Which renewal strategy should I use for this customer?

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    "name": "Which renewal strategy should I use for this customer?",
    "public_slug": "cs-renewal-strategy",
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    "description": "Determine the right renewal approach for an upcoming contract based on account health, product adoption trends, and commercial signals. Use this tree at least 90 days before a renewal date to give your team enough runway to execute the recommended strategy. The outcome maps directly to a specific CSM playbook and internal resource allocation.",
    "mode": "decision",
    "entry": "Q1",
    "tags": [
      "customer success",
      "renewals",
      "retention",
      "account management",
      "churn prevention"
    ],
    "image": "https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1554224155-6726b3ff858f?w=1200&q=80"
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  "questions": [
    {
      "id": "Q1",
      "text": "What is the customer's current health score classification?"
    },
    {
      "id": "Q2",
      "text": "Has the customer's product adoption rate trended upward over the past 90 days, and is usage growing toward plan limits?"
    },
    {
      "id": "Q3",
      "text": "Is your primary champion still active at the account and engaged with your team?"
    },
    {
      "id": "Q4",
      "text": "Have you received signals—from the champion, finance, or an executive contact—that the customer's budget is under pressure this cycle?"
    },
    {
      "id": "Q5",
      "text": "Has the customer explicitly threatened to churn, mentioned an active evaluation of alternatives, or escalated dissatisfaction to executive level?"
    }
  ],
  "outcomes": [
    {
      "id": "STANDARD_RENEWAL",
      "label": "Standard Renewal (Auto-Renewal Path)"
    },
    {
      "id": "EXPANSION",
      "label": "Expansion Conversation"
    },
    {
      "id": "SAVE_PLAY",
      "label": "Save Play Required"
    },
    {
      "id": "EXEC_INTERVENTION",
      "label": "Executive Intervention"
    },
    {
      "id": "PREPARE_CHURN",
      "label": "Prepare for Churn"
    }
  ],
  "dsl": "dag: Which renewal strategy should I use for this customer?\nversion: 1.0.0\nimage: https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1554224155-6726b3ff858f?w=1200&q=80\ndescription: Determine the right renewal approach for an upcoming contract based on account health, product adoption trends, and commercial signals. Use this tree at least 90 days before a renewal date to give your team enough runway to execute the recommended strategy. The outcome maps directly to a specific CSM playbook and internal resource allocation.\ntags: customer success, renewals, retention, account management, churn prevention\nentry: Q1\n\nQ1: What is the customer's current health score classification?\n  hint: Health score is the master signal that shapes every other renewal decision. If you have not run a health assessment recently, do so before continuing—an outdated score can lead to the wrong strategy and a costly surprise. A Healthy or Yellow account warrants a fundamentally different approach than an Orange or Red account. If your company does not use a formal health score, run the cs-customer-health tree on this account before proceeding with renewal planning.\n  A: Healthy (Green) -> Q2\n  B: Needs Attention (Yellow) or At Risk (Orange) -> Q3\n  C: Critical (Red) -> Q5\n\nQ2: Has the customer's product adoption rate trended upward over the past 90 days, and is usage growing toward plan limits?\n  hint: Adoption trend is more informative than a point-in-time snapshot—a customer whose adoption is growing is building more dependency on your product, a strong renewal and expansion signal. Pull a 90-day adoption trend from your product analytics platform and look for directional movement rather than absolute numbers. Growing usage that approaches plan limits is the most defensible foundation for an expansion conversation at renewal time. A flat or declining trend even in a healthy account is worth addressing before the renewal conversation begins.\n  yes -> [EXPANSION]\n  no  -> [STANDARD_RENEWAL]\n\nQ3: Is your primary champion still active at the account and engaged with your team?\n  hint: Champion turnover is one of the top three causes of unexpected churn—even a healthy account can be destabilized by the departure or disengagement of the executive who drove the original purchase decision. Verify champion status through recent meeting attendance, email responsiveness, and whether they have made internal introductions on your behalf. If the champion has left, moved roles, or gone silent in the past 60 days, treat this as an urgent red flag requiring immediate relationship rebuilding with a new internal sponsor before any renewal conversation begins. An engaged champion at an at-risk account is the fastest path to turning around a difficult renewal.\n  yes -> Q4\n  no  -> [SAVE_PLAY]\n\nQ4: Have you received signals—from the champion, finance, or an executive contact—that the customer's budget is under pressure this cycle?\n  hint: Budget signals can be subtle: a champion mentioning a \"cost review,\" a delayed response to renewal paperwork, a new procurement layer being introduced, or an explicit request to \"right-size\" the contract. These signals rarely mean the customer wants to leave—they usually mean they need a stronger business case to justify the spend internally. Proactively addressing budget concerns with an ROI summary, a phased payment option, or a product consolidation story can neutralize objections before they become hard negotiation anchors that are difficult to walk back later.