Onboarding Playbook Creation

Build comprehensive onboarding playbooks that guide new customers from signup to first value and sustained adoption. This skill produces phased workflows with explicit milestones, task checklists, communication templates, and clear ownership so that every customer follows a repeatable path to success regardless of which CSM is assigned.

Workflow

1. Define success milestones — Identify the 3-5 concrete outcomes that signal a customer has been successfully onboarded. These should be measurable product actions, not vague goals. Examples: "first report generated," "3+ team members active," "integration with primary data source complete." Tie each milestone to a business outcome the customer cares about to maintain alignment with their goals throughout the process.

2. Map onboarding phases — Structure the journey into distinct phases, each with a clear entry criteria, exit criteria, and expected duration. A standard B2B framework uses four phases: Welcome (Day 0-3) — account setup and introductions. Setup (Day 4-10) — technical configuration and data import. First Value (Day 11-20) — achieving the initial "aha moment" with the product. Adoption (Day 21-30) — expanding usage across the team and embedding into workflows.

3. Create task checklists per phase — Break each phase into specific, actionable tasks with owners (CSM, customer, SE, product). Each task should have an estimated duration, dependencies on prior tasks, and a definition of done. Include both internal tasks (create customer Slack channel, schedule kickoff) and customer-facing tasks (invite team members, connect data source).

4. Design communication templates — Write email and in-app message templates for each phase transition and key touchpoint. Include: welcome email, kickoff meeting agenda, mid-onboarding check-in, milestone celebration, risk alert (if a milestone is missed), and graduation email. Each template should have personalization tokens and conditional blocks based on customer segment.

5. Set timeline and ownership — Assign every task to a specific role and set due dates relative to the onboarding start date (Day 0). Create escalation rules for overdue tasks: 2 days overdue triggers a CSM nudge, 5 days overdue triggers a manager alert, 10 days overdue triggers a playbook reassessment call. Build in buffer for enterprise accounts that require procurement and security reviews.

Usage

Describe your product, customer segment, and onboarding goals. The agent will produce a complete playbook with phases, tasks, templates, and timelines.