health-scorecard

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name: health-scorecard description: > Build a customer health scorecard across usage, engagement, adoption, NPS, support load, and financial risk. Use when user says "health score", "customer health", "build a scorecard", "how healthy is this account", "customer scoring model", "green yellow red", "health dashboard", or "account health framework" - even if they don't say "scorecard" explicitly. Applies to CSMs building account health models or CS leaders standardizing health tracking across the team.

Overview

Based on "Customer Success" by Mehta, Steinman & Murphy, a health score is the single most important operational tool in CS. It converts diverse signals - usage, support, sentiment, financial - into one composite view that tells a CSM where to focus time.

The core insight: a health score is only as useful as the action it triggers. A score without a corresponding playbook is a dashboard that collects dust. Build the score and the response together.

Workflow

Step 1: Define the six scoring dimensions

Score each dimension 1 (at risk) to 5 (healthy). Weight dimensions based on what predicts churn or expansion in your product. Defaults shown below - adjust weights to your context.

Dimension 1 - Product Usage (default weight: 25%) Measures whether the customer is actually using the product.

Score	Signal
5	MAU >85% of licensed seats, logins growing MoM
4	MAU 70-85%, stable
3	MAU 50-70%, flat
2	MAU 30-50% or declining >10% MoM
1	MAU <30% or no logins in 30+ days

Dimension 2 - Feature Adoption (default weight: 20%) Measures depth of product use, not just login frequency.

Score	Signal
5	>75% of core features adopted, exploring advanced features
4	60-75% core features adopted
3	40-60% adopted, stuck in basic workflows
2	<40% adopted, avoiding key features
1	Using only 1-2 surface features, product barely embedded

Dimension 3 - Engagement with CSM/Support (default weight: 15%) Measures relationship health and responsiveness.

Score	Signal
5	Regular cadence calls, champion responsive within 24h, exec engaged
4	Monthly calls, reasonable responsiveness
3	Sporadic calls, 2-3 day response lag
2	Skipping calls, slow to respond, champion hard to reach
1	Gone dark - no response in 3+ weeks, declined last meeting

Dimension 4 - NPS / Sentiment (default weight: 15%) Measures subjective satisfaction and advocacy likelihood.

Score	Signal
5	NPS 9-10, reference willing, positive qualitative feedback
4	NPS 7-8, satisfied, no active complaints
3	NPS 6-7, neutral, minor grumbles
2	NPS 4-6, frustrated, expressing dissatisfaction in calls
1	NPS 0-3, actively unhappy, escalations or threats to leave

Dimension 5 - Support Load (default weight: 15%) Measures whether the product is causing operational pain.

Score	Signal
5	<2 tickets/month, all resolved promptly
4	2-4 tickets/month, normal resolution time
3	5-7 tickets/month or 1 lingering unresolved issue
2	8-12 tickets/month or critical open issue >2 weeks
1	>12 tickets/month or multiple unresolved critical issues

Dimension 6 - Financial Risk (default weight: 10%) Measures exposure at renewal and expansion potential.

Score	Signal
5	Renewal >6 months, expansion conversation active, budget secured
4	Renewal 4-6 months, no red flags
3	Renewal 2-4 months, no expansion discussion started
2	Renewal <2 months, budget uncertainty, no expansion
1	Renewal <2 months, active budget scrutiny or downsell risk

Step 2: Calculate the composite health score

Weighted score = sum of (dimension score x dimension weight) Maximum possible score = 5.0

Example calculation:

• Usage: 3 x 0.25 = 0.75
• Feature Adoption: 4 x 0.20 = 0.80
• Engagement: 2 x 0.15 = 0.30
• NPS/Sentiment: 3 x 0.15 = 0.45
• Support Load: 4 x 0.15 = 0.60
• Financial Risk: 3 x 0.10 = 0.30
• Composite: 3.20 / 5.0 - Yellow

Score ranges:

• 4.0-5.0: Green - healthy, standard cadence
• 2.5-3.9: Yellow - watch, increase touchpoints
• 1.0-2.4: Red - at risk, immediate intervention

Step 3: Apply dimension-level overrides (Red Flag Rule)

A single dimension scoring 1 can override a composite Green. Apply Red Flag Rule:

If any single dimension scores 1, the account is automatically Yellow regardless of composite. If two or more dimensions score 1, the account is automatically Red.

This prevents a high-usage account with a gone-dark champion from being masked by a good composite.

Step 4: Document the scorecard

Produce a scorecard entry for each account:

[Customer name] - Health Score Scoring date: [date] CSM: [name]

Dimension	Weight	Score (1-5)	Weighted	Notes
Product Usage	25%
Feature Adoption	20%
Engagement	15%
NPS / Sentiment	15%
Support Load	15%
Financial Risk	10%
Composite

Status: Green / Yellow / Red Red Flag Rule applied: Yes / No

Top risk signal: [the dimension with the lowest score and why it matters] Recommended next action: [1 specific intervention with a date]

Step 5: Set review cadence

Health scores must be refreshed regularly. Stale scores are worse than no scores because they create false confidence.

• Green accounts: Review monthly
• Yellow accounts: Review bi-weekly
• Red accounts: Review weekly until score improves

Anti-Patterns

1. Composite score only, no dimension breakdown Bad: "Health score is 3.2." CSM doesn't know where to intervene. Good: Show composite plus all six dimensions. The breakdown tells the CSM where to act.

2. Static score never updated Bad: Setting a health score at onboarding and never refreshing it. Good: Mandatory refresh cadence. Green = monthly, Yellow = bi-weekly, Red = weekly.

3. No action linked to the score Bad: Health dashboard exists but no playbook triggers based on tier. Good: Every tier (Green, Yellow, Red) maps to a specific cadence and intervention type.

4. Ignoring single-dimension red flags Bad: Account with 85% MAU rated Green even though champion went dark 6 weeks ago. Good: Apply Red Flag Rule. A gone-dark champion is a churn signal regardless of usage.

5. Using only quantitative signals Bad: Scoring only usage and support tickets because they're easy to measure. Good: Include sentiment and engagement even if they require CSM judgment to score. Hard-to-measure signals are often the earliest churn indicators.

Quality Checklist

• All six dimensions scored individually before calculating composite
• Weights adjusted to reflect what actually predicts churn in your context
• Red Flag Rule applied - single dimension scoring 1 escalates the tier
• Composite score assigned to Green / Yellow / Red tier
• Top risk signal identified with a specific recommended action
• Review cadence set based on tier
• Scorecard entry dated - staleness is tracked
• No personal names, internal tool names, or company-specific references in template