part of 15 years actually living it. He's built programs at Optimizely, Slack, and most recently Personio, where he scaled what started as a customer ed org into a full CX function. He's also the co-host of CELab.</p><p></p><p>In this episode, Sam and Courtney sit down with Adam for an honest, energetic conversation about what it actually takes to lead CX at a senior level. They dig into how to connect your programs to real business outcomes — not just content output — and how and when to move from siloed functions to a unified digital experience. They also get into the org decisions that either expand your seat at the table or quietly shrink it, and what a pragmatic AI strategy actually looks like when you strip away the hype.</p><p></p><p>Oh, and Adam drops some career news along the way. You'll want to stick around for that one.</p><p></p><p>If you're ready to lead the next era of CX, this conversation was made for you.</p><p></p><p>Follow Adam Avramescu on LinkedIn: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-avramescu/" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-avramescu/</a> </p><p>Follow Samantha Murray on LinkedIn: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/samantha-murray613/" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/samantha-murray613/</a>   </p><p>Follow Courtney Sembler on LinkedIn: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/courtney-sembler/" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/courtney-sembler/</a> </p><p></p><p><b>Chapters:</b></p><p>00:00 Introduction</p><p>02:40 The Shift to Scaled Customer Experience</p><p>05:16 Aligning Customer Education with Business Goals</p><p>07:17 Creating a Portfolio of Programs</p><p>10:25 Team Structure and Functionality</p><p>13:00 Conclusion and Future Directions</p><p>17:35 Aligning Customer Outcomes with Enablement Strategies</p><p>21:38 The Importance of Organizational Structure in Customer Education</p><p>24:08 Navigating Change: Lessons from Reorganization</p><p>28:46 The Balance of Scope and Focus in Leadership</p><p>32:17 Collaboration Across Teams for Customer-Centric Solutions</p><p>36:59 The Role of AI in Customer Education</p><p>46:47 Leveraging AI Effectively in Learning and Development</p><p>49:56 AI in Localization and Content Development</p><p>52:03 The Importance of Quality Content for AI</p><p>54:01 The Shift from SEO to Answer Engine Optimization</p><p>57:04 Navigating Career Transitions and Relevance</p><p>01:02:19 Looking Ahead: The Future of Customer Education and AI</p>no01:11:394Ep. 4: From Content Team to Scaled CX: Building Programs That Actually Move the Needlefull<![CDATA[Ep. 3: The Human Element AI Can't Replace: Building Genuine Customer Relationshps ]]>The conversation delves into the importance of customer obsession, human connection, and the challenges of internal communication within organizations. It explores the need for a customer-centric approach, the intersection of research and advocacy, and the impact of global access and AI on customer experiences. The discussion also emphasizes the significance of relationships, curiosity, and critical thinking in the context of deep research and the evolving role of AI. Additionally, it touches on the value of staying curious, connected, and engaged, while also highlighting the importance of environmentalism and the experiences of working parents.

Takeaways

  • Customer Obsession
  • Human Connection

Chapters

  • 00:00 Introduction and Connection
  • 05:46 Challenges of Internal Communication
  • 12:14 Research and Advocacy
  • 18:08 Relationships and Curiosity
  • 23:59 Deep Research and Critical Thinking
  • 29:57 Environmentalism and Parenthood
  • 40:03 Conclusion and Farewell
]]>41eda7d8-03f9-4739-9d9e-11c312ac1c09Tue, 10 Feb 2026 16:00:00 GMT<p>The conversation delves into the importance of customer obsession, human connection, and the challenges of internal communication within organizations. It explores the need for a customer-centric approach, the intersection of research and advocacy, and the impact of global access and AI on customer experiences. The discussion also emphasizes the significance of relationships, curiosity, and critical thinking in the context of deep research and the evolving role of AI. Additionally, it touches on the value of staying curious, connected, and engaged, while also highlighting the importance of environmentalism and the experiences of working parents.</p><p></p><p>Takeaways</p><ul><li>Customer Obsession</li><li>Human Connection</li></ul><p></p><p>Chapters</p><ul><li>00:00 Introduction and Connection</li><li>05:46 Challenges of Internal Communication</li><li>12:14 Research and Advocacy</li><li>18:08 Relationships and Curiosity</li><li>23:59 Deep Research and Critical Thinking</li><li>29:57 Environmentalism and Parenthood</li><li>40:03 Conclusion and Farewell</li></ul>yes00:39:3513Ep. 3: The Human Element AI Can't Replace: Building Genuine Customer Relationshps full<![CDATA[Ep. 2: The Secret of Creating Communities that Feel Like a Third Place]]>The conversation covers the transition to fractional work, the impact of AI on marketing, writing a book, emotional customer relationships, the role of social listening, strategic capability of social listening, customer experience and brand relationships, rebranding and customer engagement, building genuine communities, and the concept of the third place and community connection. The conversation delves into the importance of emotional connection in business, the challenges of building and selling emotional connection to the executive team, recognizing signals of disengagement, the role of AI in human connection, and the future of human connection in the age of AI. Key takeaways include the essential nature of emotional connection and the significance of silence as a signal of disengagement.

