- 1The product5 fit criteria
- 2What we measure20 signals
- 3Customer situations5 situations
- 4The plays10 plays
- 5How we talk5 channels
- 6Operating rulesApproval and measurement
- 7What's new5 findings
How it works
Build your playbook and the systems to power it.
You want a clear picture of what a good customer looks like. One your whole team agrees on. And a system that shows how every account is doing and what to do next. We build that with you. Then it runs: every account you choose, checked on schedule, with the next play on the account record.
The system does the homework. Your people handle the customers.
Built once, with your team
Stages 3 to 5 repeat. The build happens once.
Northstar Labs is a made-up example account.
What we build with you
A playbook for more predictable growth, and the systems to power it.
We build the playbook and the system with your team. The system stays current as your product and your customers change.
Write the playbook
What does a good customer look like for you? We work that out with you, from your product data, your docs and your customer data. We write it down so everyone can see it. Your team approves it.
- Your engagement playbookWhat good looks like at every stage, and the plays that get an account back on track.
- The signals that matterThe data points that tell you how each account is doing.
- An assumption registerEvery guess, written down. The first review tests them.
Playbook owner approves v1.0Wed 2 Sep · Example
Set up your systems
The playbook needs the right signals, in the right systems. We help configure your tools so they're available, starting with the data your product records. Your team won't live in settings screens.
| System | What's set up | State |
|---|---|---|
| PostHog | Account group type and 4 group properties | Active |
| HubSpot | 7 company properties, the weekly roster view, owner task queues | Active |
| Intercom | 2 company attributes that gate approved messages | Active |
| Slack | Channels for plays, the weekly report and new leads | Active |
| Billing | Plan and seat count per account | Pending |
- A tracking planWhat your product needs to record, and which system holds each signal. Your team approves it.
- Set up with youWe make the changes with your team, in each tool: product analytics, CRM, support and more.
- A signal checkWe check every signal is available, and flag anything missing.
Analytics owner approves the tracking planThu 3 Sep · Example
What runs on schedule
The workflows that bring the playbook to life.
Every account is checked. Plays go to people, or run automatically if you choose. The playbook stays current. Your team can run this, or we run it with you.
Review your accounts
Every account you choose is checked against the playbook and its own history. Usage, support, CRM and more, read together.
Task in your CRMNorthstar Labs
Assigned to J. ReyesMon 12 Oct · Example
- Account
- Northstar LabsMulti-department · $12,000 a year
- This week
- One department uses the product every week. CRM notes and a support thread show a second doing the same job by hand.
- Open question
- Would the second department have to pay more?
- Suggested play
- A rollout conversation led by the existing champion. Waiting for J. Reyes to approve it.
- Next review
- Mon 19 Oct
- A plain-English file on each accountWhat you know, what changed, what to check next. Each review adds a version, so you can see how an account is doing against its own past.
- Act, or leave it aloneDoes this account need something? If yes: what to do, what to say, and why. If no: the reason.
- A customer-safe summaryA status you can share with the customer. No personal details. No commercial notes.
No decision yetThis step shows where each account is and what we suggest. The decision comes next.
Run the plays and report
A play is approved. The right person or tool is given the next best action. The decision and the action are recorded on the account.
Automated
Halden CoNew-seat check-in, through HubSpot
FennickRelease note on the feature they asked for
Waiting
Bryce AnalyticsMessaged 4 days ago. Checked again Thursday.
To a person
Northstar LabsRollout conversation. Task for J. Reyes, evidence attached.
CopperbeamNo play. Second department cut last quarter.
- The plays runBy a person, or automatically if you chose that. Your team approves the message templates before any play runs on its own. You decide how, when and whether each play runs.
- Everything else goes to a personThe account owner gets it in the tool they already use, with the evidence: who, what, why, and how. Nobody from Accoil contacts your customers.
- Every owner gets a reportEvery review and every play, recorded, with a link to each record should they need it.
Account owners decide which plays run, and howAutomated plays follow the rules and message templates your team approved.
Keep the playbook current
Plays run. Results come back. They feed the playbook. Changes are proposed, never automatic. Your playbook owner has the final say. When a change is approved, a new version goes out, and the next cycle measures every account against it.
- ApprovedAdd "second department in CRM notes" to the expansion situation.
- ApprovedRollout play: send the short internal video with the first message.
- ApprovedMark accounts whose second team was cut as "leave alone" for a quarter.
- DeclinedRaise the quiet period after a message from 7 to 10 days.
- DeferredNew activation milestone for the October release. Needs the data check first.
- A weekly review of what changedWhat ran, the impact it had, and what changed in your product and for your customers.
- A monthly data checkIs all the data still arriving? Has anything changed? Is there new data worth using?
- Proposed changes, one by oneYour playbook owner approves, declines or defers each one, with the context in front of them. The system keeps running.
Playbook owner approves, declines or defers each changeMon 2 Nov · Example
Two ways to work with us
Keep the playbook and run it yourself, or have us run it with you.
You run it.
We write the playbook with your team, set up your systems so the right signals are available, and hand over the workflows. Your team or your own agents run them.
Run with you, every week.
Everything in the first option. Then we run the workflows every week and keep the data flowing between your tools. We do the admin, the setup and the updates. Your team spends its time on the work only they can do.
Approvals and ownership
You own every decision.The system has checkpoints, so you keep control.
Nothing is automated until you approve it. Anything outside your rules goes to a person.
You keep the playbook, the account files and the full history, in systems you own.
What your team approves
- The playbookWhat good looks like, and the plays.Playbook owner
- The tracking planWhat your product records, and which system holds each signal.Analytics owner
- The play rulesWhich plays run on their own, which go to a person, and the messages they send.Playbook owner
- Account owner discretionYour account owners keep the autonomy to do what they know is right for each customer.Customer account owner
- Playbook changesEvery proposed update.Playbook owner
On the tools you already use
We build on the stack your team already uses. Change a tool later and the playbook, the plays, the approvals and the account files move with you. No lock-in.
| Job | In this example | Also works with |
|---|---|---|
| CRM and account record | HubSpot | Salesforce, Attio, Pipedrive |
| Support conversations | Intercom | Zendesk, Freshdesk, Help Scout |
| Product analytics | PostHog | Amplitude, Mixpanel |
| Team notifications | Slack | Microsoft Teams, Google Chat |
| Team tables and documents | Notion | Google Sheets, Airtable, Confluence |
| Email and in-app messages | HubSpot email, Intercom in-app | Customer.io, Appcues, Userlist |
Questions? We've got answers.
- What does our team have to do?
- One point person for access and approvals. A few hours in the first weeks, then short check-ins at a pace that suits you.
- Where do we start?
- With the playbook for one key customer segment. You pick the accounts that matter most right now.
- How will you work with our team?
- Your team knows your customers. They help define what good looks like, push back on any decision, and tell us what the data can't. We need more of their time early, and less as the system runs.
- How does handover work?
- It's built on your tools and stays in your systems. To end access, remove us. Everything stays yours.
Talk to a founder
Thirty minutes on one key customer segment: the data you have, what good looks like, where the gaps are, and what's worth doing next quarter.