Customer Success Engine

Complete system for preventing churn, driving expansion, and turning customers into advocates. Covers the full lifecycle from onboarding through renewal and growth.

Phase 1: Customer Health Scoring

Health Score Model (0-100)

Build a composite score from leading indicators. Weight by your business model.

Score Components:

Dimension	Weight	Signals	Scoring
Product Usage	30%	DAU/MAU ratio, feature breadth, core action frequency	<20% DAU/MAU = 0-3, 20-40% = 4-6, >40% = 7-10
Engagement	20%	Login trend (up/flat/down), support tickets, community activity	Declining = 0-3, Flat = 4-6, Growing = 7-10
Relationship	15%	Champion identified, exec sponsor, multi-threaded	No champion = 0-3, Champion only = 4-6, Multi-thread = 7-10
Outcomes	20%	Stated goals tracked, ROI documented, success milestones hit	0 goals met = 0-3, Some = 4-6, All = 7-10
Financial	15%	Payment history, contract value trend, expansion signals	Late payments = 0-3, On-time = 4-6, Expanding = 7-10

Health Tiers:

Score	Tier	Color	Action
80-100	Thriving	🟢 Green	Expansion plays, advocacy asks
60-79	Healthy	🟡 Yellow	Monitor, nurture, prepare upsell
40-59	At-Risk	🟠 Orange	Intervention plan within 48 hours
0-39	Critical	🔴 Red	Executive escalation, save plan within 24 hours

Health Score YAML Template

customer_health:
  account: "[Company Name]"
  arr: 0
  tier: "enterprise|mid-market|smb"
  csm: "[CSM Name]"
  renewal_date: "YYYY-MM-DD"
  scores:
    product_usage:
      score: 0  # 0-10
      dau_mau_ratio: 0.0
      core_actions_weekly: 0
      features_adopted: 0  # out of total available
      trend: "up|flat|down"
    engagement:
      score: 0
      login_trend: "up|flat|down"
      support_tickets_30d: 0
      last_proactive_contact: "YYYY-MM-DD"
      community_active: false
    relationship:
      score: 0
      champion: "[Name, Title]"
      exec_sponsor: "[Name, Title]"
      contacts_count: 0
      last_exec_touch: "YYYY-MM-DD"
    outcomes:
      score: 0
      goals_defined: 0
      goals_achieved: 0
      roi_documented: false
      last_success_milestone: ""
    financial:
      score: 0
      payment_status: "current|late|delinquent"
      expansion_signals: []
      contraction_risk: false
  composite_score: 0  # Weighted calculation
  tier: "thriving|healthy|at-risk|critical"
  last_updated: "YYYY-MM-DD"

Phase 2: Onboarding (First 90 Days)

The first 90 days determine whether a customer stays for years or churns at renewal.

Time-to-First-Value (TTFV) Framework

Goal: Get every customer to their "aha moment" as fast as possible.

Step 1 — Define the Aha Moment by Segment:

Segment	Aha Moment	Target TTFV
Enterprise	First workflow automated + team adopted	30 days
Mid-Market	Core use case live + 3 users active	14 days
SMB	First value-generating action completed	24 hours
Self-serve	Core action completed	10 minutes

Step 2 — Onboarding Milestones:

Week 1: Technical Setup
  □ Account provisioned and configured
  □ Integration(s) connected
  □ Admin trained on core settings
  □ Success plan created (goals, timeline, stakeholders)
  □ Kickoff call completed — attendees: champion + exec sponsor

Week 2-3: Core Adoption
  □ Primary use case configured
  □ First 5 users activated
  □ Core workflow running
  □ Quick win documented and shared with sponsor

Week 4-6: Expansion Adoption
  □ Second use case identified and configured
  □ 80% of licensed users active
  □ Self-service resources shared (docs, videos, community)
  □ 30-day check-in: review progress vs success plan

