Building a customer health score is a complex, iterative process—and doing it in Salesforce adds another layer of complexity. We've broken it down into six steps, starting simple and gradually layering on complexity.

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1. Get your CS Team Using Salesforce

This is often the hardest step. Habits die hard, and shifting your team away from spreadsheets or standalone tools can feel impossible. Budgeting issues and internal pushback are common. But if you want to truly measure customer health, you need everyone on the same system. Salesforce is that system.

2. Track Customer Interactions

You can't manage what you don't measure. Start by tracking all your customer communications—emails, calls, meetings. Ideally, this is automated. Manual logging is inconsistent and unreliable. (Check out our other post for tips on integrating communication data into Salesforce.)

3. Record Customer Sentiment

CSM input is essential. They know the nuances that data can miss. Have your team regularly record customer sentiment, and track how it evolves over time. Tools like Gauge make this seamless with a built-in sentiment widget you can use on any object.

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4. Track Relevant Metrics

Now it gets more technical. Product data often lives outside your CRM, in application databases or data warehouses. Tools like Census or Hightouch make it easy to sync this data with Salesforce. Start simple: bring in a single rolling metric to make data more accessible to your team. The video below dives into the technical details, if you're interested:

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5. Setup Scoring Algorithm

This can be as simple or as advanced as you want. With Gauge, you can weigh key factors and calculate a health score directly in Salesforce.

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Once you have your score, save it and view it alongside other key metrics. The real value lies in understanding the drivers behind it.

6. Setup Automated Triggers

This is where Salesforce shines. You can set up automations based on any data point. For example, if a health score dips below a threshold, trigger an email alert or suggest a playbook for your CSM. These automations save time and ensure nothing falls through the cracks.

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Start small. Iterate as you go. With the right foundation, you'll not only build a health score that works—you'll uncover insights that transform your customer success strategy.