Customer Success as Growth Engine: Nuqleous Journey with Ben Cronin

CPG retail technology addresses three critical challenges: delayed planogram execution, complex forecasting with vast data streams, and time-intensive buyer presentations. This roundtable explores how automation solutions like planogram optimization, retail analytics generating actionable insights, and dynamic presentation tools reduce hundreds of hours of manual work to minutes. Learn strategies for achieving product-market fit in B2B SaaS serving CPG brands, implementing account-based marketing for commercial teams, and building strategic customer success programs through customer advisory boards, face-to-face community events, and investment in customer management leadership.
 

Ben Cronin

He is the CEO at Nuqleous with almost two decades of experience serving in the CPG and retail space. Under his leadership, Nucleus has been on the Inc. 5000 list for 5 straight years. The company provides solutions for planogram execution, retail analytics, and dynamic presentation tools (Shelf IQ, Retail Analytics, and Present IQ) to help CPG and retail customers optimize operations and drive growth.

Transcript

Shiv: Hello everyone, I’m Shiv.
Shiv: I co-host Roundtable Ops in Motion.
Shiv: Today I’m joined by.
Shiv: Ben Cronin.
Shiv: Ben is the CEO at Nuqleous, which has been on the Inc. 5000 list for 5 straight years.
Shiv: Hey, Ben, welcome.
Ben: Thank you, Shiv.
Ben: Thank you very much.
Shiv: Thank you.
Shiv: Well, just let’s get started, Ben.
Shiv: If you don’t mind, could you please introduce yourself to the audience?
Ben: Absolutely.
Ben: So, hey everyone, I’m Ben Cronin, CEO at Nuqleous.
Ben: Been here since July, and I’ve been serving in the CPG and retail space for almost two decades now.
Ben: Shiv, as you mentioned, that the Inc.
Ben: The 5000 list is a tremendous accomplishment for us.
Ben: And what that list means is that you’re on a growth trajectory.
Ben: So there’s specific criteria of growth you have to hit.
Ben: When you, when, what I’d say we are most proud about isn’t every year for the last 5 years.
Ben: And so what I think that translates to, really, is that Nuqleous has a tremendous product market fit, and an absolute superstar team behind it.
Ben: And, and when I say product-market fit, for those of you who are maybe unfamiliar with that terminology, it’s when the, the tools or solutions that you provide are generating tremendous value for customers, and, customers want, if not need those tools or those solutions to operate and win at their job every single day.
Shiv: Wonderful.
Shiv: Well, it doesn’t surprise me that you have been on the Inc 5000 list for 5 straight years.
Shiv: Congratulations on that.
Shiv: Having said that, sure.
Shiv: Having said that, help us understand what Nuqleous does?
Shiv: How does it help its customers?
Shiv: What type of innovations have you seen within the retail and the CPG space in the recent past?
Ben: Yeah, good question.
Ben: So, you know, I think at the core, you know, our, we, we, we attack 3 problems that our customers have every single day, whether they’re in retail or CPG, you know, there’s 3 kind of problems where we’ve really focused on, you know, number 1, Is the delayed planogram execution.
Ben: So, you know, it seems like when a retailer is resetting their floor plans or shopper behaviours have changed and how they walk through a store, or there’s a new holiday or seasonal adjustments that need to be made, that is a heavy lift, and some of the tools in the market today.
Ben: , are, are pretty old and rigid, delay or take a lot of time.
Ben: So that’s one big problem around Plannogram execution.
Ben: Another problem that customers have today is maintaining their forecasts, understanding what happened last week, what happened last month, what’s gonna happen in the next, you know, a big holiday rush, etc.
Ben: And so, you know, they collect a bunch of data from the retailers.
Ben: Or point of sale systems or market data, etc.
Ben: And that data has become just such a vast amount coming at these retail, these CPGs, and it’s become a tremendous amount of investment they need to put on teams and tools, etc.
Ben: to kind of deal with that and how to leverage all that information.
Ben: And the last piece would be the challenge around when a CPG wants to sell more or potentially change the way they’re selling.
Ben: Into a retailer They have to present that to the retailer’s buyer community.
Ben: And if you look at some of these presentations that these individuals need to build, it’s nothing short of a book, right?
Ben: 40, 50, 80-page long presentations with very specific data on each page to tell the story and convince the buyer of why they want to make those changes.
Ben: So those are the three big problems that we see.
Ben: , and that we solve.
Ben: And so, how do we solve it on the planogram side? We have a tool called shelf IQ, and shelf IQ automates and allows for quick optimisation and execution around those planograms.
Ben: It’s a great tool.
Ben: Some of the well-known CBGs and even retailers now are using that tool to coordinate and build the best planograms to maintain that category leadership.
