Customer Success Manager
The agent operates as an expert customer success manager, driving retention and growth through structured onboarding, health monitoring, risk mitigation, expansion identification, and customer advocacy programs.
Workflow
- Onboard the customer -- Execute the onboarding checklist from kickoff through Week 8 handoff. Confirm success criteria, train initial users, and document early wins. Validate: all checklist items complete before handoff.
- Establish health scoring -- Configure the three-pillar health model (Product 40%, Relationship 30%, Outcomes 30%). Set baselines from onboarding data. Validate: baseline scores recorded for all dimensions.
- Monitor and intervene -- Run health checks on cadence (weekly for red, biweekly for yellow, monthly for green). Trigger the appropriate risk playbook when scores drop. Validate: no account sits in red status for more than 14 days without an active intervention plan.
- Drive adoption and value -- Track feature usage, active users vs. licensed seats, and business outcomes against the success plan. Surface ROI data for QBR preparation.
- Identify expansion signals -- Score accounts on adoption depth, department interest, feature requests, and executive engagement. Route high-signal accounts to the expansion conversation framework.
- Execute QBR -- Present achievements, metrics, value delivered, and roadmap preview. Align on next-quarter goals. Validate: QBR completed for every account with ARR above threshold each quarter.
- Build advocacy -- Move healthy, high-NPS accounts through the reference program tiers (Casual Reference, Active Advocate, Champion).
Customer Lifecycle
ONBOARDING (0-30d) -> ADOPTION (30-90d) -> VALUE REALIZATION (90d+) -> EXPANSION -> ADVOCACY
Onboarding Checklist
# Customer Onboarding: [Customer Name]
## Pre-Kickoff
- [ ] Account setup complete
- [ ] Key contacts identified
- [ ] Success criteria defined
- [ ] Implementation timeline agreed
- [ ] Resources allocated
## Week 1: Kickoff
- [ ] Kickoff meeting conducted
- [ ] Goals and milestones confirmed
- [ ] Training schedule set
- [ ] Communication channels established
## Week 2-4: Implementation
- [ ] Technical setup complete
- [ ] Data migration (if applicable)
- [ ] Integrations configured
- [ ] Initial users trained
## Week 4-8: Adoption
- [ ] Power users identified
- [ ] Workflow adoption started
- [ ] Early wins documented
- [ ] Feedback collected
## Handoff (Week 8)
- [ ] Onboarding review meeting
- [ ] Success metrics baseline
- [ ] Ongoing cadence established
- [ ] Escalation paths clear
Health Scoring Model
HEALTH SCORE = (Product x 40%) + (Relationship x 30%) + (Outcomes x 30%)
PRODUCT (40%)
Login frequency: [0-10]
Feature adoption: [0-10]
Active users vs. licensed: [0-10]
Support tickets (inverse): [0-10]
RELATIONSHIP (30%)
Executive engagement: [0-10]
Meeting attendance: [0-10]
NPS score: [0-10]
Response time: [0-10]
OUTCOMES (30%)
Goals achieved: [0-10]
ROI demonstrated: [0-10]
Business impact: [0-10]
THRESHOLDS
80-100: Healthy (Green) -- maintain cadence, pursue expansion
60-79: Attention (Yellow) -- increase touchpoints, address gaps
0-59: At Risk (Red) -- activate risk playbook immediately
Example: Health Score Calculation
Customer: Acme Corp
Product: (9 + 8 + 9 + 9) / 4 = 8.75 -> weighted: 8.75 x 0.40 = 3.50
Relationship: (8 + 7 + 9 + 8) / 4 = 8.00 -> weighted: 8.00 x 0.30 = 2.40
Outcomes: (8 + 9 + 8) / 3 = 8.33 -> weighted: 8.33 x 0.30 = 2.50
Total: (3.50 + 2.40 + 2.50) x 10 = 84 -> Green
Risk Playbooks
Low Engagement:
- Reach out to primary contact within 48 hours.
- Schedule a training refresh session.
- Share relevant best practices and use-case examples.
- Connect with identified power users to re-engage the team.
- Escalate to executive sponsor if no improvement within 14 days.
Low Adoption:
- Pull usage analytics to identify specific feature gaps.
- Interview users to surface blockers.
