CS Processes

Stabilize Stage | $1-5M ARR | 10-30 headcount

Main challenge: Making growth repeatable. First hires, handoffs breaking.

← Back to Stabilize Overview

Customer Success Processes

Onboarding

Stage-appropriate approach: Move from founder-led to CSM-led onboarding. Document the process so your first CS hire can run it. Keep it high-touch, but structured.

What changes at Stabilize:

• First CS hire owns onboarding — Founder steps back but stays accessible for escalations
• Process gets documented — Playbook, timeline, milestones, templates
• Onboarding becomes measurable — Time to value, completion rates, early churn signals

Stabilize stage onboarding structure:

Phase	Timing	Owner	Key Activities
Handoff	Day 0	AE → CSM	Internal handoff call, context transfer
Kickoff	Week 1	CSM	Customer kickoff, goals alignment, success criteria
Setup	Week 1-2	CSM + Customer	Configuration, data import, integrations
Training	Week 2-3	CSM	User training, workflow setup
First value	Week 3-4	CSM	Validate they've achieved initial goal
Transition	Week 4+	CSM	Move to ongoing success cadence

What to document:

• Kickoff deck — Standard presentation for first meeting
• Onboarding checklist — Steps, owners, completion criteria
• Training materials — Videos, docs, walkthroughs for common use cases
• Success criteria template — How to define and track success with customer

What NOT to do:

• Don't throw customers to the first CS hire without documentation — they'll fail
• Don't assume onboarding ends at go-live — first value is the milestone
• Don't skip the handoff — every customer needs context transfer

Playbook reference: → Onboarding and Process Improvement

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Success Metrics

Stage-appropriate approach: Define what "success" looks like and track it consistently. Not health scoring yet, but real metrics that predict retention.

What to track at Stabilize:

Metric	What It Reveals	How to Track
Login frequency	Are they using it?	Product analytics
Feature adoption	Are they getting full value?	Track key feature usage
Time to first value	How fast do they succeed?	Measure from go-live to first win
Support volume	Are they stuck?	Ticket count per customer
NPS/CSAT	How do they feel?	Survey at 30/60/90 days

Defining success criteria:

Every customer should have documented success criteria:

• What outcome are they trying to achieve? (Not features, outcomes)
• How will we measure it? (Specific metrics or milestones)
• By when? (Timeline for expected value)

What NOT to do:

• Don't build elaborate health scores — you don't have enough data to calibrate
• Don't measure everything — pick 3-5 metrics that matter
• Don't let success be undefined — every customer should have documented goals

Playbook reference: → Customer Lifecycle (for success metrics framework)

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Product Feedback Collection

Stage-appropriate approach: Move from ad-hoc founder conversations to structured collection. You have more customers now — need to capture, categorize, and prioritize systematically.

Feedback collection at Stabilize:

Channel	Frequency	Owner	What You Learn
QBRs	Quarterly	CSM	Strategic needs, satisfaction
Support tickets	Ongoing	Support/CS	Pain points, bugs, gaps
NPS surveys	30/60/90 days	CS	Sentiment, promoters/detractors
Feature requests	Ongoing	CS	What customers want to build
Churn interviews	Every churn	CS/Founder	Why customers leave

How to process feedback:

• Capture in one place — Linear, Productboard, or even a spreadsheet
• Categorize — Bug, feature request, UX issue, integration, etc.
• Track frequency — "5 customers asked for X" is signal
• Share with product — Regular sync on customer feedback themes

What NOT to do:

• Don't let feedback live in Slack/email — it gets lost
• Don't act on every request — look for patterns
• Don't filter feedback before product sees it — let product hear the raw voice

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Renewal Process

Stage-appropriate approach: Move from founder-managed renewals to CSM-owned process. Document the timeline, triggers, and plays for different scenarios.