Ben: On the data side, we have a tool called retail analytics, and that tool is generating real insights into where you’re actually winning or losing every day and then where to act to regain that market share.
Ben: And then that last piece around those presentations, which take you know, hundreds of hours to develop and, you know, tons of team members to make sure they’re, they’re done.
Ben: And we have a tool called Present IQ, and Present IQ is, is, is literally delivering automatic and extremely dynamic presentations.
Ben: To all stakeholders within minutes, not hours.
Ben: So, you know, for example, the user, you can just switch the name of the retailer at the top.
Ben: They’re going into another buyer tomorrow, and it preloads all the data, all the insights, and it’s very dynamic.
Ben: You can go into the tables within that presentation.
Ben: , and make any tweaks or edits in real time.
Ben: So those are the three ways we really have been impacting the market.
Ben: And, again, as I said earlier, we have tremendous product market fit around them, so we’re very proud of those, those tools.
Shiv: That’s, ‘s some insight into the offerings that you have for your customers and the real-time challenges that you’re solving for them.
Shiv: So, continue with the conversation, Ben, how do you see?
Shiv: Strong marketing activities are helping a company like Nucleus today.
Ben: Well, thank you.
Ben: You know, you know, so we’re, we’re selling into commercial teams, and I, I’d say that’s one of the, for me, one of the most exciting things about this space is you’re selling into sales-minded individuals and sales support individuals across the different commercial teams, etc.
Ben: And, you know, they’re all about brand and marketing.
Ben: Themselves.
Ben: And, and one of the things we, we have found to be very tried and true is that face-to-face touch.
Ben: So, whether it’s hosting activities at one of our locations across the US or Canada, or whether it’s attending some of the Category Management Association meetings, etc.
Ben: or even some of our organic events we do like a big pickleball tournament.
Ben: That we run annually, it’s a great way to get people together, while maybe there are some competitors, right, some snack food competitors or adult beverage competitors or soda competitors in the same room.
Ben: It gives them a chance to unwind, maybe smash a few pickleballs against each other out on the courts, but really learn about what’s happening in that business.
Ben: So enabling that, that, that team and that community to come together has been very powerful for us.
Ben: With that, that investment we just made in July into Nucleus.
Ben: Another area that we’re leaning into heavily right now is around account-based marketing.
Ben: We do have some of the most premier brands out there, but, you know, honestly, we don’t have every team or every tool being leveraged within those different teams.
Ben: So, really getting smart around account-based marketing and being very specific as to what their needs are.
Ben: Right personas within those accounts are essential for us.
Shiv: But all great points, Ben.
Shiv: Well, just two cents from me, just adding on to what amazing points you put across.
Shiv: I believe the things that would be highlighted predominantly in 2026 and beyond are creating unified experiences and one-on-one relationships with customers, stitching together journeys across various marketing channels.
Shiv: Number two is usage of AI will bring efficiency, creativity, and precision.
Shiv: To bring in the personalised content and service at scale.
Shiv: And the number 3 is making sure every interaction is meaningful and by using the data to prioritise the audience based on the ICP, and I’m so glad to see that you’re covering all the bases today. You’re getting yourself ready for tomorrow and beyond.
Shiv: Following the same question, I see that you have recently expanded your customer management team by hiring Jenny, your new CEO.
Shiv: The CEO and others wanted to know your thoughts as to what your long-term planning is in this specific area.
Shiv: What is it that you’re exactly doing to continue the momentum within the customer management team that you have?
Ben: Yeah, thank you.
Ben: Great question.
Ben: So, we just released a press release about Jenny and Dan Gallagher stepping up into leadership roles at Nuqleous.
Ben: You know, 11 of the things we looked at when we were deciding on the investment in Nuqleous are that we did a lot of due diligence and talked to a lot of customers to ask them what’s great about Nucleus and where we could make some improvements.
Ben: And we heard a lot that, you know, the tools, the people are excellent.
Ben: But the customer, you know, kind of connectivity could be more strategic in nature versus more transactional, like customer support.
Ben: And so, so we took that to heart, and we put that as one of our most strategic investment initiatives in the business.
Ben: And, we just had a customer advisory board just, just a few days ago, and we did hear from the customers.
Ben: That they are starting to feel that investment.
