[Held on July 15] "Customer Success Award 2026" to Celebrate Industry's Advanced Cases Held for the First Time. Japan Customer Success Association Provides Special Cooperation
The Japan Customer Success Association will provide special cooperation for the "Customer Success Award 2026," organized by Customer Success Inc. and held on July 15, 2026. This event, comprising the awards and a CSM pitch battle, aims to visualize advanced Customer Success practices and drive industry development.
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- 📰 Published: April 27, 2026 at 20:00
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The Japan Customer Success Association (Location: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director: Hisanori Yamada; hereinafter referred to as "the Association") will provide special cooperation for the "Customer Success Award 2026" (organized by Customer Success Inc.), which will be held on Wednesday, July 15, 2026.
This event consists of two main contents: the "Customer Success Award 2026," for which the Association is responsible for reviewing and supervising, and the CSM Pitch Battle "Customer Success Tenkaichi Budokai," planned by the organizer, Customer Success Inc. The Association will contribute to the further development of the Customer Success field in Japan through supervising the judging system of this award.
Special Website: https://cs-award2026.customer-success.co.jp/
■ Background of the Event: Making Customer Success a "Management Standard"
Against the backdrop of a declining working population in Japan, as management strategies shift from new customer acquisition to maximizing LTV (Customer Lifetime Value), Customer Success is becoming a common language across all industries. Its adoption is accelerating not only in SaaS but also in non-SaaS areas such as manufacturing, finance, and retail. However, sharing practical knowledge across industries remains a major challenge.
This event aims to provide a "solution" to this market demand by visualizing excellent best practices and promoting the circulation of knowledge beyond industry boundaries. The goal is to raise the overall level of Customer Success in Japan and support sustainable business growth.
■ Event Structure and the Association's Involvement
This event consists of two contents with different objectives:
1. Customer Success Award 2026 (Special Cooperation and Judging Supervision by the Association)
This award ceremony celebrates initiatives that have brought about organizational transformation by breaking existing frameworks. We are widely inviting applications from companies that have newly started Customer Success activities and advanced initiatives in non-SaaS areas such as manufacturing, finance, and retail. "The Blue Flag of the Year 2026" will be selected as the top award.
The Association will supervise the judging system from a specialized CS perspective, selecting essential cases that will serve as a "standard-bearer" for many organizations. The evaluation criteria formulated by the Association are as follows:
Breakthrough Power: Innovative challenges that break existing customs and barriers.
Company-wide Impact: Quantitative and qualitative results that have spread throughout the organization.
Reproducibility: Versatility as knowledge that can be deployed and applied to other organizations.
2. Customer Success Tenkaichi Budokai (Organized by Customer Success Inc.)
This is a pitch battle by CSMs (Customer Success Managers) that has been ongoing since 2018. With the concept of "Life changes in 17 minutes," presenters passionately compete by showcasing their company's and their own initiatives in an extreme pitch. It is an organizer's unique CSM entertainment content that shares the real-world enthusiasm and transformation hints from the field.
The content of the pitches and the characteristics of the battle on the day are as follows:
Real-time Voting: Winners are determined on the spot by votes from on-site participants.
Extreme Pitch: Presenters condense their challenges and achievements into a 17-minute limited time.
Sharing Field Knowledge: An opportunity to experience the real-world challenges and problem-solving processes of front-line CSMs with high enthusiasm.
■ Background of Special Cooperation: Ensuring Professionalism through Judging Supervision
The reason the Association participates as a special cooperator in this event is to "standardize" the evaluation axis of Customer Success across the industry and create highly reliable best practices. While the outcomes of initiatives and evaluation criteria vary among companies, the Association has formulated judging criteria for this award based on "Breakthrough Power," "Company-wide Impact," and "Reproducibility." By supervising the judging system from a professional standpoint, we aim to broadly present the essential value of Customer Success to society, rather than a fleeting trend, and select cases that will serve as a "standard-bearer."
■ About the Judging System
To evaluate tangible achievements in Japanese Customer Success, specialists selected by the Association will be invited as judges to conduct rigorous evaluations.
Mr. Shigeki Komori (Director of the Association / Former Vice President, Salesforce.com Inc.)
A pioneer who established the concept of Customer Success in Japan, he evaluates the "company-wide impact" of initiatives from both global standard knowledge and a managerial perspective.
