Definition
Customer success cost is the cost of onboarding, support, and success motions required to retain and expand customers. It should be included in unit economics when material.
How to use it
- Include CS cost when evaluating contribution margin and payback.
- Track CS cost per account by segment; enterprise motions are heavier.
- Allocate shared CS costs consistently across segments and periods.
- Include tooling and enablement costs when they are material.
Common mistakes
- Ignoring CS costs in LTV or payback calculations.
- Mixing support-only costs with success costs without clarity.
Why this matters
This term matters because small changes compound in SaaS metrics. Use consistent definitions by cohort and segment so you can diagnose retention, payback, and growth quality.
Practical checklist
- Write a 1-line definition for "Customer Success Cost" that your team will use consistently.
- Keep the time window consistent (weekly/monthly/quarterly) when comparing trends.
- Segment results (channel/plan/cohort) before drawing big conclusions from blended averages.
- Sanity-check with a related calculator from the same category on MetricKit.
- Read the related guide (e.g., Unit economics hub: CAC, LTV, payback, and runway (a practical stack)) for context and common pitfalls.
Where to use this on MetricKit
Calculators
- MRR Churn Rate Calculator: Calculate MRR churn rate from churned MRR and starting MRR (with monthly-equivalent conversion).
- ARR Calculator: Estimate Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) from customers and ARPA.
- ARR vs MRR Calculator: Convert ARR to MRR (and MRR to ARR) and understand the ARR vs MRR relationship.
- ARR Growth Rate Calculator: Calculate ARR growth over a period and convert it to CMGR and annualized growth (CAGR).
- ARR Valuation Calculator: Estimate a SaaS valuation from ARR and a revenue multiple (ARR valuation).
Guides
- Unit economics hub: CAC, LTV, payback, and runway (a practical stack): A practical hub for unit economics: CAC, fully-loaded CAC, LTV, payback, margin impacts, burn multiple, and runway planning.
- Unit economics dashboard: LTV, CAC, payback, and what to improve: A practical guide to unit economics: how to compute gross profit LTV, CAC payback, and LTV:CAC (and what levers improve them).