Ben: So you always figure there’s gonna be a lag from the time you invest and you put people in, in place until the customers actually feel the impact.
Ben: I’m very pleased to hear that the customers are starting to feel that.
Ben: We certainly have more work to do, and we are, and we are investing more heavily there, but that’s pretty exciting, you know, we have a very talented team across the board.
Ben: Jenny has led, led this team.
Ben: And she’s done an absolute fabulous job ensuring that our customers have, have a strategic partner on the other side of the table to ensure that they’re deriving the value that they anticipated when they invested to buy one of our tools or services.
Ben: She’s also been able to identify some of the rock stars on our team, and actually some outside of Nuqleous to bring into Nuqleous.
Ben: And put them into their driver’s seat and really empower those individuals to do that.
Ben: And then, you know, Dan Gallagher stepped up from one of the acquired companies at TR3 up in Boston.
Ben: And so he’s now leading our customer success team, and he is an absolute, you know, just superstar when it comes to customer first, enabling our team, training our team, just a great leader and a great mentor for our team, and that’s gonna wear off onto our customers very well.
Ben: So, really excited about the investments we’re making here and also glad to hear, you know, some of this early feedback from our customer advisory board for sure and some other customers is they are actually feeling the Impact, which is fantastic.
Shiv: Good to know, Ben.
Shiv: I’ve, I mean, I’ve been lucky to know your team.
Shiv: You’ve got an AR team, Jenny, and, and looking at Dan who’s stepping up.
Shiv: Good to know the initiative of you building a customer advisory board.
Shiv: As any good company would do, you’re talking to your customers, and all your planning, all your strategies revolve based upon the feedback that you get from your customers.
Shiv: So hats off to you.
Shiv: I think you all are doing.
Shiv: Amazing work at Nuqleous, but a little detour from the conversation, it’s more towards you, Ben.
Shiv: Could you tell us more about the Greater Ruxton Area Foundation that you’ve been associated with?
Shiv: What exactly does this foundation do, and what’s, and how have you been involved with it?
Ben: Well, thank you.
Ben: It’s, it’s kind of a personal, selfish board I’m on, I’d say.
Ben: So, I liken myself to be a green thumb.
Ben: And grew up always doing yard work at my parents’ house as a kid.
Ben: Every Saturday morning, I’d wake up to a big list of chores to do outside, but I actually grew to love it.
Ben: And, and so, when you drive through our little town here, there might be debris and trash on the different corners, and you know, some, some areas that need some improvement, some eyesores, if you will, at different intersections, etc.
Ben: And so we, we have this, local volunteer board in, in our community that raises funds to go then pay for landscaping and to kind of beautify.
Ben: The entrance and the surrounding areas of all these different areas.
Ben: And it’s interesting, if you’ve ever tried to go to a Department of Transportation in your own state or your local jurisdiction, and then work with them to understand, could they come fix up an area that looks like an eyesore, you could be waiting years.
Ben: So, So it’s it’s a fun board that I work on, and it’s all about, you know, improving the feel and look of our neighbourhood here.
Ben: And hopefully, when visitors pass through, they feel a difference when they see it.
Ben: But again, it’s really back to what I kind of love to do in my free time, which is, you know, gardening, landscaping, and bringing, bringing some colour to the yard and or to the surrounding community.
Shiv: Well, wonderful.
Shiv: I mean, as any great leader would, you will not only focus on growing the business but also be actively involved with community work.
Shiv: It’s amazing.
Shiv: I’m sure lots to learn from these specific activities that you have been doing.
Shiv: Wonderful, Ben.
Shiv: Thank you so much for an insightful session.
Shiv: I think there are tons of takeaways.
Shiv: Personally, for me, it’s amazing to see how heavily I’ve invested in customer management efforts, right, with the hiring of Jenny and and elevation of Dan as well.
Shiv: It’s so lovely to see that you’re building a stronger, stronger strategic relationship with your customers, and it will only help Nuqleous to grow and strengthen the hold within the industry that you, you. Thank you so much again for your and we had a great time.
Ben: You’re more than welcome, and I just mention for any of the listeners out there that, you know, Shiv, you and the team have been a tremendous partner of ours, and we couldn’t do this without you all.
Ben: And so, all the services you guys provide nucleus behind the scenes.
Ben: Our customers might not see you every day, but, you know, without you, we couldn’t do this.
Ben: So thank you to you and your entire team.
Ben: Please, please pass along my thanks and gratitude.
Shiv: Thank you so much, Ben.
Shiv: It means a lot.
Ben: Absolutely, thank you.