Skip to main content
Gainsight Inc.

Success Plan FAQs

What are the use cases that Success Plans solve?

  • Success Plans combine a new CTA type with a new Object to create Plans comprised of Objectives and Tasks. Success Plans live on the C360 page and can be assigned ownership just like CTAs.

  • Develop a plan for your company’s internal Goals to maintain and grow the account or tackle a project.

  • Capture a customer’s Goals for your product during onboarding and develop specific Objectives to meet them.

  • Get customer buy-in at key milestones. Present your Success Plan for your customer at your next QBR and get their buy-in on your approach.

How do I understand the difference between CTA, Task, Playbook and Success Plan?

  • Call to Action (CTA): A CTA is an alert which can be added manually by a user or automatically using business rules. There are five CTA types available by default: Risks, Opportunities/Expansions, Events/Lifecycle, Activities (from Timeline), and Objectives (for Success Plans). You can also create custom CTA types. Playbooks, a collection of pre-defined tasks, can be used in conjunction with CTAs to standardize the process a user follows when addressing a Call to Action.
  • Task: the smallest item is a Task. Tasks cannot live alone, they should always be a part of CTA.
  • Playbooks: are the pre-configured sets of Tasks, that can be dropped into a CTA. The only function of a Playbook is to set up those Tasks, so that they can be easily applied to a CTA; a Playbook does not have any other functionality on its own.
  • Success Plan: CTAs when grouped together is a Success Plan, where you can also add information about the purpose of the plan in both standard fields and custom fields. The "Objective" Type of CTAs can only be added to a Success Plan; the "Objective" CTA Type is created specifically for this purpose (in any business plan, you’d want a series of objectives). Pre-configured sets of Objective CTAs can be dropped into a Success Plan. They are called Success Plan Templates.

How do Objectives differ from CTAs (structurally and theoretically)?

  • Structurally, Objectives and CTAs are records within the same Object (Call to Action) and have the same functionality

  • Theoretically, Objectives are a goal associated with an organized plan to work with the customer whereas CTAs are created to prompt action in response to a specific situation or set of criteria present in a customer.

Who can setup Success Plan types/attributes/Objective categories? Adjust the Attributes displayed? How are permissions for this setup?

  • Success Plans can be set up by CS Ops. Anyone with access to the Gainsight Admin tab (and a GS Admin Permission Set).

  • To add a new Objective Category the user should also have View All and Modify All data permission (see SFDC profile permissions)

  • Any Gainsight Full User can add or modify a Success Plan on the C360

Any limits to types, attributes, or Objectives categories that can be created? Any limits to how many plans or Objectives a Customer can have?

  • Can only select a max of 20 fields for the layout characteristics (under “Success Plan Info field configuration” in Admin)

  • No identified limits for types, attributes, or Objectives categories

  • No identified limits for the number of plans or Objectives per customer

Can Plans and Objectives be viewed in Cockpit? Created/edited from Cockpit?

  • Plans are not viewable in Cockpit
.
  • Objectives are visible in Cockpit (once the plan is set to an “Active” Status), but can't be created from Cockpit.

When should I use Success Plans vs. CTAs?

Success Plans are intended for longer-term multistep executions that aren’t necessarily driven by an existing situation or event. They encompass high-level goals/Objectives for the overall Customer and typically have a longer timeframe for completion.

Examples:


  1. I want to prepare for an upcoming QBR or Exec Meeting -> CTA

  2. I want to develop goals and an action plan for my customer for this quarter -> Success Plan

  3. I want to ensure the handoff between Sales and Services happens for my customer -> CTA

  4. I want to record my customer’s goals with our products and services so we can measure against them -> Success Plan

Can I report on Plans and Objectives in Report Builder?

  • Yes, you can create a report on Success Plans by reporting on the ‘CTA Group’ object.

  • Yes, you can create a report on Objectives by reporting on the ‘Call to Action’ object and applying a filter for ‘Type Name = Objectives’.

Will I have the same functionality on an Objective as I do on a CTA (i.e., Link SF Records, Create different layouts by Objective Type)?

Objectives have all the same features as CTAs, except they are tied to Objective Categories instead of a CTA Reason. They also have a Success Criteria field available in every Objective CTA.

Can I identify an overall owner for the Success Plan?

Yes, you can identify an overall owner in the Success Plan setup on the C360, as well as different Objective and Task owners.

Is there a template available for Success Plans?

Yes, your admin can define success plan templates. You can use these templates for success plans. For more information on how to apply template to success plans, refer to Create Success Plans in the C360.

Can I use Plans and Objectives as criteria in Journey Orchestrator or the Rules Engine?

Yes, you can create a rule on Success Plans by using the ‘CTA Group’ object as your source object

Yes, you can create a rule on Objectives by using the ‘Call to Action’ object as your source object and applying a filter for ‘Type Name = Objectives’

Can I export my Success Plan?

Yes, as of January 7, 2016, you can export Success Plan as PPTs using Success Snapshot templates. For more information, refer to Exporting Success Plans.

What is the 'Company Highlights' field for?

You are provided with three standard fields (Description, Action Plan, and Company Highlights) in the 'Plan Info' screen, which may help the customer to define the scope of the plan. However, the layout can be customised, so Admins can rename/delete 'Company Highlights' field, as needed.

Can I create Success Plans for Accounts and Relationships?

Yes.

Can Admins create Success Plans automatically for accounts and relationships using the Rules Engine?

Yes.

Why does my window goes blank screen when I'm attempting to share a success plan?

You might have included special characters in the Success Plan Name, remove the special characters and try again. 

Can I hide a Success Plan Type, as I do not want my users to use a particular Success Plan Type for some reason? 

You cannot make a Success Plan type inactive. But, you can rename the Success Plan Type Names. This action will change the Type name in all the past entries. 

Related Content

Configure Success Plans for the C360

Create Success Plans in the C360

  • Was this article helpful?