Mr. Osamu Taniguchi (Representative Director, E-Partners Ltd.)
With many years of consulting experience and deep expertise in call center and customer contact areas, he evaluates the quality of customer experience (CX) and "effectiveness" at the field level from a specialized standpoint.
Mr. Yoshitaka Miyata (Representative Director, Zen and Company / 日)
This event consists of two main contents: the "Customer Success Award 2026," for which the Association is responsible for reviewing and supervising, and the CSM Pitch Battle "Customer Success Tenkaichi Budokai," planned by the organizer, Customer Success Inc. The Association will contribute to the further development of the Customer Success field in Japan through supervising the judging system of this award.
Special Website: https://cs-award2026.customer-success.co.jp/
■ Background of the Event: Making Customer Success a "Management Standard"
Against the backdrop of a declining working population in Japan, as management strategies shift from new customer acquisition to maximizing LTV (Customer Lifetime Value), Customer Success is becoming a common language across all industries. Its adoption is accelerating not only in SaaS but also in non-SaaS areas such as manufacturing, finance, and retail. However, sharing practical knowledge across industries remains a major challenge.
This event aims to provide a "solution" to this market demand by visualizing excellent best practices and promoting the circulation of knowledge beyond industry boundaries. The goal is to raise the overall level of Customer Success in Japan and support sustainable business growth.
■ Event Structure and the Association's Involvement
This event consists of two contents with different objectives:
1. Customer Success Award 2026 (Special Cooperation and Judging Supervision by the Association)
This award ceremony celebrates initiatives that have brought about organizational transformation by breaking existing frameworks. We are widely inviting applications from companies that have newly started Customer Success activities and advanced initiatives in non-SaaS areas such as manufacturing, finance, and retail. "The Blue Flag of the Year 2026" will be selected as the top award.
The Association will supervise the judging system from a specialized CS perspective, selecting essential cases that will serve as a "standard-bearer" for many organizations. The evaluation criteria formulated by the Association are as follows:
Breakthrough Power: Innovative challenges that break existing customs and barriers.
Company-wide Impact: Quantitative and qualitative results that have spread throughout the organization.
Reproducibility: Versatility as knowledge that can be deployed and applied to other organizations.
2. Customer Success Tenkaichi Budokai (Organized by Customer Success Inc.)
This is a pitch battle by CSMs (Customer Success Managers) that has been ongoing since 2018. With the concept of "Life changes in 17 minutes," presenters passionately compete by showcasing their company's and their own initiatives in an extreme pitch. It is an organizer's unique CSM entertainment content that shares the real-world enthusiasm and transformation hints from the field.
The content of the pitches and the characteristics of the battle on the day are as follows:
Real-time Voting: Winners are determined on the spot by votes from on-site participants.
Extreme Pitch: Presenters condense their challenges and achievements into a 17-minute limited time.
Sharing Field Knowledge: An opportunity to experience the real-world challenges and problem-solving processes of front-line CSMs with high enthusiasm.
■ Background of Special Cooperation: Ensuring Professionalism through Judging Supervision
The reason the Association participates as a special cooperator in this event is to "standardize" the evaluation axis of Customer Success across the industry and create highly reliable best practices. While the outcomes of initiatives and evaluation criteria vary among companies, the Association has formulated judging criteria for this award based on "Breakthrough Power," "Company-wide Impact," and "Reproducibility." By supervising the judging system from a professional standpoint, we aim to broadly present the essential value of Customer Success to society, rather than a fleeting trend, and select cases that will serve as a "standard-bearer."
■ About the Judging System
To evaluate tangible achievements in Japanese Customer Success, specialists selected by the Association will be invited as judges to conduct rigorous evaluations.
Mr. Shigeki Komori (Director of the Association / Former Vice President, Salesforce.com Inc.)
A pioneer who established the concept of Customer Success in Japan, he evaluates the "company-wide impact" of initiatives from both global standard knowledge and a managerial perspective.
Mr. Osamu Taniguchi (Representative Director, E-Partners Ltd.)
With many years of consulting experience and deep expertise in call center and customer contact areas, he evaluates the quality of customer experience (CX) and "effectiveness" at the field level from a specialized standpoint.
Mr. Yoshitaka Miyata (Representative Director, Zen and Company / 日)