Takeaways

  • Genuine Community Building
  • Impact of AI on Marketing Emotional connection is essential
  • Silence is a significant signal of disengagement

Chapters

  • 00:00 Introduction and Background
  • 05:58 Strategic Capability of Social Listening
  • 11:01 Rebranding and Customer Engagement
  • 17:49 The Third Place and Community Connection
  • 23:05 Building Emotional Connection in Business
  • 29:12 Recognizing Signals of Disengagement
  • 36:38 The Role of AI in Human Connection
  • 42:27 The Future of Human Connection in the Age of AI
]]>e6e0baee-fd1f-4933-b7b0-d8056ff06941Wed, 28 Jan 2026 16:21:44 GMT<p>The conversation covers the transition to fractional work, the impact of AI on marketing, writing a book, emotional customer relationships, the role of social listening, strategic capability of social listening, customer experience and brand relationships, rebranding and customer engagement, building genuine communities, and the concept of the third place and community connection. The conversation delves into the importance of emotional connection in business, the challenges of building and selling emotional connection to the executive team, recognizing signals of disengagement, the role of AI in human connection, and the future of human connection in the age of AI. Key takeaways include the essential nature of emotional connection and the significance of silence as a signal of disengagement.</p><p></p><p>Takeaways</p><ul><li>Genuine Community Building</li><li>Impact of AI on Marketing Emotional connection is essential</li><li>Silence is a significant signal of disengagement</li></ul><p></p><p>Chapters</p><ul><li>00:00 Introduction and Background</li><li>05:58 Strategic Capability of Social Listening</li><li>11:01 Rebranding and Customer Engagement</li><li>17:49 The Third Place and Community Connection</li><li>23:05 Building Emotional Connection in Business</li><li>29:12 Recognizing Signals of Disengagement</li><li>36:38 The Role of AI in Human Connection</li><li>42:27 The Future of Human Connection in the Age of AI</li></ul>yes00:44:4012Ep. 2: The Secret of Creating Communities that Feel Like a Third Placefull<![CDATA[Ep. 1: Why We're Launching CX Signals (And Why It Matters Now)]]>Customer education is having a main character moment—and most leaders have no idea what's coming.

Sam and Courtney kick off CX Signals by breaking down their origin stories: how two support reps became the people scaling Academy programs at some of the biggest names in SaaS. From HubSpot to Shopify to Docebo, they've lived through the chaos of hypergrowth, org restructures, LMS migrations, global expansions, and the brutal reality of proving ROI when everyone's watching.

Now? They're building the advisory firm that helps both sides of the ecosystem—vendors building the future of CX tech and the operators trying to make it all work.

]]>30d7506f-8712-44a4-837c-127d4301084eTue, 27 Jan 2026 01:58:49 GMT<p>Customer education is having a main character moment—and most leaders have no idea what's coming.</p><p></p><p>Sam and Courtney kick off CX Signals by breaking down their origin stories: how two support reps became the people scaling Academy programs at some of the biggest names in SaaS. From HubSpot to Shopify to Docebo, they've lived through the chaos of hypergrowth, org restructures, LMS migrations, global expansions, and the brutal reality of proving ROI when everyone's watching.</p><p>Now? They're building the advisory firm that helps both sides of the ecosystem—vendors building the future of CX tech <i>and</i> the operators trying to make it all work.</p>yes01:13:3411Ep. 1: Why We're Launching CX Signals (And Why It Matters Now)full