When I started The Profit Loop, the goal was simple:
Create a space for Customer Success leaders and CSMs who believe CS should drive revenue, not just protect it. When I started my career there was no such thing as customer success. My first job was building a team of Account Managers and we focused on how we can drive value for our existing customers which led to an exapanion motion. I’ve always belived the CS should drive revenue but see it as a skill gap within most CS teams.
Over the past year, this newsletter has grown slowly, but intentionally. And more importantly, the conversations have gone deeper. Less surface-level CS advice. More real operating questions.
Before we head into next year, I wanted to do three things:
Say thank you
Reflect on what resonated most
Ask you what you want more of next
Thank You for Being Here
If you’re reading this, you’re part of a thoughtful group of operators who care about:
Retention and expansion
Predictability, not hope
Outcomes, not activity
Whether you’ve been here since the beginning or just subscribed recently, thank you for trusting The Profit Loop as part of how you think about Customer Success.
What Resonated This Year
Looking back, a few clear themes stood out across the most-read and most-shared articles.
1. CS as a Revenue Function (Not a Support Org)
This article struck a nerve because CAC:LTV isn’t just a finance metric, it’s a leadership signal.
Key takeaways readers connected with:
A “good” ratio can still hide serious risk
Payback periods matter more than vanity LTV
Assumed expansion is not earned expansion
The feedback was clear: CS leaders want to be more fluent in the metrics that boards and CFOs care about, and know how to influence them.
2. Talking Business, Not Features
This piece focused on a simple but hard truth:
Most CSMs know their product well, but struggle to tie it to business outcomes.
What resonated:
Mapping product usage → business impact
Learning to speak the language of revenue, cost, and risk
Preparing CSMs for CFO-level conversations, not just champions
This is where CS starts to shift from reactive to consultative.
3. Expansion Needs Structure
Sales has a pipeline. CS often doesn’t, and that gap shows up in forecasts, renewals, and missed growth.
Readers responded strongly to:
Treating expansion like a system, not a hope
Clear stages, signals, and ownership
Forecasting expansion with the same rigor as new business
The message was clear: expansion doesn’t happen “organically.” It happens intentionally.
4. Predictability Over Heroics
Across multiple articles, one idea kept coming up:
Great CS teams don’t rely on heroics.
They build systems that make outcomes predictable.
That theme will carry even more weight next year.
What I’m Thinking About for Next Year
Here are a few areas I’m planning to go deeper on, but I’d love your input.
Potential focus areas:
How CS leaders actually influence NDR (not just report it)
Renewal forecasting that doesn’t rely on “green accounts”
What board-ready CS metrics really look like
Commercial skill development for CSMs
When (and when not) CS should own renewals and expansion
Reply to this email or message me directly:
What topics would be most valuable for you next year?
Even a short answer helps shape what The Profit Loop becomes.
If you want more practical, day-to-day content, I also share ideas across other channels:
I’ll continue using those platforms to complement what we explore here in more depth.
Customer Success is changing, whether you like it or not. I firmly believe these changes are all for the good. We will have more impact than ever and our teams will uplevel their skills like never before.
The teams that win won’t be the busiest.
They’ll be the most intentional.
Thanks again for being part of The Profit Loop this year.
More to come.
— Mark
