customer-success-manager

name	customer-success-manager
description	Expert customer success covering onboarding, adoption, retention, expansion, health scoring, and customer advocacy. Use when designing onboarding playbooks, calculating health scores, building QBR decks, planning renewal strategies, or identifying expansion opportunities.
license	MIT + Commons Clause
metadata	{"version":"1.0.0","author":"borghei","category":"sales-success","domain":"customer-success","updated":"2026-03-31T00:00:00.000Z","tags":["customer-success","retention","adoption","expansion","nps"]}

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

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. Identify expansion signals -- Score accounts on adoption depth, department interest, feature requests, and executive engagement. Route high-signal accounts to the expansion conversation framework.
6. 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.
7. 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:

1. Reach out to primary contact within 48 hours.
2. Schedule a training refresh session.
3. Share relevant best practices and use-case examples.
4. Connect with identified power users to re-engage the team.
5. Escalate to executive sponsor if no improvement within 14 days.

Low Adoption:

1. Pull usage analytics to identify specific feature gaps.
2. Interview users to surface blockers.
3. Deliver targeted training on underused features.
4. Set measurable adoption goals with the primary contact.
5. Check in weekly until adoption metrics reach yellow threshold.

Executive Change:

1. Request introduction to the new executive within the first week.
2. Schedule a value review presenting ROI to date.
3. Refresh the business case with current metrics.
4. Reset success metrics aligned to the new executive's priorities.
5. Build new relationship map and update the success plan.

Competitor Evaluation:

1. Understand the specific concerns driving the evaluation.
2. Demonstrate unique value with data from the customer's own usage.
3. Involve the executive sponsor for a strategic review.
4. Offer a joint roadmap session to address feature gaps.
5. 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

1. Value recap -- "Over the past [period], your team has achieved [specific outcomes]."
2. Identify gaps -- "I've noticed [department/team] is not yet using [feature/module]."
3. Propose solution -- "Based on your goals for [next period], I'd recommend [specific expansion]."
4. Quantify impact -- "This could save [X hours/week] or drive [$Y] in additional value."
5. 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:

1. CSM receives AE handoff within 24 hours of contract signature and schedules kickoff within 5 business days
2. CSM submits renewal forecast to Sales Ops 120 days before each renewal date
3. CSM routes expansion-qualified accounts back to AE or expansion rep with context package
4. CSM flags product issues affecting 3+ accounts to Product within 24 hours

Reference Materials

• references/onboarding.md -- Onboarding playbook
• references/health_scoring.md -- Health score methodology
• references/retention.md -- Retention strategies
• references/expansion.md -- Expansion playbook