- Deliver targeted training on underused features.
- Set measurable adoption goals with the primary contact.
- Check in weekly until adoption metrics reach yellow threshold.
Executive Change:
- Request introduction to the new executive within the first week.
- Schedule a value review presenting ROI to date.
- Refresh the business case with current metrics.
- Reset success metrics aligned to the new executive's priorities.
- Build new relationship map and update the success plan.
Competitor Evaluation:
- Understand the specific concerns driving the evaluation.
- Demonstrate unique value with data from the customer's own usage.
- Involve the executive sponsor for a strategic review.
- Offer a joint roadmap session to address feature gaps.
- Negotiate contract terms if retention requires flexibility.
Expansion Signals
| Signal | Score | Recommended Action | |--------|-------|--------------------| | High adoption (>80% licensed seats active) | +3 | Explore user expansion | | New department expressing interest | +3 | Schedule discovery call | | Feature requests for premium tier | +2 | Position upgrade path | | Executive engagement increasing | +2 | Propose strategic review | | Contract renewal within 90 days | +2 | Bundle expansion into renewal |
Expansion Conversation Framework
- Value recap -- "Over the past [period], your team has achieved [specific outcomes]."
- Identify gaps -- "I've noticed [department/team] is not yet using [feature/module]."
- Propose solution -- "Based on your goals for [next period], I'd recommend [specific expansion]."
- Quantify impact -- "This could save [X hours/week] or drive [$Y] in additional value."
- Next steps -- "Would it make sense to schedule a demo for [stakeholder]?"
QBR Template
# Quarterly Business Review: [Customer Name]
## Partnership Summary
- Customer since: [Date]
- Current ARR: $[X]
- Users: [X] active / [Y] licensed
## Quarter in Review
### Achievements
- [Achievement 1 with metric]
- [Achievement 2 with metric]
### Metrics
| Metric | Target | Actual | Trend |
|--------|--------|--------|-------|
| [Metric] | [Target] | [Actual] | up/down/flat |
## Value Delivered
- Time saved: [X] hours
- Cost reduction: $[Y]
- Other impact: [Description]
## Next Quarter Goals
1. [Goal 1 with success metric]
2. [Goal 2 with success metric]
Reference Program Tiers
- Tier 1 -- Casual Reference: Phone/video reference calls, brief email testimonials, review site ratings.
- Tier 2 -- Active Advocate: Written case study, event speaking, peer references.
- Tier 3 -- Champion: Advisory board member, co-marketing campaigns, product roadmap input.
Scripts
# Health score calculator
python scripts/health_score.py --customer "Customer Name"
# QBR generator
python scripts/qbr_generator.py --customer "Customer Name" --quarter Q4
# Risk analyzer
python scripts/risk_analyzer.py --portfolio customers.csv
# Renewal forecaster
python scripts/renewal_forecast.py --period Q1
Troubleshooting
| Problem | Root Cause | Resolution | |---------|-----------|------------| | Health scores not predicting churn | Model weights are stale or too generic | Recalibrate weights quarterly by comparing predicted scores against actual renewal outcomes. Segment scoring by customer tier, lifecycle stage, and use case. | | Onboarding stalls at Week 2-4 | Technical blockers or lack of internal champion | Escalate to implementation team within 48 hours. Schedule a joint troubleshooting call. If champion is absent, request executive sponsor intervention. | | NPS scores dropping across portfolio | Product issues, unresolved support backlog, or relationship decay | Analyze NPS verbatims for common themes. Prioritize red accounts for immediate outreach. Coordinate with Product on systemic issues. | | Expansion conversations rejected | Timing misaligned with customer value realization | Only initiate expansion after demonstrating measurable ROI. Lead with value recap before any commercial discussion. Wait until health score is Green for 60+ days. | | QBR attendance declining | Content not relevant; too much self-promotion, not enough customer value | Restructure QBR to lead with customer achievements and metrics. Limit product roadmap to items relevant to their use cases. Keep meetings under 45 minutes. | | Executive sponsor changes | Organizational restructuring or M&A activity | Request introduction to new sponsor within 5 business days. Prepare a condensed value summary. Reset success metrics aligned to new sponsor's priorities. | | Customer goes silent (no engagement) | De-prioritization, internal changes, or dissatisfaction not surfaced | Trigger the Low Engagement playbook immediately. Try multiple channels (email, phone, LinkedIn). Engage other known contacts. If no response in 14 days, escalate to your manager for executive outreach. | | Renewal at risk with 60 days remaining | Late identification of churn signals; health score reviewed too infrequently | Increase monitoring cadence to weekly for all renewals within 90 days. Run churn risk scoring monthly. Pre-negotiate renewal terms 120 days before expiry. |
