When I started my first company, UpLaunch, I didn’t have a Customer Success team. I didn’t even know what CS meant.

All I knew was this:

→ My customers had a problem.

→ They were willing to pay me to solve it.

→ And failure wasn’t an option.

So I did whatever it took.

We onboarded every customer one-on-one.

Our average support response time? Less than 4 minutes.

We built systems from scratch and encouraged behaviors that made sure every customer hit their goals.

By the time we sold the company:

→ Our churn was in the low single digits.

→ Our customer satisfaction scores were 96%.

→ And we’d built a culture our team loved being part of.

The crazy thing?

We didn’t do it with fancy software or a big team.

We did it with 5 core behaviors that every Customer Success team can implement.

Here’s what they are:

1. Manage the Customer Health Index

If you don’t know which customers need you, you can’t help them.

A Customer Health Index is like a report card. It’s one number that shows whether your customers are engaged and getting value.

→ Are they logging in?

→ Are they hitting key milestones?

→ Did they give you a strong NPS score?

Rank customers into Green (healthy), Yellow (at risk), and Red (danger zone).

World-class CS managers obsess over their Reds and Yellows.

Every day, they re-engage at-risk customers and pull them back into the business.

2. Know the product - and the industry - inside and out

Great CS isn’t just about answering questions.

It’s about showing customers how to use your product to solve their problems.

The best CS teams are so dialed in, they know:

→ Industry best practices

→ Use cases for different customer types

→ How to avoid common pitfalls

If you’re a founder, coach your team like you coach your customers.

Document those conversations, build playbooks, and teach your team to deliver the same magic - at scale.

(Here's what I believe about being a great boss)

3. Proactive > Reactive

Waiting for customers to come to you with problems?

That’s a loser's game.

The best CS teams reach out before customers even realize they need help.

Like:

→ Noticing a bug and telling the customer before they complain

→ Celebrating key milestones (e.g., “Congrats on your first 100 leads!”)

This isn’t just good business - it’s a growth strategy.

You’re closing the ROI loop by showing customers the value they’re getting from your product.

If they’re winning, make sure they know it.

4. Drive expansion, not just renewals

A world-class CS manager doesn’t fight churn - they drive growth.

How?

By identifying customers who are ready to upgrade:

→ Hitting usage limits

→ Adding team members

→ Adopting features quickly

Then they reach out.

When CS is done right, upgrades don’t feel “salesy.”

They’re just the next step in a customer’s journey.

5. Be the voice of the customer

CS has a unique perspective.

They hear the problems, frustrations, and wins directly from customers.

So the best CS teams act as ruthless advocates for their customers inside the company.

→ They keep a backlog of customer pain points.

→ They show up to product meetings.

→ They make sure customers’ needs drive your roadmap.

Here’s the bottom line:

You can grow without a world-class Customer Success team.

But you can't sustain that growth.

When you install these 5 behaviors, your customers will win. Your revenue will grow. And your company will become untouchable.

I break this all down in this video.

And if you want the "Precision Scorecard" I use in every single business I've ever been a part of…

Here it is - make a copy and have fun.

✌️ MV