\n  yes -> [SAVE_PLAY]\n  no  -> [STANDARD_RENEWAL]\n\nQ5: Has the customer explicitly threatened to churn, mentioned an active evaluation of alternatives, or escalated dissatisfaction to executive level?\n  hint: For a critical-health account approaching renewal, the distinction between a recoverable situation and a likely churn hinges on whether the customer has made an explicit exit signal. Explicit threats—even informal ones in a call or email—mean the customer has already mentally begun evaluating life without your product. If no explicit threat has been made yet, there may still be time for an executive intervention to stabilize the relationship before it reaches a point of no return. Document any threat language verbatim in your CRM immediately and brief your manager the same day.\n  yes -> [PREPARE_CHURN]\n  no  -> [EXEC_INTERVENTION]\n\n[STANDARD_RENEWAL]: Standard Renewal (Auto-Renewal Path)\n  color: #22c55e\n  description: The account has no major risk signals and the renewal should proceed through your standard workflow with minimal friction for the customer. Send the renewal order form 60 days out, confirm countersignature authority with your champion, and set calendar reminders at 30 and 14 days before expiration. Use the renewal touchpoint to share a brief ROI summary document that helps the customer articulate internal value and reinforces their decision to continue. Schedule a post-renewal business review within 30 days of signing to maintain momentum and collaboratively set goals for the next contract year.\n  code: CS_RENEW_STANDARD\n\n[EXPANSION]: Expansion Conversation\n  color: #3b82f6\n  description: This account is in excellent shape with growing adoption and usage signals that make an expansion conversation both timely and natural—approach the renewal discussion as a strategic growth dialogue rather than a transactional paperwork exercise. Prepare a data-backed expansion business case that ties additional seats, modules, or usage capacity to a specific business outcome the customer has already articulated in prior conversations. Coordinate with your AE or sales team to determine whether the expansion should be CSM-led or require a formal sales-assisted motion with its own commercial process. Time the expansion ask to coincide with the renewal signature to simplify procurement and reduce the number of separate approval cycles the customer must complete internally.\n  code: CS_RENEW_EXPANSION\n\n[SAVE_PLAY]: Save Play Required\n  color: #f59e0b\n  description: One or more risk signals—health decline, champion gap, adoption stagnation, or budget pressure—requires a deliberate, structured save play before the renewal can proceed on a standard track. Align internally with your CSM manager and AE within 48 hours to agree on a save strategy: this may include a targeted discount, a contract restructure, an executive QBR, or an enablement sprint designed to re-demonstrate value against the customer's current business priorities. Build a customer-facing success plan with measurable milestones that gives the customer a clear, tangible reason to commit to renewal now rather than deferring the decision. Document all save play activities in your CRM and review progress weekly until the renewal is signed and countersigned.\n  code: CS_RENEW_SAVE\n\n[EXEC_INTERVENTION]: Executive Intervention\n  color: #f97316\n  description: The account is in critical health but has not yet made an explicit exit move—this window of opportunity requires your company's executive team to act quickly and decisively to demonstrate organizational commitment. Escalate to your VP of Customer Success or CRO within 24 hours with a concise brief covering ARR at risk, root causes, steps already taken, and your recommended intervention approach. An executive-to-executive call should be scheduled within the week, accompanied by a formal written commitment from your company that directly addresses the customer's core concerns. Prepare a recovery roadmap with specific, time-bound milestones and determine whether a meaningful concession—extended payment terms, service credits, or additional contractual commitments—is warranted to re-establish trust and secure the renewal.\n  code: CS_RENEW_EXEC\n\n[PREPARE_CHURN]: Prepare for Churn\n  color: #ef4444\n  description: The account is in critical health and the customer has made explicit exit signals—the probability of renewal is very low and your organization's energy should shift from save mode to managed offboarding and accurate financial planning. Brief your manager, finance, and legal teams immediately so the ARR impact is reflected in the forecast and all contractual obligations are honored through the expiration date. Send the customer a professional, respectful closing message that genuinely acknowledges the relationship and leaves the door open for a future return when their circumstances or product needs change. Conduct an internal churn post-mortem within 30 days of the contract end to identify what early warning signs were missed and what changes could prevent the same outcome with similar accounts in the future.\n  code: CS_RENEW_CHURN\n"
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