Customer success plans

A customer success plan is a shared document that states what the customer wants to achieve, the steps needed and who is responsible for each one. For example, a plan might list goals such as going live by a set date, training five users and reaching a certain usage level. ChurnZero, Gainsight and Vitally are examples of tools that include plans.

Customers who do not reach their goals tend to leave when the contract ends. A plan makes the goals explicit and shows early when a customer is falling behind. It matters most for software with a longer set-up, or for accounts where the value is not obvious on day one. It matters less for simple, low-priced products that customers can use without help, where a plan would be more effort than the account is worth.

• Can you reuse plan templates for different types of customer?
• Can the customer see and update the plan, or is it internal only?
• Do overdue milestones trigger alerts for the account owner?
• Does progress link to customer health scores or usage data?