What Is Customer Success (Really)

You’ve probably seen the countless articles, podcasts, YouTube videos, and books trying to define what Customer Success is—and what it isn’t. The challenge, at least from a Nordic perspective, is that much of this content is tailored to other markets and primarily in English. That can make it feel distant, overly complex, or hard to implement.

So let’s break it down.

This Blog post is about simplifying Customer Success: what it actually is, how it works, and how your organization can benefit from a practical and scalable approach tailored to your customers and your team.

Is Customer Success Really That Easy to Define?

Yes, actually—it can be. Let’s explore a few definitions first.

The Customer Success Association (CSA) offers this formal explanation:

"Customer Success is a long-term, scientifically engineered, and professionally directed strategy for maximizing sustainable proven profitability for both customer and company."

It’s solid… but let’s be honest—also a bit of a mouthful.

So let’s turn to a more straightforward version from Lincoln Murphy:

"Customer Success is when your customers achieve their desired outcomes through their interactions with your company."

Simple, right? It really comes down to this:Customer Success is about helping your customers reach their business goals with your help.

When your organization is laser-focused on what success looks like for your customers—and you genuinely care about helping them get there—you’re well on your way to becoming a Customer Success–driven company.

From Definition to Execution

Understanding the concept is one thing—implementing it in your organization is another.

If you're reading this, chances are you're curious about how to use Customer Success strategies to reduce churn, increase expansion, and create loyal customers who rave about your company at industry events and over dinner with friends.

The good news? You don’t need to launch a massive initiative overnight. Start small, gain traction, and evolve as your team and customers mature.

Here's a proven step-by-step approach that’s helped many teams build a successful Customer Success strategy:

Step 1: Define What Success Means for Your Customers

Before you do anything else, get crystal clear on this:

• What does success look like for your customers?

• What goals are they trying to achieve?

• How do they expect to achieve those goals?

Understanding this is the foundation of everything else.

Step 2: Segment Your Customer Base by Experience Needs

One-size-fits-all doesn't work. Not every customer wants or needs the same kind of support.

Instead of just splitting by company size (e.g., SMB vs Enterprise), segment based on the experience they expect:

• High-Touch: Dedicated 1:1 support, frequent check-ins, personalized service.

• Low-Touch: Occasional 1:1 interaction, supported by emails, QBRs, and resources.

• Tech-Touch: Scaled support through automation, knowledge bases, community, and shared inboxes.

• 
  

Each group has different needs—and different opportunities for success.

Step 3: Map Out the Customer Journey

Now that you know your segments, build a clear journey map for each. This should define:

• What happens at each stage of the customer lifecycle

• Who is responsible for each step

• What actions drive value at each stage

Need a template? I’ve built my own journey map that’s worked for many—drop a "YES" in the comments if you’d like a copy.

Step 4: Identify the Right Metrics

You can’t improve what you don’t measure. Here are the core KPIs I recommend:

Financial KPIs:

• Net Revenue Retention (NRR) Formula: (MRR at Start + Expansion + Upsell – Churn – Contraction) / MRR at Start

• Upsell & Cross-Sell

• Churn Rate & Downgrades

  
  

Operational KPIs:

• Customer referrals

• QBR completion

• Meetings, calls, email engagement, and other touchpoints

  
  

Tracking both financial and operational metrics gives you a full picture of your Customer Success performance.

Step 5: Scale As You Mature

Once your foundation is in place, it’s time to level up. As your team and customers grow, so can your CS strategy.

You might start implementing:

• Automation for repetitive tasks

• Customer Success playbooks

• Success sprints

• QBRs and health checks

• Personalized journeys and tech-touch campaigns

  
  

The opportunities are endless. But here’s the key: don’t try to do everything at once.

Start where you are. Do a few things really well. Then build on that momentum.

Final Thoughts

It takes time to build a world-class Customer Success program—but you don’t have to do it all at once. Even a few well-executed initiatives can make a meaningful difference in how customers experience your brand.

Start by defining what success looks like for your customers. From there, the strategy will follow.