Week 7-12: Optimization
  □ Advanced features introduced
  □ Workflow optimization session
  □ ROI calculation (first draft)
  □ 90-day review: success plan scorecard, next quarter goals

Onboarding Risk Signals

Flag immediately if any of these appear during onboarding:

Signal	Severity	Response
Champion leaves company	🔴 Critical	Find new champion within 48h, re-establish exec relationship
No login after Day 3	🟠 High	Personal outreach (call, not email)
Integration fails	🟠 High	Escalate to engineering, provide workaround
Kickoff delayed >1 week	🟡 Medium	Escalate internally, offer flexible scheduling
<50% user activation by Day 30	🟡 Medium	User adoption campaign (training, incentives)
No exec sponsor identified	🟡 Medium	Ask champion to intro their manager

Success Plan Template

success_plan:
  account: "[Company Name]"
  created: "YYYY-MM-DD"
  owner: "[CSM Name]"
  stakeholders:
    champion: { name: "", title: "", email: "" }
    exec_sponsor: { name: "", title: "", email: "" }
    technical_lead: { name: "", title: "", email: "" }
  business_objectives:
    - objective: "[What they want to achieve]"
      metric: "[How we'll measure it]"
      baseline: "[Current state]"
      target: "[Goal state]"
      timeline: "[By when]"
  use_cases:
    - name: "[Use case]"
      status: "not-started|in-progress|live|optimizing"
      go_live_date: "YYYY-MM-DD"
  milestones:
    - name: "Technical Setup Complete"
      target_date: "YYYY-MM-DD"
      status: "pending|complete|at-risk"
    - name: "First Value Delivered"
      target_date: ""
      status: ""
    - name: "Full Adoption"
      target_date: ""
      status: ""
  risks:
    - risk: ""
      mitigation: ""
      owner: ""
  next_review: "YYYY-MM-DD"

Phase 3: Ongoing Engagement & Lifecycle

Touch Cadence by Tier

Tier	Sync Meetings	Async Check-ins	QBRs	Executive Touch
Enterprise ($100K+)	Bi-weekly	Weekly	Quarterly	Quarterly
Mid-Market ($25-100K)	Monthly	Bi-weekly	Semi-annual	Semi-annual
SMB ($5-25K)	Quarterly	Monthly	Annual	None
Self-Serve (<$5K)	None (reactive)	Automated	None	None

Engagement Playbook by Health Tier

🟢 Thriving (80-100):

Share product roadmap previews (make them feel insider)
Ask for case study / testimonial / reference
Introduce expansion opportunities
Invite to beta programs and advisory board
Request G2/Capterra review

🟡 Healthy (60-79):

Proactive best-practice sharing
Feature adoption campaign for unused capabilities
Schedule optimization workshop
Update and review success plan goals
Strengthen multi-threading (meet more stakeholders)

🟠 At-Risk (40-59):

48-hour intervention plan required
Root cause analysis: is it product, people, or process?
Executive-to-executive outreach
Offer dedicated support window or on-site visit
Create 30-day recovery plan with weekly checkpoints

🔴 Critical (0-39):

Same-day executive escalation
Save call within 24 hours (CSM + manager + exec)
Offer: dedicated implementation resource, contract restructure, product concessions
Document blockers and get engineering commitment on fixes
Daily check-in until health improves to Orange

Lifecycle Email Sequences

Adoption Nudge Sequence (triggered when feature adoption < 50%):

Day 0: "You're missing out on [Feature] — here's what teams like yours do with it"
Day 3: "[Customer Name] saved 10 hours/week using [Feature] — quick setup guide"
Day 7: "Want a 15-min walkthrough of [Feature]? Here's my calendar link"
Day 14: [If no action] Flag for CSM personal outreach

Renewal Prep Sequence (starts 90 days before renewal):

