Customer Success Plan Template
Customer Success Plan Template
Collaborate with customers to build a success plan that helps everyone meet their goals, drives product usage, and reduces churn.
Who this template is for
Customer success managers (CSMs), account managers, and post-sales teams who want a structured, repeatable way to drive customer outcomes, increase retention, and minimize churn.
What this template is for
This template helps customer success teams build a clear, actionable plan for ensuring customer onboarding, product adoption, satisfaction, and long-term growth. By outlining goals, milestones, and key success metrics, both the CSM team and the customer stay aligned on expectations and progress.
How to use this template
- Sign up for a free Dock account.
- Create a new workspace and select this customer success plan template.
- Customize the template with your customer's goals, key contacts, and success milestones.
- Save your customized version as a reusable template for your team.
- For each new customer, create a personalized success plan based on your saved template.
- Introduce the workspace during the kickoff meeting and keep it as a single source of truth throughout the customer lifecycle.
- Use Dock’s engagement tracking and integrations to see which resources your customers are using and where they may need additional support.
What’s in this template?
Executive Summary
This section features a high-level overview of the customer success plan, outlining the purpose of the partnership, key roles, initial use cases, and success measures. The goal is to ensure a smooth and engaging onboarding experience centered on customer satisfaction.
Stakeholders
Here, include a list of the main contacts involved in the success plan, likely including sponsors, senior leaders and executives, managers, administrators and technical stakeholders, and key end users.
Roles
This section features a breakdown of who is responsible for different tasks related to the product’s implementation and use.
Tech Stack
Highlight a list of the customer’s existing tools that integrate—or interact—with the product.
Challenges & Solutions
Be sure to include a comparison of current challenges vs. the desired improvements after implementing the success plan. This section helps align both parties on the roadmap to success.
Goals
This section includes a list of prompts and questions that will allow the customer to clearly elucidate the vision for the project. These include specific goals in addition to achievable KPIs.
Key Milestones
Here, include a timeline of important dates and events, such as launch dates, implementation deadlines, and quarterly business reviews (QBRs).
Commitments
Outline the commitment from both your team and the customer. This will help both parties maintain accountability throughout the relationship.
Why use Dock’s Customer Success Plan Template?
Dock’s customer success plan template helps CSM teams streamline onboarding, track key milestones, and ensure customers reach their business goals—all in one shared workspace.
Unlike static documents or scattered email threads, Dock provides a structured, interactive workspace where both your team and your customer can align on objectives, track progress, and adjust as needed.
With Dock, you can customize the template for each client, embed links to key resources, track product adoption, and keep stakeholders engaged. Plus, Dock’s analytics let you see exactly which sections of your success plan are getting the most attention, so you can focus on what matters.
Benefits of using this template:
Keep onboarding organized
- Centralize key customer details, success milestones, and product adoption goals in one shared space
- Clearly outline stakeholder roles and responsibilities
- Ensure seamless communication between your CSM team and the customer
Personalize and scale your approach
- Customize each workspace for individual customers while maintaining a repeatable workflow
- Add links to login pages, Slack channels, and documentation for easy access
- Adjust templates based on customer needs without starting from scratch
Track progress and drive adoption
- Set clear milestones and track progress toward onboarding goals
- Use engagement analytics to see which resources customers are using
- Proactively address roadblocks before they become major issues
Improve customer retention
- Align your team and the customer on long-term success criteria
- Ensure accountability by making the plan visible to all stakeholders
- Provide a structured yet flexible roadmap for ongoing customer success
Related Templates
How do I use this template?
Sign up for Dock for free, create a new workspace, and select the customer success plan template. Customize it with your customer’s details, save it as a reusable template, and create a new version for each client.
Is this template free?
Yes, Dock is free to try for up to five workspaces. Every paid Dock plan includes unlimited template and workspace usage.
Can I modify this template?
Yes, you can fully customize the template to match your customer success process. You can also personalize each workspace for individual customers.
Can I personalize this template for every client?
Absolutely. You can adjust the template for each client by adding their specific goals, milestones, and resources.
Can I share this template with my team?
Yes, you can keep the template private to yourself or share it with your team. Dock lets you control template visibility and access.
What is a customer success plan?
A customer success plan is a structured document that outlines how a company will support its customers in achieving their goals. It typically includes key stakeholders, onboarding milestones, success metrics, and action plans to drive adoption and retention.
What should you include in a customer success plan?
A solid customer success plan should include:
- A clear executive summary
- Defined success metrics and key milestones
- Stakeholder roles and responsibilities
- A timeline for onboarding and adoption
- Links to key resources and communication channels
When should you use a customer success plan?
A customer success plan should be introduced at the beginning of a customer relationship—typically during onboarding. It ensures alignment between your team and the customer, setting expectations and tracking progress toward key objectives.
What key success metrics should customers track in a customer success plan?
Tracking the right success metrics ensures that your customer success plan helps you achieve your goals and maximize the value of your investment. Here are the key metrics that matter most to customers:
- Time to Value – How quickly the client is able to start seeing benefits from the product.
- Adoption Rate – Measures how well the team is using key features to improve workflows and efficiency.
- Goal Completion – Tracks progress toward the specific business objectives set when implementing the solution.
- Customer Experience Feedback – Gather insights from team members on ease of use, functionality, and impact on daily operations.
- Support Resolution Speed – Ensures that any challenges or issues are resolved quickly to maintain productivity.
- Scalability Readiness – Evaluates whether the solution is meeting growing needs and whether additional capabilities may be beneficial.
Customer success plan best practices
- Make it collaborative – Ensure both your team and the customer can contribute to and update the plan.
- Keep it clear and concise – Avoid unnecessary complexity; focus on what drives success.
- Track engagement – Use Dock’s analytics to see what parts of the plan customers engage with.
- Update regularly – Success plans shouldn’t be static—adjust them as the customer’s needs evolve.
Common mistakes to avoid in a customer success plan
- Being too vague – Success plans should include measurable goals and clear action steps.
- Lack of customer involvement – Ensure the customer is an active participant in the planning process.
- Ignoring engagement data – Use Dock’s tracking features to identify gaps and areas for improvement.
How to share a customer success plan internally
With Dock, you can keep the template private or share it with your CS team. You can also create role-based permissions, ensuring the right people have access to update or review customer success plans.
How to share a customer success plan with clients
- Introduce the plan during the onboarding kickoff call.
- Share the Dock workspace link with your customer—no login required.
- Encourage them to bookmark the workspace as a central hub for all success-related info.
- Reference the plan throughout the customer journey to track progress and adjust as needed.
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