The Ultimate Customer Success Glossary for B2B SaaS Leaders

A​

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• Adoption Rate – How quickly and fully users start using a product after onboarding.

• Annual Contract Value (ACV) – Average yearly value of a subscription contract.

• Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) – Predictable annual subscription-based revenue.

• Activation Rate – % of users who complete key onboarding actions.

• Aha Moment – When users realize a product’s core value.

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B

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• Book of Business – The accounts managed by a CSM.

• Burn Rate – How fast a company spends money.

• Benchmarking – Comparing metrics against industry or internal standards.

• Business Review (QBR/EBR) – Strategic meetings with customers to review performance.

 

C

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• Churn Rate – % of customers lost in a given time frame.

• Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) – Cost to gain a new customer.

• Customer Effort Score (CES) – Measures how easy it is to get help or complete a task.

• Customer Health Score – Composite metric of account well-being.

• Customer Journey – Entire lifecycle from onboarding to renewal.

• Customer Lifetime Value (CLTV) – Total value a customer brings over their lifecycle.

• Customer Onboarding – Process to help new customers succeed with the product.

• Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) – Survey-based satisfaction score.

• Customer Segmentation – Grouping customers by similar attributes.

• Customer Success – Helping customers achieve their desired outcomes.

• Customer Success Manager (CSM) – Role focused on maximizing customer value.

• Customer Success Operations (CS Ops) – Team optimizing systems, data, and strategy for CS.

• Customer Success Plan – Personalized plan to align product with customer goals.

• Customer Success Platform (CSP) – Software that powers CS teams (e.g., Gainsight, Totango).

 

D

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• Delight Metrics – Qualitative signals of happiness (NPS, feedback).

• Downsell – Moving customers to a lower plan instead of losing them entirely.

• Data-Driven CS – Using analytics to drive decisions and workflows.

• Dashboards – Visual tools to track KPIs and customer data.

 

E

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• Engagement Score – Score based on usage and feature interaction.

• Executive Sponsor – Internal champion with decision-making power.

• Executive Business Review (EBR) – Strategic account review with stakeholders.

• Expansion Revenue – Upsell/cross-sell revenue from existing accounts.

• Early Warning System – Tools/alerts to signal churn risk.

 

F

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• Feature Adoption Rate – How often specific features are used.

• First Contact Resolution (FCR) – Resolving a customer issue in the first interaction.

• First Value Delivered (FVD) – First moment customers achieve value.

• Freemium to Paid Conversion – % of free users who become paying customers.

• Feedback Loop – System for collecting and applying customer insights.

 

G

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• Gross Churn – Revenue or logo loss from cancellations.

• Gross Revenue Retention (GRR) – % of recurring revenue retained, excluding expansions.

• Goal Alignment – Ensuring CS goals match customer and company goals.

 

H

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• Health Score – Overall metric of a customer’s likelihood to renew.

• High Touch CS – Hands-on, personalized engagement (usually for enterprise).

• Hand-off Process – Transition from Sales to CS.

• Human-Led Success – CS driven primarily by personal interaction, not automation.

 

I

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• Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) – Description of your best-fit customer.

• In-App Messaging – Messages delivered inside the product to guide users.

• Implementation – Setup phase of the customer journey.

• Insights Engine – Tools that surface predictive or actionable data.

 

J

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• Journey Mapping – Visualization of the customer’s end-to-end experience.

• Joint Success Plan – Collaborative roadmap between CS and customer.

 

K

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• Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) – Metrics to evaluate success.

• Knowledge Base – Self-service library of help articles and documentation.

• Key Stakeholders – Decision-makers or influencers within the customer org.

 

L

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• Logo Churn – % of customers lost (as distinct from revenue churn).

• Low Touch CS – Scalable model using automation with minimal direct interaction.

• Lifecycle Management – Managing the customer through all phases.

• Lagging Indicator – Metric showing past outcomes (e.g., churn).

• Leading Indicator – Metric predicting future outcomes (e.g., low usage).

 

M

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• Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR) – Monthly predictable revenue.

• Moments of Truth – Key events that shape customer perception.

• Milestone Tracking – Monitoring critical progress points.

• Manager Escalation – When issues are elevated to senior stakeholders.

 

N

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• Net Promoter Score (NPS) – Customer loyalty measure based on recommendation likelihood.

• Net Revenue Retention (NRR) – Revenue kept including expansion, minus churn/downgrades.

• Needs Assessment – Process to identify customer goals and pain points.

• Named Account Model – Assigning CSMs to a specific set of accounts.

 

O

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• Onboarding – Structured introduction and education period for new customers.

• Outcomes-Based Success – Focus on customer achieving business results.

• Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) – Goal-setting framework used within CS teams.

• On-Time Renewal Rate – % of renewals completed before expiration.

 

P

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• Playbooks – Repeatable processes for handling common CS scenarios.

• Product Qualified Lead (PQL) – User who’s demonstrated buying intent through product use.

• Proactive Success – Anticipating customer needs or risks before they happen.

• Product Adoption – Extent to which customers are using the core and advanced features.

• Pulse Survey – Short, frequent surveys to track sentiment.

 

Q

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• Quarterly Business Review (QBR) – Strategic meeting to review results and plan.

• Qualitative Feedback – Non-numerical customer input like suggestions or pain points.

• Quota Attainment (CSM) – Goal tracking metric for upsells/renewals.

 

R

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• Retention Rate – % of customers that stay over a period.

• Renewal Forecasting – Predicting upcoming renewals with likelihood of closing.

• Revenue Churn – % of recurring revenue lost due to customer churn.

• Risk Score – Predictive score for potential churn or dissatisfaction.

• Referral Program – Structured system to reward customers for new business.

 

S

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• Segmentation Strategy – Strategy to tailor CS based on customer size/value/industry.

• Self-Service Resources – Docs, videos, FAQs for customer use without CSM help.

• Success Metrics – Outcomes used to measure customer success (e.g., ROI, engagement).

• Success Planning – Collaboratively setting objectives and timelines with customers.

• Scalable CS – Systems designed for efficiency across a growing customer base.

• Strategic Accounts – High-value, complex accounts requiring tailored CS.

 

T

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• Time to First Value (TTFV) – Time from onboarding to initial measurable value.

• Time to Resolution (TTR) – How long it takes to solve customer issues.

• Tech Touch – Low-touch model using automation and digital tools.

• Touchpoints – Interactions between CS team and customer.

• Tiering – Organizing accounts by strategic value or service level.

 

U

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• Upsell – Convincing customers to buy a higher-tier or additional product.

• Usage Data – Behavioral data on how customers interact with the product.

• User Experience (UX) – Overall experience using the product.

 

V

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• Voice of the Customer (VoC) – Capturing and analyzing customer feedback.

• Value Realization – When the customer sees ROI or measurable success.

• Value-Added Services – Services that go beyond core product offerings.

• Velocity Metrics – Speed of movement through stages (onboarding, success, renewal).

 

W

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• Win-Back Campaign – Strategy to re-engage churned customers.

• Workflow Automation – Automating repetitive tasks in CS (e.g., renewal reminders).

• White-Glove Service – Premium, highly tailored customer support model.

 

X

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• Experience Score (X-Score) – Blended metric of CSAT, NPS, CES, etc. to measure overall CX.

 

Y

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• Year-over-Year (YoY) – Metric comparison over a one-year period.

 

Z

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• Zero Churn Goal – Aggressive CS strategy focused on eliminating all preventable churn.

• Zone of Influence – The areas where CS can directly or indirectly impact customer outcomes.​