Day -90: Internal — CSM reviews health score, usage data, open issues
Day -75: Success recap email — "Here's what you've achieved this year"
Day -60: ROI presentation — document value delivered
Day -45: Renewal discussion — terms, expansion, multi-year options
Day -30: Contract sent — if not signed, escalate
Day -14: Final follow-up — executive involvement if needed
Day -7: If unsigned — red alert, daily follow-up

Phase 4: Churn Prevention

Early Warning System

Leading Indicators (detect 60-90 days before churn):

Indicator	Detection Method	Lead Time
Usage decline >30% MoM	Automated monitoring	90 days
Champion job change	LinkedIn monitoring, email bounce	60-90 days
Support ticket spike then silence	Ticket trend analysis	60 days
Billing page visits (no upgrade)	Product analytics	45 days
Competitor evaluation	Web traffic, sales intel	30-60 days
Data export requests	Product analytics	30 days
Contract non-renewal signals	Procurement delays, legal questions	30-45 days
Team member removals	License/seat changes	30 days

Churn Reason Taxonomy

Classify every churn for pattern analysis:

Category	Sub-Reasons	Preventable?
Product	Missing feature, poor UX, bugs, performance	✅ Partially
Value	ROI not realized, wrong use case, over-sold	✅ Yes
Relationship	Champion left, poor CS experience, trust broken	✅ Yes
Financial	Budget cuts, M&A, bankruptcy, price too high	⚠️ Sometimes
Competition	Switched to competitor, built in-house	✅ Partially
Strategic	Business pivot, division shut down, deprioritized	❌ Rarely

Save Plays by Churn Reason

Product gap:

Escalate to product team with revenue impact ($ARR at risk)
Offer workaround or professional services to bridge gap
Share roadmap with delivery commitment and timeline
If feature is coming in <90 days, offer bridge discount

Value not realized:

Re-onboard: new success plan, new goals, fresh training
Assign senior CS resource or solutions architect
Offer "value sprint" — 30-day intensive to prove ROI
Document quick wins weekly and share with exec sponsor

Champion left:

Within 48 hours: identify new primary contact
Offer "new stakeholder onboarding" session
Re-establish exec-to-exec relationship
Provide business case document new champion can use internally

Price objection:

Never discount without getting something back (multi-year, case study, referral)
Restructure: remove unused features/seats, right-size the contract
Offer payment terms (quarterly → annual = discount)
Show ROI math: "You're paying $X, generating $Y in value"

Competitor threat:

Competitive battlecard deployment
Offer feature matching roadmap commitment
Executive relationship leverage
Switch cost analysis (show total cost of switching)

Phase 5: Expansion Revenue

Net Revenue Retention (NRR) Framework

Target NRR by segment:

Segment	Good	Great	World-Class
Enterprise SaaS	110%	120%	130%+
Mid-Market SaaS	105%	110%	120%+
SMB SaaS	95%	100%	110%+

NRR Formula: (Start MRR + Expansion - Contraction - Churn) / Start MRR × 100

Expansion Signals

Watch for these buying signals:

Signal	Strength	Play
Hitting usage limits	🔥 Hot	Proactive upgrade conversation
New team/department asking about product	🔥 Hot	Land-and-expand intro meeting
Requesting features on higher tier	🔥 Hot	Demo premium tier capabilities
Company funding round or growth announcement	🟡 Warm	Congratulate + "as you scale, here's how we help"
Champion promoted	🟡 Warm	Congratulate + "bring product to your new scope"
High health score + approaching renewal	🟡 Warm	Multi-year + expansion bundle
Requesting API access or integrations	🟡 Warm	Platform/enterprise tier positioning

Expansion Playbooks

Seat Expansion:

Monitor seat utilization monthly
When >80% seats used: "You're almost at capacity — here's a volume tier that saves $X per seat"
Offer: bulk discount for 2x seats, annual commitment for better rate
Share adoption success: "Your team's usage is in the top 10% of our customers"

Tier Upgrade:

Identify which premium features align with their goals
Run a "premium preview" — trial of advanced features for 14 days
Calculate ROI of upgrade: "Feature X will save your team Y hours/month"
Offer: upgrade at renewal for price lock, or mid-cycle upgrade with pro-rata

Cross-Sell (New Product):

Map customer's tech stack and identify gaps you fill
Warm intro: share relevant case study from similar company
Offer pilot: "30-day proof of concept, no commitment"
Bundle pricing: "Add Product B for 20% less than standalone"

Land-and-Expand (New Department):

Ask champion: "Which other teams face similar challenges?"
Offer: free workshop for new department
Provide champion with internal pitch deck
New department = new success plan, new champion, separate health tracking

Phase 6: Quarterly Business Reviews (QBRs)

QBR Structure (60 Minutes)

1. Business Context (10 min)
   - Customer shares business updates, priorities, challenges
   - CS listens — do NOT present slides first

2. Value Delivered (15 min)
   - Usage dashboard: adoption, engagement, trends
   - ROI recap: goals set → outcomes achieved → dollar impact
   - Success stories: specific wins this quarter
   - Comparison: "Here's how you compare to peers in your industry"

3. Roadmap & Innovation (10 min)
   - Product roadmap aligned to THEIR priorities
   - Early access / beta opportunities
   - Industry trends and best practices

4. Success Plan Review (15 min)
   - Score previous quarter's goals
   - Set next quarter's objectives
   - Identify blockers and resource needs
   - Assign owners and timelines

5. Strategic Discussion (10 min)
   - "What keeps you up at night?"
   - "Where is the business heading in the next 12 months?"
   - Expansion opportunities (based on their strategy)
   - Introduce new stakeholders if relationship gaps exist

QBR Prep Checklist

□ Pull 90-day usage data and create dashboard
□ Calculate ROI / value delivered (specific numbers)
□ Review health score trend (improving? declining?)
□ Check open support tickets — resolve before QBR
□ Review success plan — score each goal
□ Draft next quarter objectives (aligned to their business)
□ Prepare 1-2 expansion recommendations with ROI projections
□ Identify who should attend (their side + yours)
□ Send pre-read agenda 5 days before
□ Prepare competitive intel (in case competitors come up)

Post-QBR Follow-Up Template

Subject: [Company] + [Your Company] — Q[X] Review Recap & Next Steps

Hi [Name],

Thank you for a productive review today. Here's a summary:

**What We Achieved in Q[X]:**
- [Goal 1]: [Result + metric]
- [Goal 2]: [Result + metric]
- [Goal 3]: [Result + metric]

**Q[X+1] Objectives:**
1. [Objective] — Owner: [Name], Target: [Date]
2. [Objective] — Owner: [Name], Target: [Date]
3. [Objective] — Owner: [Name], Target: [Date]

**Action Items:**
- [ ] [Action] — [Owner] by [Date]
- [ ] [Action] — [Owner] by [Date]

**Next QBR:** [Date]

Looking forward to another strong quarter together.

[Name]

Phase 7: Win-Back Campaigns

Win-Back Timing

Time Since Churn	Approach	Success Rate
0-30 days	"We miss you" + address churn reason	15-25%
30-90 days	Product update + improvement proof	10-15%
90-180 days	Major release + special offer	5-10%
180-365 days	Annual check-in + case study	2-5%
>365 days	Remove from active campaigns	<2%

Win-Back Email Sequence

Email 1 (Day 7 post-churn):

Subject: We fixed [their specific issue]

Hi [Name],

I know [specific churn reason] was frustrating. I wanted you to know we've [specific improvement].

[If product: "Here's what changed: [feature/fix description]"]
[If value: "We've redesigned onboarding to get to value in [X days]"]
[If price: "We have new plans that might work better for your budget"]

No pressure — but if you'd like to take another look, I'm here.

[Name]

Email 2 (Day 30):

Subject: [Their industry] companies are seeing [specific result]

Hi [Name],

Since we last spoke, [similar company] achieved [specific metric] using [product].

