How to Build a Winning Customer Success Playbook? [Template Included] [Free PDF Attached]

Looking forward to constructing a customer success playbook for your business? Read out these vital guidelines that you need to keep in mind while preparing one such playbook for yourself.

 

 

What is a Customer Success Playbook?

Customer success playbook includes various essential activities performed by (CSMs) customer success managers. The activities are reactive, proactive, and best practices. Consequently, such a playbook has a pre-built set of tasks for the team & allows them to create scalable strategies for customer success.

 

 

Role of Customer Success Playbook

These playbooks not just help your customer success team to work efficiently. It even enhances customers' experience and is vital for business success.

 

Additionally, a customer success playbook is essential for organization because of the following roles:

 

 

Via Giphy

 

 

# Track Customer Success Manager's Performance

 

Playbooks are an excellent guide for CSMs that makes daily life more efficient and easier. Tracking the manager's performance is vital to determine the team's actions and ensure they are taking the right actions at the right time.

 

# Standardize & Scale your Customer Success Process

 

Such playbooks align your team's action toward desired outcomes that ultimately drive customers to your business. As such, the repeated process gets eliminated, and there is more clarity in the team's activities.

 

# Quickly onboard new hires

 

Once you have pre-set guidelines for customer success, new hires will implement them from the same day they join. Likewise, all the activities would be cordially working. All this reflects the results or output in business success. It will impact the trust of new hires once they see positive results in customer success.

 

# Recover customer challenges

 

Playbook exhibits guidelines for issues or concerns that occurred in the past. Furthermore, it provides details to the team to follow them and rally all the customer challenges. It will improve customer experience and highlight how you can address these similar issues if they arise.

 

 

Benefits of Customer Success Playbook

Every company wants to excel and grow and, at the same time, drive customer satisfaction by fulfilling its desired outcomes. To do it in a customer-centric manner, every business requires a customer success playbook. Some of the crucial and significant benefits of a customer success playbook include:

 

• It gives structure and direction to customer success managers
• It helps keep the team accountable
• Improves reporting & visibility (Playbook makes an effort measurable)

 

 

Take Glance of Competent and Efficient Customer Success Playbook

Consequently, customer success playbook contains various specified activities that help the management team to adopt them and make their business succeed.

 

But what are those specified activities? Well, our ready-made and editable customer success playbook is a solution for these managers.

 

Thus, we have explained each guideline in detail.

 

Check out these guidelines here!

 

 

Slide 1: Cover Page

Start your playbook with an insightful cover page. It will present your company name, with a remarkable image.

 

Thus, this slide efficiently showcases the playbook’s title, i.e., Customer Success Playbook and your company name.

 

Brief stakeholders about the role and purpose of a playbook. Grow their interest in you from this point of presentation.

 

After that, you can straight away start from your playbook’s main elements guidelines.

 

 

Download this 100% Editable Slide from Playbook Template

 

 

Slide 2: Why Customer Success is the New Measure of Business Success

Next guideline is to explain the purpose of customer success for long-term business success. Thus, this slide depicts statistical data about customer success. It is now measured as one of the factors for business success.

 

Moreover, mention the stats and cover details for business value, customer-centric approach, etc. Also, add a quarterly and two yearly percentage net retention rate line chart. It will influence customer success, whether it is no customer success, scalable customer success, dedicated customer success, etc.

 

One can even illustrate key takeaways for implementing this measure for business success. Like:

 

• companies implementing customer success strategies are seeing higher net retention rates, up to 112%
• 67% of the companies are collaborating with customers to create new business value
• 11% of the companies claim to have a robust customer-centric approach.

 

Henceforth, you have to present details for this guideline; that is why customer success is a new measure of business success.

 

 

Download this 100% Editable Slide from Playbook Template

 

 

Slide 3: One Customer Data Platform to Meet All Needs

Another essential guideline for customer success playbooks is displaying the benefits of your platform. Hence, this slide depicts the company’s customer data platform, which is designed to meet the data needs of the customer success team. Data sources covered in the diagram are:

 

• E commerce website
• Point of sale
• Customer complaints & feedback
• Mobile application, etc.

 

Moreover, mention the following customer success team in the playbook:

 

• Service Analyst
• Service specialist
• Service representative
• Service manager, etc.

 

The playbook slide also exhibits diagrams for unified customer data, extract, CDP, and feed. Likewise, you have to mention all these details in your playbook.

