Customer Success teams are essential to long-term growth — they retain customers, drive expansion, and improve satisfaction. But without a clear structure, CS efforts can slip into chasing activities instead of delivering measurable outcomes.
This workflow gives you a step-by-step process for setting and managing Customer Success OKRs that align daily work with retention, upsell, and customer experience goals.
Step 1 – Align Customer Success With Company Objectives
Objective: Tie CS goals directly to the company’s growth strategy.
- Review company OKRs for revenue, growth, and product adoption.
- Identify where CS drives the most impact (churn reduction, NRR, advocacy).
- Confirm alignment with sales and product leadership.
- Define 2–3 CS objectives that directly support company-level goals.
Helpful resources:
Step 2 – Draft Customer Success OKRs
Objective: Translate retention and satisfaction goals into measurable OKRs.
- Objectives (qualitative, inspiring):
- “Delight customers with world-class support.”
- “Drive expansion revenue through customer success partnerships.”
- “Delight customers with world-class support.”
- Key Results (quantitative, measurable):
- Reduce churn rate from 8% → 5%.
- Increase Net Revenue Retention (NRR) from 110% → 120%.
- Improve Net Promoter Score (NPS) from 45 → 55.
- Generate $1M in expansion ARR.
- Reduce churn rate from 8% → 5%.
- Assign clear owners (e.g., CS leads, regional managers).
Helpful resources:
Step 3 – Cascade OKRs to the CS Team
Objective: Connect company-level OKRs to team and individual contributions.
- Assign program-level OKRs (e.g., renewals, onboarding, advocacy).
- Create rep-level targets tied to expansion, satisfaction, or retention.
- Ensure every CS role (support, account managers, onboarding) sees how their work ladders up.
- Track contributions through dashboards.
Helpful resource:
Step 4 – Integrate OKRs Into Daily Customer Success Workflows
Objective: Make OKRs part of CS team rituals.
- Use health scores and churn risk alerts tied directly to KRs.
- Review OKR progress in weekly CS stand-ups.
- Share retention and expansion metrics in company all-hands.
- Use OKRs to prioritize which accounts to focus on.
Helpful resource:
Step 5 – Monitor and Adjust Mid-Cycle
Objective: Stay responsive to customer needs and risks.
- Flag underperforming KRs early (e.g., churn trending above target).
- Create recovery plans (increased outreach, cross-team escalation).
- Adjust resource allocation (e.g., more CSM coverage for at-risk accounts).
- Update leadership transparently on progress.
Helpful resources:
Step 6 – Review Results and Share Learnings
Objective: Improve retention and satisfaction strategies over time.
- At cycle end, compare churn, NRR, and NPS against goals.
- Run a retrospective with the CS team to capture learnings.
- Share feedback with sales, marketing, and product.
- Refine CS OKRs for stronger impact next quarter.
Helpful resource:
Pro Tips for Customer Success OKRs
- Balance leading indicators (customer engagement, onboarding success) with lagging indicators (churn %, NRR).
- Align closely with sales OKRs — CS and sales must be a growth engine together.
- Don’t over-index on NPS alone; combine it with retention and expansion metrics.
- Recognize and celebrate CS wins — retention is often less visible than new sales.
The Bottom Line
Customer Success OKRs ensure that retention, expansion, and satisfaction aren’t just nice-to-haves — they’re measurable, accountable outcomes that drive company growth. By following this workflow, your CS team can connect their daily actions directly to long-term business success.
3 Resources you’ll love:
