customer-success-plan

Customer Success Plan Skill

This skill produces a joint customer success plan — a living document shared between the CSM and the customer that aligns on outcomes, milestones, and mutual commitments. Output is ready to co-author with the customer in a kickoff call or QBR.

Required Inputs

Ask the user for these if not provided:

• Account name and industry
• Product / plan purchased
• Key stakeholders — customer champion and economic buyer
• Customer's stated business goals — why did they buy? What problem are they solving?
• Contract term and renewal date
• Current onboarding stage (new customer / expanding / post-QBR / pre-renewal)
• Seats / licenses / usage purchased
• Any known risks — adoption gaps, champion uncertainty, competing priorities

Output Structure

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Customer Success Plan: [Account Name]

Product: [Product name / plan tier] Contract term: [Start date → Renewal date] CSM: [Name] Customer champion: [Name, Title] Customer executive sponsor: [Name, Title — if known] Last updated: [Date] Status: [Active / Under review / Completed]

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1. Partnership Objectives

What does success look like for [Account Name] at contract end?

[Write 2–3 sentences describing the customer's core objective in plain English — what they are trying to achieve in their business, not what features they are using.]

Primary business goal: [e.g. Reduce time-to-hire by 30% across engineering teams] Secondary goal: [e.g. Consolidate three legacy tools into one platform, saving £X/year] Success statement (customer's words): "[Direct quote from champion about what success looks like — ask for this in kickoff]"

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2. Success Metrics

Define how both parties will measure success. Agreed in the kickoff call and tracked in QBRs.

Metric	Baseline (today)	Target	By when	Data source
[e.g. Seat utilisation]	[X%]	[≥ 80%]	[Month 3]	[Product analytics]
[e.g. Time to hire]	[X days]	[< Y days]	[Month 6]	[Customer's ATS]
[e.g. Reports produced/month]	[X]	[≥ Y]	[Month 3]	[Product analytics]
[e.g. NPS]	[X]	[≥ 8]	[Month 6]	[Quarterly survey]

Leading indicators (early signs the plan is on track):

• [e.g. 5+ users log in within the first 2 weeks]
• [e.g. First workflow automated within 30 days]
• [e.g. Champion presents the tool to their team by end of Month 1]

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3. Milestone Roadmap

Break the success journey into phases with clear milestones and owners:

Phase 1: Onboard (Month 1)

Milestone	Owner	Due date	Status
Admin setup complete (SSO, permissions, data integration)	[IT contact]	[Date]	[ ]
All purchased seats activated and users invited	[Champion]	[Date]	[ ]
Core workflow [X] configured and tested	[CSM + Champion]	[Date]	[ ]
First training session delivered (all teams)	[CSM]	[Date]	[ ]
Kickoff call completed and success plan co-signed	[CSM + Champion]	[Date]	[ ]

Phase 2: Adopt (Months 2–3)

Milestone	Owner	Due date	Status
[Core feature] in active daily use by ≥ X users	[Champion]	[Date]	[ ]
First business outcome achieved and documented	[Champion + CSM]	[Date]	[ ]
30-day check-in completed	[CSM]	[Date]	[ ]
[Power user workflow] enabled for advanced users	[CSM]	[Date]	[ ]

Phase 3: Value (Months 4–6)

Milestone	Owner	Due date	Status
QBR 1 delivered — ROI evidence presented	[CSM + AE]	[Date]	[ ]
Success metric [X] hit target	[Champion]	[Date]	[ ]
Expansion use case identified and introduced	[AE]	[Date]	[ ]
Reference call or case study agreed	[Champion]	[Date]	[ ]

Phase 4: Renew & Expand (Months 7–12)

Milestone	Owner	Due date	Status
QBR 2 delivered — renewal conversation started	[CSM + AE]	[Date]	[ ]
Renewal proposal sent	[AE]	[Date]	[ ]
Expansion or flat renewal signed	[AE]	[Date]	[ ]

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4. Mutual Commitments

Success plans work when both parties commit. Document what each side will do:

[Vendor] commits to:

• Dedicated CSM available [X days/week / by email within 24 hours]
• Monthly [call / check-in / async update] with champion
• QBR every [90 days] with executive summary and ROI report
• Priority support for [Account] — response SLA of [X hours] for P1 issues
• Roadmap preview for relevant upcoming features
• [Any other specific commitment made in sales cycle]

[Account Name] commits to:

• Champion available for [30-min monthly] check-in
• Users complete onboarding training by [date]
• Feedback on product experience shared monthly (async or sync)
• Executive sponsor participates in QBR 1 and renewal discussion
• Provide outcome data to CSM quarterly for ROI tracking

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5. Stakeholder Engagement Plan

Stakeholder	Role	Engagement frequency	Format	Owner
[Champion]	Day-to-day owner	Weekly (async) + Monthly (call)	Slack / Email + Zoom	CSM
[Economic buyer]	Budget holder	Quarterly	QBR (in-person or video)	CSM + AE
[IT contact]	Integration owner	As needed	Email	CSM
[End users]	Active users	Training only	Group session	CSM

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6. Risk & Mitigation

Risk	Likelihood	Impact	Mitigation plan
Low adoption in first 30 days	[M]	[H]	CSM hosts live onboarding; champion sends internal comms day 1
Champion changes role	[L]	[H]	Multi-thread: introduce CSM to 2 additional stakeholders by Month 2
Budget pressure at renewal	[M]	[H]	Build ROI case monthly; document value continuously
Competing priorities delay rollout	[H]	[M]	Agree minimum viable adoption path with champion; don't require perfection to declare value

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7. Communication Plan

Communication	Audience	Frequency	Format	Owner
Health update	Champion	Monthly	Email summary (3 bullets: what's good, what needs attention, one ask)	CSM
QBR	Champion + Exec	Quarterly	45-min video call with slide deck	CSM + AE
Product updates	Champion	As released	Release notes email	CSM
Support status	Champion	When open tickets exist	Email / Slack	Support + CSM

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8. Escalation Path

If the success plan falls off track:

Trigger	Action	Owner	Timeline
Health drops to Amber	Internal review + champion call within 5 days	CSM	Immediate
Health drops to Red	CS leadership + AE looped in; escalation brief drafted	CS Manager	Within 24 hours
Champion is unresponsive for >10 days	AE attempts exec sponsor contact	AE	After CSM attempt fails
Adoption <40% at Month 3	Emergency enablement session + revised milestone plan	CSM	Within 1 week of flag

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Quality Checks

• Success metrics are the customer's metrics — not just product usage metrics
• Milestones have specific owners and due dates — not "TBD"
• Mutual commitments section is genuinely mutual — not just what the vendor will do
• Risk register includes champion departure and low adoption
• Plan is written to be shared with the customer — no internal-only commentary in this document
• Executive sponsor is identified and has an engagement role

Anti-Patterns

• Do not define success metrics that the vendor controls — metrics must reflect the customer's business outcomes
• Do not set milestone dates without customer confirmation — unilateral timelines undermine joint ownership
• Do not create a plan the customer hasn't agreed to — it must be mutual, not a CSM's internal plan
• Do not leave ownership fields blank or assigned to "CS team" — every action needs a named owner
• Do not confuse product adoption milestones with customer business outcomes — both are needed but are not the same

Example Trigger Phrases

• "Build a success plan for [Account Name] who just signed"
• "Create a joint success plan for our new enterprise customer"
• "Write a 6-month customer success roadmap for [Company]"
• "I need a mutual action plan for our QBR with [Account]"
• "Generate a customer success plan for an at-risk account"