 

 

Download this 100% Editable Slide from Playbook Template

 

 

Slide 4: Customer Success Training Workshop for Support Team

Next guideline is to exhibit details for the training workshop. Thus, this slide shows the workshop schedule for customer success. The table covers time, workshop activity, descriptions, & comments. Also, the tabular schedule for different time intervals covers the undermentioned workshop activity:

 

• Welcome notes, course introduction
• Break the importance of customer success
• Tools and techniques, lunch
• SPI activity, ending activity

 

Consequently, the schedule has to highlight the description for all these activities. Such as tea/coffee break, the introduction of course objectives, executive intro, handling customer queries, plan and impact of questions, customer success trends, etc.

 

Similarly, you can add comments for each workshop activity in the training schedule.

 

 

Download this 100% Editable Slide from Playbook Template

 

 

Slide 5: Addressing Our Four Stage Customer Success Framework

Another vital guideline for customer success playbook is a four-stage framework. Thus, this slide shows the company's customer success framework. It includes lifecycle stages, namely:

 

• On-boarding
• Adoption
• Optimize & Expand
• Beyond year one

 

Furthermore, showcase features of these four stages as customer success in the slide. You can check out our ready-made playbook. Hence, these customer success features include:

 

• Define success, assist in plan development
• Provide recommendations, track progress & performance
• Validate performance
• Ensure that the solution is aligned with customer success goals, etc.

 

Likewise, one can illustrate assurance services in the slide. Some of them include: streamlining the system adoption process using specific tools, developing an improvement plan, performing system configuration tasks, etc.

 

 

Download this 100% Editable Slide from Playbook Template

 

 

Slide 6: 30-60-90 Days Plan for Customer Success

Next guideline explains the 30-60-90 days plan for your customer success in the playbook. Thus, this slide addresses details about the company's 30 60 90 days plan for customer success. Major elements covered in the plan are listening & understand, analyzing, planning, and executing.

 

For the first 30 days, plan and highlight activities that have to be accomplished. Such as:

 

• Meet the stakeholders
• Understand the product & existing procedures
• Connect with potential leads, etc.

 

For the first 60 days, plan and illustrate activities to be done. Like:

 

• Develop customer success strategy
• Evaluate customer sentiment & segment them accordingly
• Define performance KPIs
• Create an expansion plan, etc.

 

Similarly, for the first 90 days, exhibit activities are to be done. Such as:

 

• Select a platform for customer success, budget approval
• Allocate resources, map out the customer journey
• Communicate goals, monitor & refine the process

 

 

Download this 100% Editable Slide from Playbook Template

 

 

Slide 7: Customer Segmentation Based on Business Type & Size

Another guideline for customer success playbook is the segmentation of customers. Thus, this slide shows information about the company’s customer segmentation process. Segmentation of leads will be done in two phases based on business type, size, annual revenue, etc.

 

Phase 1 includes information for firm type and firm size (employees). Also highlight key takeaways for both phases in the slide, including:

 

• Phase 1 bifurcation for firm type and size is showcased using pie charts
• Phase 2 is further segmented into four segments to create compelling customer profiling

 

Phase 2 customer segmentation includes:

 

• Price focused
• Quality & brand focused
• Service Focused
• Partnership Focused

 

Furthermore, phase 2 segmentation presents details for the number of employees & annual revenue. Likewise, you have to mention customer segmentation details in your playbook.

 

 

Download this 100% Editable Slide from Playbook Template

 

 

Slide 8: Customer On-boarding Plan for First 30 Days

Next guideline for the customer success playbook is defining a customer on-boarding plan. Hence, this slide shows the company’s customer on-boarding strategy. It contains information about the various activities to be carried out in accordance with a specific day’s schedule.

 

Moreover, showcase that when a new customer arrives, a brief introduction by the sales executive is given to them. Also, display important boarding guidelines for the first 30 days in the slide. Such as:

 

• Day 1 - Intro Email (Schedule a call with the customer, jot down initial information)
• Day 3 - Intro Meeting (Send follow-up Email)
• Day 7 - Meeting (Send follow-up Email)
• Day 15 - Check-in Email
• Day 30 - Check-in Email (Setup meeting to determine customer potential)

 

Similarly, you must mention the customer on-boarding plan in the playbook for the first 30 days.

