Introduction
Consistency in customer success workflows is essential for achieving predictable and scalable outcomes. Playbooks provide a structured way for your team to handle recurring processes such as onboarding, renewals, and risk mitigation. By designing effective playbooks, you ensure that every team member follows best practices tailored to specific scenarios. This article will guide you through creating playbooks in Gainsight to drive consistency and efficiency across your workflows.
Step 1: Identify Key Scenarios for Playbooks
Start by identifying the processes and scenarios where structured playbooks can have the most impact.
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Onboarding Processes: Design playbooks to guide CSMs through onboarding tasks such as setting up Success Plans, configuring product usage, and ensuring initial milestones are met.
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Renewal Tracking: Standardize renewal workflows by building playbooks for customer outreach, contract discussions, and follow-ups. Incorporate automated CTAs to remind teams of important renewal activities.
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Risk Mitigation: Develop playbooks for addressing risks such as declining health scores or unresolved support tickets. Monitor customer health metrics with Scorecards to identify and prioritize accounts needing intervention.
Step 2: Structure Playbook Steps for Consistency
A well-designed playbook breaks down each process into actionable steps that guide your team from start to finish.
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Define Clear Actions: Outline each step in the workflow, such as conducting QBRs, following up on customer feedback, or resolving specific support issues.
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Provide Resources for Execution: Embed relevant resources like templates, guides, or best practices into playbook steps using Playbook Configuration.
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Assign Deadlines and Responsibilities: Clearly specify task owners and deadlines for each playbook step to ensure accountability and timely execution.
Step 3: Automate Playbook Deployment
Automating the deployment of playbooks ensures they are triggered at the right time without manual intervention.
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Set Up Rules for Triggering Playbooks: Use the Rules Engine to configure triggers based on key events such as health score drops or renewal deadlines.
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Customize Playbooks by Scenario: Tailor playbooks for different scenarios like onboarding, escalations, or risks, ensuring each one aligns with specific customer needs.
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Track Playbook Performance: Monitor playbook usage and outcomes through Cockpit Dashboards to identify areas for improvement and measure success.
Next Steps for Success
Once your playbooks are designed and automated, focus on refining them based on team feedback and performance metrics. Refer to the article Automate Workflow Triggers with the Rules Engine to expand automation across your workflows.
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