Build Customer Success From Zero: 7-Day Plan + Checklists
Cut time-to-first-value by 40%, raise activation 30%, and stop the health-score drama.
Who This Is For
Founders building their first CS motion.
CS hire #1 at a startup.
When you’re the entire CS department (for now).
If onboarding is your weak spot, start here: Why Most Onboarding Fails Before It Even Starts.
Foundational Stack (Set This Up Today, Keep It Lean)
One software per category.
Ship, then optimize.
1. CRM: HubSpot (Free)
This will be your single source of truth.
Track: ICP Fit, Use Case, Champion, First Value Date.
Tasks: Kickoff, 48h First-Value Check, Week-2 Review.
If you need structure, steal from the Customer Success Plan Templates.
2. From Feedback To Roadmap: Canny + Linear (alternatives: Frill + Jira)
Tags: Type, Impact, Segment
Close the loop when you ship a feature.
→ Post a short weekly changelog to build trust.
3. Support: Intercom (alternative: Plain)
Keep one inbox to make it dead simple.
P0/P1 issues: first reply in under 1 hour
Saved replies: Known Issue / Workaround / Request Accepted / Shipped
4. Lifecycle Email: Customer.io (alternative: Loops)
Set these flows:
Welcome, 48h Nudge (no setup)
Weekly Release Notes
7-Day Re-engage
If you get stuck, use my 10-Step Customer Onboarding Checklist.
By Week 6, You Should See:
−40% time-to-first-value
+30% activation (first output ≤ 7 days)
−60% P0/P1 tickets (macros + quick fixes)
+20% weekly active accounts
“Your frameworks turned our chaos into a plan in one week.” — COO, Data Platform
Example: A Mini-Case Study (27 Days)
An early-stage SaaS with 14 pilot customers.
Baseline: 12-day first value, fragmented support.
Foundational stack + 7-Day plan
→ 7-day first value, +38% activation, P0/P1 −55%.
Three named wins.
One customer quote.
Renewal signal: Green.
For supporting systems, check out my CS Reporting: Templates & Frameworks.
10 Product Events (Log These Now)
Use exact names. Do not improvise.
These will power your activation checks, churn-smoke alerts, and roadmap calls.
AccountCreated
DataConnected
OutputCreated
Shared
KeyFeatureUsed
KeyFeatureUsed_3x7d
TeammateInvited
PricingViewed
SeatsChanged
TicketOpened (with severity)
And then, route alerts to #rev-alerts Slack channel and assign an owner.
Manual Onboarding Wins (Your 7-Day Plan)
Day 0: Invite + 1-minute setup video
Day 1 (30 min Kickoff): Align on one outcome. Do the setup live with your customer
Days 2–3: Event-based nudges + a 2-min Loom recorded in their workspace
Day 4: Ask: “Did we hit X? If not, what blocked it?” → tag blockers
Day 7 (15 min): Mini-review → show the win, set Week-2 outcome, ask for a quote
You’ll find more execution patterns in the CS Reporting: Templates & Frameworks.
3 Alerts That Matter (No Health-Score Drama)
1. Churn Smoke
Seats −25% (7d) or key use −50% and pricing page viewed.
Owner: CSM
Due: 24h
Next: Value-check call + unblock.
2. Activation Stalled
No first output ≤ 72h.
Owner: Onboarding
Due: Same day
Next: 10-min unblock Loom.
3. Expansion Intent
≥ 3 invites and key use 5× (14d).
Owner: AE/CSM
Due: 48h
Next: Add-seats path with proof.
Every alert needs an owner, due date, and next action, or it’s noise.
Pilot Customers (10–20)
Shortlist your ideal customers who agree to test early builds, meet 2×/month, and share outcomes.
Give: early access, private Slack/channel, roadmap previews
Get: 2 calls/month, permission to track usage, a one-line proof if goals are hit
For outcome hunting, use my Value Discovery Template.
💡Want the one-pager agreement (PDF) to share and review with your customers? It’s inside Premium below.
What To Skip For Now
Fancy BI, big composite health scores, heavy in-app tours, and anything that eats time this month without moving value this week.
If billing friction is biting renewals, fix it early: Kill Billing Friction, Protect Renewals.
90-Day Rollout (Milestones)
Week 1: Foundational stack live.
Events tracking on.
Support inbox + macros.
Welcome & 48h flows
Week 2: 10–20 pilots
Kickoff scripts running
Public feedback board live
Week 3: Alerts on
Weekly changelog
3 named wins captured
Week 4: First case study draft
Decide the next stack from repeated blockers
Weeks 5–8: Scale 7-Day plan
Weekly triage cadence
Hit +30% activation
Weeks 9–12: Evaluate analytics/in-app/NPS
Lock hiring plan
Publish 3 proofs
🔐Inside Premium Today
Success Plan (single-page PDF)
Pilot-Customer Pact (one-pager PDF)
Simple Metrics Sheet (Excel Sheet - no BI)
Full 30-Day/90-Day rollout checklists
“We copied your kickoff script verbatim. It just works.” — Founder, RevOps SaaS