Post-Sale Management

Your CSM team is drowning. They're trying to give every customer monthly check-ins, quarterly business reviews, and immediate responsiveness. It's not working. Strategic accounts aren't getting deep enough engagement, smaller accounts don't need or want all this attention, and your team is burning out trying to do everything for everyone.

The problem isn't effort or skill. You haven't defined your touch model, so every CSM invents their own approach. Some provide white-glove service to $10K accounts. Others barely engage with $100K accounts. There's no consistency, no efficiency, and no way to scale.

A touch model is your engagement blueprint. It defines how frequently you interact with different customer segments, through which channels, with what types of content, and to achieve which outcomes. Get it right and you deliver exceptional experiences at scale. Get it wrong and you either burn through resources providing unsustainable service or under-serve customers until they churn.

Touch Model Fundamentals

A touch model needs to answer five questions for each customer segment.

How often do we proactively engage? Weekly? Monthly? Quarterly? Only when triggered by specific events?

Through which channels? Phone, video, email, in-app messaging, webinars, or automated sequences?

What types of interactions? Strategic planning sessions, training calls, quick check-ins, support conversations, or educational content?

Who delivers the touchpoints? A dedicated CSM, a pooled team handling multiple accounts, or automated systems?

What outcomes are we driving? Product adoption, account expansion, renewal success, or customer advocacy?

Without explicit answers to these questions, you get inconsistent execution and misaligned expectations.

Frequency considerations balance staying present without being annoying. Enterprise customers might expect bi-weekly contact. SMB customers often prefer quarterly check-ins plus on-demand support. Force weekly calls on customers who don't want them and you create friction. Wait too long between touches and they forget you exist.

Channel mix varies by segment and touchpoint purpose. Strategic planning happens on video calls. Product tips work better in-app or via email. Training scales through webinars. Support flows through ticketing systems.

Segment-specific models are essential because a $500K enterprise customer needs completely different engagement than a $5K SMB account. You need multiple touch models mapped to your customer tiers.

Scalability requirements mean your touch model must work within realistic headcount constraints. If your model requires 1:20 CSM-to-customer ratios but you can only afford 1:100, your model is fantasy.

High-Touch Model: Maximum Personal Engagement

High-touch works for your most valuable, complex, or strategic accounts. Think top 15-20% of your customer base by value or importance.

Who gets high-touch? $100K+ ARR accounts typically qualify. Strategic customers who bring brand value, references, or partnership opportunities. Complex implementations requiring specialized support. Accounts with high expansion potential where the investment makes sense.

One-to-one dedicated CSMs own these relationships completely. This CSM knows the account intimately, builds personal relationships with stakeholders, and advocates internally for the customer.

Salesforce's strategic accounts get dedicated CSMs who manage 15-30 accounts max. That CSM attends their meetings, knows their business challenges, and coordinates resources across Salesforce to support them.

Frequent proactive outreach keeps these relationships strong. Bi-weekly or monthly check-in calls. Quarterly business reviews that never get missed. Immediate response to any inbound request. Proactive monitoring with outreach before issues escalate.

Multi-channel engagement provides the flexibility these customers expect. Video calls for strategic discussions and QBRs. Email for quick updates and documentation. Phone for immediate issues. Slack or direct messaging for real-time coordination. In-person meetings for key accounts, usually annual or at major milestones.

Deep relationship building goes beyond transactional support. The CSM understands the customer's business, their goals, their challenges, and how your product fits into their success.

The customized approach means every interaction gets tailored. Custom success plans aligned to their specific goals. Personalized business review decks showing their data. Training designed around their use cases. Expansion proposals built for their situation.

The economics work because these accounts fund your business. A $500K account can justify a CSM spending 10-15 hours monthly on proactive engagement. That level of investment doesn't work for smaller accounts.

Medium-Touch Model: Structured Efficiency

Medium-touch balances personalization with scalability. This typically covers your mid-market accounts, maybe 30-40% of your base.

Who gets medium-touch? Accounts between $25K-$100K ARR. Standard complexity implementations. Healthy accounts with some expansion potential. Customers who don't require constant hand-holding.

Pooled CSM resources provide structured coverage. Instead of dedicated 1:1 ownership, a team of CSMs shares responsibility for a portfolio. Customers might have a primary point of contact, but it's not exclusive.

HubSpot's mid-tier customers get assigned to CSM pods where 3-4 CSMs collectively manage 200-300 accounts. Customers have a designated contact but can reach any team member.

Regular structured touchpoints follow playbooks rather than custom approaches. Monthly or bi-monthly check-ins, often shorter and more focused. Bi-annual or annual business reviews. Event-triggered outreach when health scores drop, expansion opportunities appear, or renewal milestones approach. Responsive support within 24 hours.

The mix of personal and automated touchpoints creates efficiency. Personal touches include kickoff calls, milestone check-ins, business reviews, and expansion conversations. Automated sequences handle nurture emails, in-app messages, training webinar invitations, and renewal reminders.

