What's your process for figuring out what metrics to hold customer success accountable for?

I'd structure my thoughts tailored to the company's goals, customer needs, and product/service offerings, distinguish between leading and lagging indicators, establish the median metric numbers, and improvise as we go from time to time.

1. Understand Company Goals: I will start by understanding the company's goals. These could include revenue growth, customer retention, market share expansion, specific product adoption targets, and multi-product strategies.
   

2. Align with Business Objectives: Identify how we can contribute to achieving these goals. For example, if the company aims to increase revenue through upsells and expansions, we may focus on improving product adoption and identifying upsell opportunities.
   

3. Identify Customer Needs: It's important to monitor your customers' needs and expectations. Conduct customer surveys, interviews, and feedback analysis to identify key areas.
   

4. Milestones: Map the journey from onboarding to renewal/advocacy. If needed, develop the enhanced engagement model and ensure the impact is delivered from all perspectives.
   

5. Identify Metrics: Based on the above factors, select meaningful and actionable metrics. These may include retention rate, churn rate, NPS, product adoption metrics, expansion revenue, customer health scores, and Verified Outcomes.
   

6. Distinguish Leading and Lagging Indicators: Balance between leading indicators (predictive of future success) and lagging indicators (reflecting past performance). For example, while the retention rate is a lagging indicator, the product adoption rate may be a leading indicator of future retention.
   

7. Iterate and Improve: Continuously review and refine your customer success metrics based on feedback, changes in business strategy, and evolving customer needs. Be open to experimenting with new metrics and approaches that better align with company goals.
   

8. Communicate and Align: Communicate the selected metrics clearly to the customer success team and ensure alignment with their roles and responsibilities. Provide training and resources to empower them to drive success based on these metrics.
   

By following this process, one can align with the company's goals and objectives, enabling your team to effectively drive value for both customers and the business.