 

 

Download this 100% Editable Slide from Playbook Template

 

 

Slide 9: Addressing Triggers for Effective Customer Communication

Another guideline includes highlighting triggers for customer communication. Thus, this slide shows information about a company's triggers for effective communication. Triggers covered in the slide relate to customer events, scheduled events, and CSM.

 

Exhibit both the elements for customer events in the slide. They are:

 

• Drop Emails - send customized emails using Customer Service Management
• Change of Sponsor - Scheduled a meeting to get insights about the business

 

Likewise, for the scheduled event, highlight both elements, including:

 

• QBR - Stick to quarterly business review guidelines
• Renewal - Update the risks status of the target account

 

Similarly, for CSM defined, elements include:

 

• Up-sell drive - Initiate the pre-defined marketing strategy
• Webinar - Invite potential customers to a webinar featuring an industry influencer, etc.

 

 

Download this 100% Editable Slide from Playbook Template

 

 

Slide 10: Signaling System to Make Customer Success Team Efficient

Next guideline for the customer success playbook is signaling the system. Thus, this slide highlights details about the signaling system used by the customer success team for efficient operations. Sections covered in the table are:

 

• Signal name (on-boarding help, expansion opportunity, not using product features, etc.)
• Tenure (Brand new - < 30 days, mature - > 3 months, young - 1 to 2 months old)
• Account Size (Medium, large, any)
• Product engagement level (Low or/and high engagement, no active users for past 7 days)
• Action Plan (Trigger email through specific tool offering personal training session, schedule calls with the sales representative, send in-app message promoting additional features, etc.)

 

Similarly, one must illustrate details for the signaling system in their customer success playbook. It will make the customer success team efficient & effective.

 

 

Download this 100% Editable Slide from Playbook Template

 

 

Slide 11: Defining Customer Renewal Management Process Timeline

Next guideline includes explaining the customer renewal process. Thus, this slide addresses information about the company's customer renewal management process through a timeline. The timeline consists of the below-mentioned stages. Such as:

 

• On-boarding, value realization call
• Adoption plays, Health score assessment
• At-risk renewal and payment are all handled effectively
• Send renewal notification, negotiations, up-sell, etc.

 

Furthermore, one can even mention the contract's start and end dates. Highlight work activity after 30 days, after 90 days, after 180 days (before expiry), 90 days (before expiry), etc.

 

Likewise, you have to exhibit details for the customer renewal management process timeline. It gives brief information about renewal booking, subscription, team, payment details, etc.

 

 

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Slide 12: Customer Success KPI Dashboard to Measure Support Team Performance

Next guideline for the playbook is a vital component for customer success. Hence, this slide showcases the company's dashboard to measure its support team performance. KPIs covered in the dashboard are:

 

• Health score
• Success plays
• Tasks
• Customer retention cost
• Customer churn rate, etc.

 

Likewise, mention details for all these KPIs in the slide. We have already added benchmarks for churn and retention rates. Tasks to be included are complete, resolved, pending, due, closed, open, etc.

 

Success plays will display churn rate, upsell, escalation, renewal, etc. One can even depict revenue for the current year with other key takeaways.

 

 

Download this 100% Editable Slide from Playbook Template

 

 

Slide 13: Identifying Customer Satisfaction Score

Last guideline for an efficient customer success playbook is satisfaction rate identification. Thus, this slide illustrates the customer satisfaction score based on the survey conducted by the firm. It reveals that 31% of participants are entirely dissatisfied with the company’s service.

 

Display a service question for customers, like how much are they satisfied with our customer service? Similarly, you can add a benchmark for this question, depicting bad, poor, good, very good, and excellent options.

 

Also, present your sample size too in the slide, like 500. One can even display key takeaways, such as:

 

• On surveying 500 customers, 31% said they are dissatisfied with the customer services provided by our firm, etc.

 

Henceforth, you have to include these guidelines in your playbook. You can even grab our ready-made customer success playbook and take guidance on its preparation from our skilled research team.

 

 

Download this 100% Editable Slide from Playbook Template

 

 

Conclusion

Every business wants to grow and succeed, and one way to do so is to assist clients in achieving their goals. For this, organizations need to prepare a competent playbook that defines actions and their implementation.

 

Henceforth, take a free demo with our skilled research or design team. They will assist you in constructing one such efficient playbook.

 

You can even download our ready-made customer success playbook. Subscribe to our products and get access to the best.

 

Download the free Customer Success Playbook PDF.