We've shipped [X] improvements in the past month, including:
- [Improvement 1]
- [Improvement 2]

Would a quick catch-up be useful? Happy to show what's new.

[Name]

Email 3 (Day 90 — major release only):

Subject: [Product] [Version] — built with your feedback

Hi [Name],

We just launched [major feature/version] and your feedback directly influenced it.

[1-2 sentence description of what's new and why it matters to them]

I'd love to give you a private preview. Want to jump on a 15-minute call this week?

[Name]

Phase 8: CS Metrics Dashboard

Weekly CS Metrics

cs_dashboard:
  week: "YYYY-WXX"
  portfolio:
    total_accounts: 0
    total_arr: 0
    health_distribution:
      green: { count: 0, arr: 0 }
      yellow: { count: 0, arr: 0 }
      orange: { count: 0, arr: 0 }
      red: { count: 0, arr: 0 }
  retention:
    gross_retention_rate: 0.0  # Target: >90%
    net_retention_rate: 0.0    # Target: >110%
    logo_retention_rate: 0.0   # Target: >85%
    arr_churned_mtd: 0
    arr_contracted_mtd: 0
  expansion:
    arr_expanded_mtd: 0
    expansion_pipeline: 0
    upsell_conversations: 0
    expansion_rate: 0.0  # Target: >15% annually
  engagement:
    avg_health_score: 0      # Target: >70
    health_score_trend: "up|flat|down"
    qbrs_completed: 0
    nps_score: 0             # Target: >50
    csat_score: 0.0          # Target: >4.5/5
  onboarding:
    active_onboardings: 0
    avg_ttfv_days: 0         # Target: <14 for MM, <30 for Ent
    onboarding_completion_rate: 0.0  # Target: >90%
  renewals:
    upcoming_30d: { count: 0, arr: 0 }
    upcoming_60d: { count: 0, arr: 0 }
    upcoming_90d: { count: 0, arr: 0 }
    on_track: 0
    at_risk: 0

Monthly Review Questions

Which accounts moved from Green → Yellow or worse? Why?
Which accounts moved UP in health? What worked?
What's the #1 churn reason this month? Is it trending?
Are we multi-threaded in our top 10 accounts?
What expansion pipeline exists for next quarter?
Which CSMs are carrying at-risk concentration?
Are QBRs driving measurable behavior change?
What product feedback should we escalate to product team?

Phase 9: Cohort Analysis & Retention Metrics

Building a Retention Cohort Table

Track by signup month (or contract start). Measure at regular intervals.

Example SaaS Retention Cohort:

              Month 0  Month 1  Month 2  Month 3  Month 6  Month 12
Jan cohort    100%     92%      87%      84%      78%      68%
Feb cohort    100%     94%      90%      88%      82%      —
Mar cohort    100%     91%      85%      —        —        —

What to look for:

Vertical improvement: Are newer cohorts retaining better? (product/onboarding improving)
Drop-off cliff: Where's the steepest decline? (Month 1-2 = onboarding problem, Month 6-12 = value/renewal problem)
Cohort outliers: Which cohort retained best? What was different? (marketing channel, sales rep, onboarding changes)
Revenue retention vs logo retention: Are you keeping ARR even if losing logos? (expansion offsetting churn)

Engagement-to-Retention Mapping

Engagement Level	Behavior	Retention Prediction	Action
Power User	Daily, multi-feature, creates content	95%+ renewal	Advocate program, expansion
Regular	3-4x/week, core features	85-95%	Feature adoption, optimization
Casual	1-2x/week, limited features	60-80%	Re-engagement campaign
Dormant	<1x/week or inactive	20-40%	Urgent intervention
Ghost	No activity 30+ days	<20%	Win-back or churn prep

Phase 10: Advanced Patterns

Segmented Retention Strategies

By Company Size:

Enterprise: relationship-driven, executive alignment, dedicated CSM, custom integrations
Mid-Market: process-driven, scalable touch model, pooled CS with named CSM
SMB: product-driven, self-service resources, automated engagement, 1:many CS

By Customer Maturity:

Year 1: Onboarding focus, TTFV, quick wins, habit formation
Year 2: Optimization, expansion, deeper integration, advocacy
Year 3+: Strategic partnership, executive alignment, platform consolidation, co-innovation

Customer Advisory Board (CAB)

Structure:

8-12 customers, mix of segments and industries
Quarterly virtual meetings (90 min) + annual in-person
Topics: product roadmap input, market trends, peer networking
Incentive: early access to features, direct access to product leadership, recognition

Selection criteria:

Health score >70
Active for >6 months
Willing to provide candid feedback
Represents a strategic segment or use case

Voice of Customer (VoC) Program

Collection Points:

NPS survey: quarterly (relationship) + post-interaction (transactional)
CSAT: after support tickets, after onboarding, after QBR
In-app feedback: feature requests, bug reports, satisfaction micro-surveys
Win/loss interviews: 30-min call within 2 weeks of decision
Churn interviews: exit survey + optional call
Advisory board: structured feedback sessions

Action Framework:

Score 0-6 (Detractor): Personal outreach within 24h, root cause, recovery plan
Score 7-8 (Passive): Follow up with improvement survey, feature education
Score 9-10 (Promoter): Thank you, ask for review/referral/case study

Multi-Product Customer Success

When a customer uses multiple products:

Unified health score (weighted by product ARR contribution)
Single CSM as primary, product specialists as needed
Cross-product adoption: "Since you use Product A for X, Product B handles Y"
Bundled QBRs: one strategic review covering all products
Cross-product churn risk: losing one product increases risk for others

Edge Cases

Mergers & Acquisitions

Customer acquires company: opportunity to expand (new users/departments)
Customer gets acquired: risk — new leadership may consolidate vendors. Get ahead: meet new stakeholders, re-prove value, prepare competitive defense
You get acquired: proactive communication, continuity assurance, retention incentives

Seasonal Businesses

Adjust health scoring for expected usage dips (don't flag summer slowdown as churn risk)
Front-load engagement before peak season
QBRs timed to pre-season planning

Champion Burnout

If your champion is carrying the product internally with no support, help them: provide internal presentation decks, ROI docs, and executive summaries they can share
Reduce their burden: offer admin training for their team, self-service resources
Celebrate their wins publicly (with permission) to increase their internal visibility

Economic Downturn

Proactive outreach: "We know budgets are tight — let's review your ROI together"
Offer: right-size contracts, payment flexibility, ROI workshops
Position as cost-saving: "Here's what you'd spend replacing us with manual work"
Lock in multi-year at current rate before price increases

High-Touch to Low-Touch Transition

When downgrading a customer's CS tier (e.g., after contraction):
Communicate clearly: "Here's what changes and what stays the same"
Provide self-service toolkit to replace CSM meetings
Set up automated health monitoring with escalation triggers
Transition call: introduce new support model, share resources

Natural Language Commands

Use these to interact with the system:

"Score [account]" — Run health score calculation
"Onboarding plan for [account]" — Generate 90-day onboarding plan
"QBR prep for [account]" — Generate QBR agenda, data summary, and recommendations
"Churn risk for [account]" — Analyze leading indicators and generate risk assessment
"Expansion opportunities for [account]" — Identify and score expansion plays
"Win-back plan for [account]" — Generate win-back sequence based on churn reason
"Renewal prep for [account]" — Generate renewal timeline, risk assessment, and talk track
"Portfolio review" — Generate weekly CS dashboard from all tracked accounts
"Cohort analysis" — Build retention cohort table from customer data
"Success plan for [account]" — Generate or update success plan with goals and milestones
"Save play for [account]" — Generate intervention plan for at-risk customer
"NRR report" — Calculate net revenue retention with expansion/contraction breakdown