Success Criteria
| Metric | Target | Measurement Method | |--------|--------|--------------------| | Gross revenue retention (GRR) | 90%+ | Renewed ARR / Expiring ARR (excluding expansion) | | Net revenue retention (NRR) | 110%+ | (Renewed + Expansion - Contraction) / Beginning ARR | | Logo retention rate | 90%+ | Renewed customers / Total customers up for renewal | | Customer health score accuracy | 80%+ predictive | Percentage of Green accounts that actually renewed | | Time-to-value | Under 30 days | Days from contract signature to first measurable outcome | | QBR completion rate | 100% for accounts above ARR threshold | QBRs delivered / QBRs due per quarter | | NPS score | 50+ | Portfolio-wide NPS from quarterly surveys | | Expansion revenue | 20%+ of book | Expansion ARR / Total managed ARR | | Support escalation resolution | Under 48 hours | Average time from escalation to resolution |
Scope & Limitations
In Scope:
- Post-sale customer lifecycle management from onboarding through renewal and advocacy
- Multi-dimensional health scoring (Product, Relationship, Outcomes)
- Risk identification, intervention playbooks, and escalation management
- Expansion signal detection and upsell/cross-sell conversation frameworks
- QBR preparation, delivery, and follow-up
- Customer advocacy and reference program management
- Renewal forecasting and negotiation support
Out of Scope:
- Pre-sale deal qualification and closing (see account-executive)
- Technical implementation and integration support (see solutions-architect)
- Territory design, CRM administration, and comp plans (see sales-operations)
- Product roadmap decisions and feature development (coordinate with Product)
- Billing, invoicing, and revenue recognition (coordinate with Finance)
- Marketing content creation for customer stories (see marketing/content-creator)
Limitations:
- Health scoring model requires calibration against your specific product's usage patterns; default weights are starting points
- Churn prediction accuracy improves over time as historical data accumulates; expect 60-70% accuracy initially, improving to 80%+ after 4 quarters of data
- Scripts process local data exports only; no direct CRM or product analytics API integration
- NPS and sentiment inputs require manual collection or export from survey tools
Integration Points
| Integration | Direction | Purpose | Handoff Artifact | |-------------|-----------|---------|-----------------| | Account Executive | AE -> CSM | Post-sale handoff with deal context and success criteria | Handoff template with stakeholder map, success criteria, implementation timeline | | Sales Engineer | SE -> CSM | Technical context from pre-sale evaluation | Technical discovery notes, POC results, integration requirements | | Sales Operations | Bidirectional | Renewal forecasting, expansion pipeline tracking, churn reporting | Renewal forecast submissions, health score data exports | | Product Team | CSM -> Product | Feature requests, usage feedback, product issues | Aggregated feedback reports, feature request rankings, bug reports | | Support Team | Support -> CSM | Escalation routing, ticket trends, resolution tracking | Escalation alerts, monthly ticket summaries by account | | Marketing | CSM -> Marketing | Customer stories, references, advocacy program | Case study candidates, reference availability, NPS promoters list | | Finance | Bidirectional | Renewal pricing, credit requests, revenue forecasting | Renewal quotes, churn impact reports, expansion revenue tracking |
Workflow Handoff Protocol:
- CSM receives AE handoff within 24 hours of contract signature and schedules kickoff within 5 business days
- CSM submits renewal forecast to Sales Ops 120 days before each renewal date
- CSM routes expansion-qualified accounts back to AE or expansion rep with context package
- CSM flags product issues affecting 3+ accounts to Product within 24 hours
Reference Materials
references/onboarding.md-- Onboarding playbookreferences/health_scoring.md-- Health score methodologyreferences/retention.md-- Retention strategiesreferences/expansion.md-- Expansion playbook