Renewal process for Stabilize:

Timing	Action	Owner	Notes
90 days out	Renewal identified, health assessed	CSM	Flag at-risk accounts
60 days out	Renewal conversation started	CSM	Business review, value recap
30 days out	Terms finalized, contract sent	CSM	Involve AE if expansion opportunity
14 days out	Follow-up on signature	CSM	Escalate if stuck
0 days	Renewal complete or churned	CSM	Document outcome and reason

Renewal health indicators:

• Usage trending up — Good sign, lead with expansion conversation
• Usage flat — Validate they're getting value, address issues
• Usage declining — Red flag, intervention needed before renewal conversation
• No engagement — Immediate outreach, find out what's happening

Handling at-risk renewals:

1. Identify early — Don't wait until 30 days out
2. Understand the issue — Is it product, value, champion change, budget?
3. Create a plan — What would make them renew? Be specific.
4. Escalate if needed — Founder/exec involvement for strategic accounts
5. Document regardless — Win or lose, capture the learning

What NOT to do:

• Don't let renewals sneak up on you — track them proactively
• Don't treat every churn as preventable — some customers were never good fit
• Don't discount without understanding — price isn't usually the real issue

Playbook reference: → Renewal, Churn, NRR, GRR Reporting

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Expansion & Upsell

Stage-appropriate approach: Move from opportunistic to identified. Know which customers are expansion candidates and have a light-touch process for pursuing.

Expansion signals to track:

Signal	What It Means	Action
Hitting usage limits	They need more capacity	Upgrade conversation
New use cases	They want to do more with you	Expansion scoping
New stakeholders	Other teams interested	Land & expand opportunity
Renewal coming up	Natural conversation point	Multi-year or expansion deal
Strong NPS/satisfaction	They like you, might buy more	Reference or expansion ask

Expansion process for Stabilize:

• CSM identifies opportunities — Based on signals above
• CSM qualifies interest — "We've noticed you're hitting limits. Would you like to discuss options?"
• AE or CSM closes — Depending on deal size and complexity
• Track expansion ARR — Separate from new logo, measure it

What NOT to do:

• Don't push expansion on unhappy customers — fix the issue first
• Don't surprise customers with upsell in every call — build trust
• Don't leave expansion to chance — track signals systematically

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Reference & Testimonial Generation

Stage-appropriate approach: Build a systematic program. You need more references as your pipeline grows. Proactive asks, tracked assets.

Reference asset types:

Asset Type	Effort	Value	How Many You Need
Logo permission	Low	Medium	As many as possible
Quote	Low	Medium	5-10 for different personas/use cases
Case study	Medium	High	2-3 detailed ones
Reference call	Low	Very High	3-5 reliable references
Video testimonial	Medium-High	High	1-2 for website/sales

How to systematize:

• Track reference status — Field in CRM: willing to reference? what type?
• Build reference roster — Know who can speak to what use case
• Ask at the right time — After success milestone, positive NPS, renewal
• Make it easy — Draft quotes, schedule calls, handle logistics

Reference program basics:

• Every QBR, assess — Would this customer be a reference? What type?
• Track requests — Don't over-use the same 3 customers
• Thank references — Recognition, swag, early access to features

What NOT to do:

• Don't ask customers who aren't successful — awkward for everyone
• Don't over-use your best references — they'll burn out
• Don't promise references to sales before checking with customers

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Support

Stage-appropriate approach: First support hire or first support tool. Move from founder inbox to structured support process.

Support model for Stabilize:

Option	When It Works	Considerations
First support hire	High-touch product, complex onboarding	Most common path
CS handles support	Low volume, CSMs have capacity	Can overload CSMs
Founder + tool	Very low volume, simple product	Not sustainable long-term

Support infrastructure:

Need	Tool Options	Notes
Ticketing	Intercom, Zendesk, Front	One place for all requests
Knowledge base	Notion, Intercom, Help Scout	Self-serve common questions
Live chat	Intercom, Crisp	Fast response for simple issues
Escalation path	Internal process	How does support → CS → eng work?

Support metrics to track:

• First response time — How fast do you reply?
• Resolution time — How fast do you solve?
• Ticket volume — Trending up (bad) or down (good)?
• CSAT on support — Are customers happy with support experience?

What NOT to do:

• Don't let support become a black hole — visibility matters
• Don't expect first support hire to figure it out alone — document process
• Don't ignore support patterns — they're product feedback

Playbook reference: → Support System Implementation

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