claude-skills-reference/business-growth/customer-success-manager/references/cs-playbooks.md

Customer Success Playbooks

Comprehensive intervention, onboarding, renewal, expansion, and escalation playbooks for SaaS customer success management.

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Risk Tier Intervention Playbooks

Critical Risk (Score 80-100)

Situation: Customer is at imminent risk of churn. Multiple severe warning signals detected. Requires immediate executive-level intervention.

Timeline: Act within 48 hours.

Steps:

1. Executive Escalation (Day 0)

   • Alert VP of Customer Success and account executive immediately
   • Brief internal leadership on situation, warning signals, and ARR at risk
   • Identify any pending support issues and fast-track resolution

2. Customer Contact (Day 1-2)

   • Schedule executive-to-executive call (VP CS to customer VP/C-level)
   • Frame the conversation around understanding their challenges, not defending your product
   • Listen more than talk -- capture the real objections

3. Save Plan Creation (Day 2-3)

   • Create a detailed save plan with specific value milestones tied to their business outcomes
   • Include timeline, owners, and measurable success criteria
   • Get internal alignment on any concessions (pricing, features, roadmap commitments)

4. Rescue Team Assignment (Day 3-5)

   • Assign a dedicated rescue team: CSM + Solutions Engineer + Support Lead
   • Daily internal stand-up (15 min max) on account status
   • Solutions Engineer to conduct technical health check

5. Execution and Monitoring (Week 2-4)

   • Execute save plan with weekly customer check-ins
   • Track progress against milestones
   • Prepare competitive displacement defence if competitor involvement detected

6. Resolution Assessment (Week 4)

   • Evaluate whether the situation is stabilising
   • If improving: transition to High-risk monitoring cadence
   • If not improving: escalate to CEO/GM for final intervention

Success Criteria: Risk score drops below 60 within 30 days. Customer confirms continued partnership intent.

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High Risk (Score 60-79)

Situation: Customer showing clear signs of dissatisfaction or disengagement. Still salvageable with focused CSM intervention.

Timeline: Act within 1 week.

Steps:

1. Root Cause Analysis (Day 1-3)

   • Review all health score dimensions to identify the primary drivers
   • Pull support ticket history for patterns
   • Check product usage trends for the past 90 days

2. CSM Outreach (Day 3-5)

   • Schedule a dedicated call with the customer (not a routine check-in)
   • Open with empathy: "I've noticed some changes and want to make sure we're supporting you properly"
   • Identify the top 3 customer concerns

3. 30-Day Recovery Plan (Day 5-7)

   • Build a 30-day recovery plan with measurable checkpoints every week
   • Include specific actions for each concern identified
   • Share the plan with the customer for mutual commitment

4. Re-Engage Executive Sponsor (Week 2)

   • Request a meeting with the executive sponsor
   • Align on business outcomes and how your product supports them
   • Confirm continued sponsorship and address any political changes

5. Support Fast-Track (Ongoing)

   • Escalate any pending support tickets internally
   • Assign a support point of contact for this account
   • Provide weekly status updates on open issues

6. Progress Review (Week 3-4)

   • Review all metrics for improvement
   • Adjust plan if specific interventions are not working
   • If score drops to Critical: escalate to executive playbook

Success Criteria: Risk score drops below 40 within 30 days. No new warning signals emerge.

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Medium Risk (Score 40-59)

Situation: Early warning signs detected. Customer may not be aware of emerging issues. Proactive outreach prevents escalation.

Timeline: Act within 2 weeks.

Steps:

1. Data Review (Day 1-5)

   • Analyse which dimension(s) are pulling the score down
   • Review recent support interactions for sentiment clues
   • Check for any known product issues affecting this customer

2. Proactive Check-In (Week 1-2)

   • Schedule a "value check-in" call (position it as routine, not reactive)
   • Share relevant success stories from similar customers
   • Propose a training session or product walkthrough for underutilised features

3. Value Reinforcement (Week 2-3)

   • Send a customised ROI summary showing value delivered
   • Highlight feature releases relevant to their use case
   • Connect them with your customer community or user group

4. Monitoring (Week 3-4)

   • Increase monitoring frequency to bi-weekly
   • Watch for improvement or continued decline
   • If declining: move to High-risk playbook

Success Criteria: Score stabilises above 50 or improves. No escalation to High risk.

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Low Risk (Score 0-39)

Situation: Customer is healthy. Standard success cadence applies. Focus on value reinforcement and expansion readiness.

Timeline: Standard touch cadence.

Steps:

1. Maintain Cadence

   • Enterprise: Monthly strategic reviews, quarterly QBRs
   • Mid-Market: Bi-monthly check-ins, semi-annual reviews
   • SMB: Quarterly automated health updates, annual review

2. Proactive Communication

   • Share product updates and release notes
   • Invite to webinars, conferences, and community events
   • Share relevant industry insights and benchmarks

3. Expansion Readiness

   • Monitor for expansion signals (usage approaching limits, new use cases)
   • Prepare expansion proposals when timing is right
   • Position premium features and modules relevant to their needs

4. Renewal Preparation

   • Begin renewal preparation 90 days before contract end
   • Build renewal proposal with value delivered summary
   • Identify any terms or pricing adjustments needed

Success Criteria: Customer remains in Green classification. Expansion conversations initiated when appropriate.

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Onboarding Playbook

Phase 1: Welcome and Setup (Day 1-14)

Day	Activity	Owner	Deliverable
1	Welcome email and introduction	CSM	Welcome package sent
1-2	Kickoff call	CSM + SE	Success plan drafted
3-5	Technical setup and configuration	SE	Environment configured
5-7	Admin training session	CSM	Admins trained
7-10	Data migration (if applicable)	SE	Data validated
10-14	Initial user training	CSM	Core team trained

Phase 2: Activation (Day 15-30)

Day	Activity	Owner	Deliverable
15	Activation check -- are users logging in?	CSM	Usage report
15-20	Follow-up training for laggards	CSM	All users active
20-25	First business outcome milestone	CSM	Milestone achieved
25-30	30-day review call	CSM	Review documented

Critical Milestone: Time to First Value must be under 30 days.

Phase 3: Adoption (Day 31-60)

Day	Activity	Owner	Deliverable
30-40	Feature adoption expansion	CSM	New features in use
40-50	Integration setup (if applicable)	SE	Integrations live
50-60	Usage benchmarking vs. peers	CSM	Benchmark report

Phase 4: Optimisation (Day 61-90)

Day	Activity	Owner	Deliverable
60-70	Advanced use case workshop	CSM + SE	New use cases identified
70-80	ROI measurement	CSM	ROI documented
80-90	90-day executive review	CSM	Transition to steady-state

Gate: Handoff from onboarding to ongoing CSM management. Health score must be Yellow or better.

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Renewal Playbook

120 Days Before Renewal

• Review contract terms and pricing
• Assess current health score and trajectory
• Identify any outstanding issues or concerns
• Begin internal alignment on renewal strategy

90 Days Before Renewal

• Schedule renewal conversation with customer
• Prepare value delivered summary (ROI, usage stats, milestones achieved)
• Draft renewal proposal with recommended terms
• If at-risk: escalate and begin risk mitigation

60 Days Before Renewal

• Present renewal proposal to customer
• Negotiate terms if needed
• Address any concerns raised during the process
• Escalate blockers to leadership

30 Days Before Renewal

• Finalise contract terms
• Obtain signatures
• Plan for any post-renewal actions (expansion, migration)
• Update CRM with renewal details

Post-Renewal

• Confirm renewed contract in systems
• Send thank-you and updated success plan
• Schedule next QBR
• Identify expansion opportunities

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Expansion Playbook

Identifying Expansion Signals

Signal	Expansion Type	Priority
Seat utilisation > 90%	Seat expansion	High
Requests for features in higher tier	Tier upsell	High
New department inquiries	Department expansion	Medium
High adoption of existing modules	Module cross-sell	Medium
Customer referencing competitors for missing features	Cross-sell	High

Expansion Conversation Framework

1. Discovery: "I noticed your team has been getting great value from [feature]. Have you considered how [new module] could help with [related business outcome]?"
2. Value Framing: "Companies similar to yours who adopted [module] saw [specific metric improvement]."
3. Proposal: "Based on your current usage, here's what the expansion would look like..."
4. Stakeholder Alignment: Involve the economic buyer early. The champion can advocate, but the budget holder decides.
5. Close: Coordinate with sales/account executive for commercial negotiation.

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Escalation Procedures

Internal Escalation Matrix

Trigger	Escalation Level	Response Time
Health score drops to Red	VP Customer Success	24 hours
Executive sponsor leaves	Director CS + AE	48 hours
Critical bug affecting customer	VP Engineering + VP CS	4 hours
Customer mentions competitor evaluation	VP CS + VP Sales	24 hours
Renewal at risk (60 days or less)	CRO/VP Sales	24 hours
Customer threatens legal action	Legal + VP CS	Immediate

Escalation Communication Template

Subject: [ESCALATION] {Customer Name} -- {Brief Description}

Body:

• Customer: {name}, {segment}, ${ARR}
• Health Score: {score} ({classification})
• Renewal Date: {date}
• Issue Summary: {2-3 sentences}
• Warning Signals: {list}
• Recommended Action: {specific next step}
• Urgency: {critical/high/medium}

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Last Updated: February 2026