Efficient processes through templatization make this work. Standardized onboarding checklists. QBR deck templates with customer data populated automatically. Common objection handling scripts. Pre-built expansion campaigns ready to deploy.

The key is consistency. Every customer gets the same high-quality experience, but you're not custom-building everything from scratch.

Gainsight's core accounts follow structured journeys where touchpoints are pre-mapped based on lifecycle stage. CSMs execute the plays rather than inventing unique approaches for each account.

Low-Touch Model: Digital-First with Human Escalation

Low-touch serves smaller accounts efficiently while still providing good experiences.

Who gets low-touch? Accounts under $25K ARR. Simple, standardized use cases. Self-sufficient customers comfortable with digital resources. Accounts where high-touch investment doesn't justify the economics.

Scaled CSM coverage means very high account ratios. One CSM might monitor 200-500 accounts, engaging primarily when triggered by events rather than on regular cadences.

Infrequent personal touches might include a kickoff call at onboarding (maybe). Quarterly check-ins only if health scores warrant attention. Renewal outreach 60, 30, and 14 days before renewal date. Expansion offers when usage patterns indicate readiness.

Primarily digital engagement drives the customer journey. Automated onboarding email series. In-app messages and product tours. Webinar invitations for training. Email nurture campaigns with best practices. Help center and knowledge base for self-service.

High automation makes this sustainable. Triggered campaigns based on behavior like feature adoption or usage milestones. Automated health scoring with alerts for CSM intervention. Chatbots for common questions. Self-serve expansion offers presented in-product.

Intercom's smaller customers receive automated onboarding sequences, monthly product update emails, and quarterly webinar invitations. CSMs engage only when health scores drop or customers request help.

Self-service emphasis through excellent resources becomes critical. Comprehensive help center. Video tutorial library. User community for peer support. In-product guidance and tooltips.

The outcome is good customer experience at economics that actually work. A $10K account can't support hours of CSM time monthly, but automated journeys plus on-demand human support keeps them successful.

Tech-Touch Model: Fully Automated Engagement

Tech-touch eliminates human proactive engagement entirely, relying on product, automation, and self-service.

Who gets tech-touch? Accounts under $5K ARR or free/trial users. When you have thousands or tens of thousands of accounts. Self-serve products with minimal complexity.

Fully automated engagement means no assigned CSM. Automated onboarding sequences triggered on signup. In-app messaging for feature discovery. Email campaigns for education and activation. Product-led expansion offers.

Slack serves millions of small teams this way. New teams get automated welcome messages, in-app tutorials, and email campaigns. There's no human CSM unless they upgrade to enterprise or request sales assistance.

In-app messaging guides users in context. Tooltips for new features. Onboarding checklists. Celebration modals for milestones. Upgrade prompts when hitting plan limits.

Email sequences target specific lifecycle moments. Welcome series explaining core features. Day 7, 14, and 30 activation campaigns. Renewal reminders and offers. Upsell campaigns based on usage triggers.

Chatbots handle common questions, escalating to human support only when necessary. Zendesk's smaller customers interact primarily with AI-powered bots that resolve 60-70% of inquiries instantly.

Self-service resources form the foundation. Help center with articles, videos, and guides. Community forums where users help each other. API documentation for technical users. Product analytics dashboards that let customers track their own ROI.

On-demand human support exists but isn't proactive. Customers can submit tickets, but there are no scheduled check-ins or business reviews.

The trigger for human engagement might be an expansion opportunity, churn risk, or specific support escalations. Otherwise, the product and automation drive success.

Hybrid Models: Combining Approaches

Most companies use hybrid approaches that vary by customer segment and lifecycle stage.

Combination approaches might include high-touch for strategic accounts, medium-touch for core accounts, and low-touch for smaller accounts. Or high-touch during onboarding and renewals with lower touch in between. Or digital-first standard engagement with human escalation for at-risk accounts.

Journey-stage variations adjust touch intensity based on where customers are in their lifecycle.

Onboarding (days 0-90) often gets high-touch regardless of tier because time-to-value is critical. Even small accounts might get kickoff calls and weekly check-ins during implementation.

Growth stage (post-onboarding) is where touch level adjusts to tier. Strategic accounts stay high-touch. Smaller accounts transition to low-touch or tech-touch.

Renewal period (90-60 days before) typically sees increased touch for all tiers. Even tech-touch accounts get renewal outreach sequences.

At-risk accounts showing churn signals temporarily get escalated to higher-touch human intervention, regardless of their tier.

Zendesk provides high-touch onboarding to all customers, then transitions to tier-appropriate models. Everyone succeeds early, then engagement scales based on value.

Event-triggered personal touches add human moments to otherwise automated journeys. Health score drops below threshold? CSM reaches out. Customer achieves major milestone? Personal congratulations. Expansion indicator detected? CSM starts expansion conversation. NPS detractor response? Immediate follow-up.

This hybrid approach gives you efficiency through automation while preserving human connection when it matters most.

Channel Strategy: Picking the Right Medium

Different touchpoint types work better through different channels.

Email works well for documentation and follow-up. Educational content and best practices. Event invitations and announcements. Renewal reminders and expansion offers.

Email scales infinitely and customers can engage on their schedule. But it's easy to ignore and creates no sense of urgency.

Phone and video calls excel at relationship building and rapport. Complex problem-solving discussions. Strategic planning and business reviews. Sensitive conversations like addressing churn risk or discussing pricing.

Calls create connection but don't scale. Reserve them for high-value interactions.

In-app messaging is perfect for contextual guidance, showing tips where users are actively working. Feature announcements. Activation nudges. Upgrade prompts.

Users see messages in context, making them timely and relevant. But they can be intrusive if overused.

Webinars scale training and education across hundreds of customers at once. Product training for new features. Best practices sharing. Customer success stories. Industry trends and thought leadership.

One webinar reaches hundreds of customers. Record it and the content scales forever.

Help center and documentation provide self-serve answers to common questions. Setup guides and tutorials. Troubleshooting articles. FAQs. Video walkthroughs.

Great documentation reduces support volume and empowers customers to solve problems independently.

Community forums leverage peer-to-peer support. Users helping each other. Sharing use cases and workflows. Feature requests and feedback. Building customer relationships that extend beyond your company.

Communities scale support and create customer-to-customer connections that increase stickiness.

In-person meetings get reserved for the highest-value moments. Strategic account QBRs (occasionally). Major contract renewals. Executive business reviews. Events and conferences.

In-person is expensive but creates the deepest relationships. Use sparingly for highest-value moments.

Touchpoint Planning: What to Include and When

Great touch models define not just frequency but the substance of each interaction.

A cadence calendar maps out touchpoints by segment.

Tier 1 (High-Touch) might look like:

Week 1: Kickoff call
Week 2: Implementation check-in
Week 4: First success milestone review
Month 2: First month recap
Month 3: Quarterly business review
Ongoing: Bi-weekly check-ins

Tier 2 (Medium-Touch) might follow:

Week 1: Automated onboarding email
Week 2: Check-in call
Month 1: Milestone check-in
Month 3: First QBR (or automated report)
Ongoing: Monthly touchpoints mixing calls and emails

Tier 3 (Low-Touch) could include:

Day 1: Automated welcome series starts
Week 2: Automated check-in email with resources
Month 1: In-app milestone celebration
Month 3: Health monitoring with CSM intervention if needed
Ongoing: Quarterly automated check-ins

Touchpoint types vary in purpose and execution.

Proactive touchpoints include business reviews, check-in calls, training invitations, expansion conversations, and value reports.

Reactive touchpoints cover support requests, feature questions, and issue escalations.

Educational touchpoints deliver product training webinars, best practice emails, help center articles, and in-app tips.

Transactional touchpoints handle renewal reminders, invoice notifications, and account updates.

Content and messaging should align with touchpoint purpose and customer segment. Tier 1 gets custom content. Tier 3 gets templated but relevant content.

Owner and accountability matters for each touchpoint type. CSMs own proactive outreach and business reviews. Support team owns reactive issue resolution. Marketing or CS Ops owns automated campaigns. Product team owns in-app messaging.

Success metrics differ by touchpoint. For business reviews, track attendance rate and action item completion. For check-in calls, measure completion rate and insights gathered. For automated emails, watch open rate, click rate, and conversion to action. For webinars, track registration, attendance, and satisfaction scores.

Measurement and Optimization

Your touch model should drive outcomes. Track whether it's working.

Engagement rates show whether customers are participating. Business review attendance should hit 80%+ for high-touch accounts, 50%+ for medium-touch. Email open rates above 20% and click rates above 3% indicate relevant content. Webinar registration from 30%+ of invited customers with 50%+ attendance is solid. In-app message interaction rates vary widely by placement and message type.

Customer satisfaction by model reveals if you've matched the right approach to each segment. Compare NPS or CSAT scores by tier. Gather survey feedback on engagement frequency. Track unsolicited positive and negative feedback.

If Tier 3 customers have higher NPS than Tier 1, your high-touch model might be overwhelming rather than helpful.

Efficiency metrics tell you if the model is sustainable. Monitor CSM capacity utilization. Track time spent per account by tier. Measure touchpoint completion rates. Watch automation adoption.

Model refinement happens based on real data. Which touchpoints drive the most value? Where do customers disengage or not show up? What cadences work best for different segments? Which channels get the best response?

A/B testing different approaches generates insights you can't get from assumptions. Test monthly versus bi-weekly check-ins for Tier 2. Test video QBRs versus automated reports for Tier 3. Test different email cadences for onboarding.

PlanGrid tested various onboarding email frequencies and found 3 emails in the first week performed better than 5 but worse than daily messages. Data drove the model.

The goal is continuous improvement. Start with a hypothesis touch model, measure outcomes, and refine based on what works.

Ready to design touch models that scale? Learn how to segment customers appropriately, implement account tiering, build cadence frameworks, and deploy automation that makes digital touchpoints effective.

Related resources:

Post-Sale Business Models

Tara Minh

Operation Enthusiast