Question 1

What is The CS Quarterly?

Accepted Answer

The CS Quarterly is a weekly dispatch and operating platform for Customer Success leaders. We publish one essay every Tuesday, maintain a Codex of playbooks, and ship operator-grade tools (diagnostics, dashboards, decision canvases) for VPs, Directors, and Senior CSMs at SaaS companies between $20M and $1B ARR.

Question 2

How often do you publish?

Accepted Answer

One dispatch every Tuesday. No daily noise, no clickbait, no SEO filler. Each dispatch follows our 3-2-1 model: three facts, two insights, one actionable.

Question 3

Who is this for?

Accepted Answer

Operators who own retention and expansion outcomes — typically VPs of CS, Directors, Senior CSMs, and Heads of Post-Sales at B2B SaaS companies. If you're benchmarking against 120% NRR, you're our reader.

Question 4

Is it free?

Accepted Answer

The weekly briefing, public archive, Retention Ledger ticker, and the free top-line AI Readiness score are all free. Deeper tools (full Codex, Custom Blueprints, CSFactors, Lumi canvas runs) sit behind paid tiers.

Question 5

How do I subscribe?

Accepted Answer

Use Subscribe in the footer to join the free briefing, or visit Pricing to compare paid tiers (Vanguard, Practitioner, Operator, Team, Scale, Enterprise).

Question 6

Who or what is Lumi?

Accepted Answer

Lumi is the single AI agent that powers the entire product — both on the marketing site (essays, Codex) and inside CSFactors (canvas, dashboards). Lumi answers framework questions, runs structured decision canvases, summarizes your workspace, and surfaces signals across your portfolio.

Question 7

How does the Decision Canvas work?

Accepted Answer

Ask Lumi a renewal, expansion, or escalation question. Lumi runs it through a structured framework tree, returns a sourced response with zones (Themes, Action Items, Watchlist), and saves the run to your workspace. Each completed run counts toward your monthly Lumi usage.

Question 8

What counts as a Lumi run?

Accepted Answer

Any completed canvas execution or workspace summary export counts as one run. Browsing a saved run, re-reading it, or sharing it does not consume usage.

Question 9

How many Lumi runs do I get?

Accepted Answer

Practitioner includes 50 runs/month, Operator 100, Team 500, Scale 2000, Enterprise 5000. Runs reset on your billing date and do not roll over.

Question 10

Can I share a Lumi run with someone outside the site?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Every run has a public share link. Anonymous viewers can read up to the 50% scroll point. To unlock the rest, they share their email and instantly get free Reader access — they can keep reading the run and explore the public side of the site.

Question 11

Can I speak to Lumi instead of typing?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Lumi supports voice input on both the global agent button and the CSFactors drawer, powered by ElevenLabs speech-to-text. Tap the mic, dictate, tap to stop.

Question 12

What is the Lumi Debrief?

Accepted Answer

When you scroll to ~90% of a dispatch, Lumi slides in with a debrief card. The opening question is generated from the dispatch's '1 actionable' (the third pillar of our 3-2-1 model), and your conversation is saved to your Situation Room automatically. Free readers get one debrief per month; paid tiers count it as one Lumi run from your monthly pool.

Question 13

What are dispatch reactions?

Accepted Answer

At the end of every dispatch, you tap one of four reactions: 'Changed how I'll approach an account this week', 'Gave me language I didn't have', 'Confirmed something I already believed', or 'I disagree with the thesis.' One signal per reader per article. Results are shown to all readers (e.g. '61% of operators said this changed their approach this week') and feed the editorial dashboard.

Question 14

What happens when I tap 'I disagree with the thesis'?

Accepted Answer

Lumi opens an inline pushback thread asking where the thesis breaks for you. The conversation is saved to your Situation Room and the editorial team uses these threads — anonymously — to calibrate future dispatches. The disagree reaction itself is free; follow-up turns in the thread count as Lumi runs like any other conversation.

Question 15

What is my Workspace?

Accepted Answer

Your Workspace is the private home for everything you've saved: pinned essays, highlights, Lumi runs, annotations, and ad-hoc notes. It's the read-and-act layer that sits between the dispatch and your day job.

Question 16

How do PDF exports work?

Accepted Answer

Open Export PDF from the account menu or the Workspace header. Pick the articles and Lumi runs you want to include, optionally add a Lumi-Summarized workspace digest, and download. Every PDF is rendered in our dark-mode brand template (midnight-blue ground, gold accents, cream text) and personalized with your first name.

Question 17

What is a Lumi-Summarized export?

Accepted Answer

A Lumi-generated digest of your recent workspace activity, organized into Themes, Action Items, and Watchlist. It counts as one Lumi run against your monthly usage.

Question 18

Where are my highlights stored?

Accepted Answer

In your Workspace, scoped to your account. Highlights persist across devices once you're signed in.

Question 19

What is CSFactors?

Accepted Answer

CSFactors is the operator dashboard inside the platform: portfolio analytics, account health, renewals pipeline, expansion opportunities, stakeholder maps, and CTAs (Calls to Action). It's the daily console for a CS leader running a book of business.

Question 20

Which tier unlocks CSFactors?

Accepted Answer

Practitioner and above. Operator adds the executive analytics layer (NRR waterfall, retention funnel, stakeholder radar, team leaderboard).

Question 21

What's a CTA in CSFactors?

Accepted Answer

A Call to Action — a triggered task on a specific account (e.g. "low usage 14 days", "renewal in 60d, no champion mapped"). CTAs are how the system tells you what to act on today.

Question 22

What's a Stakeholder Map?

Accepted Answer

A visual mapping of every contact at an account, scored by influence, sentiment, and engagement. Use it to spot champion dependency risk before it bites you at renewal.

Question 23

How does the AI Readiness Diagnostic work?

Accepted Answer

Five minutes, 32 metrics across 8 dimensions. You get a free top-line band (Reactive / Operational / Predictive) instantly. Paid tiers unlock the 12-page Custom Blueprint with prioritized fixes.

Question 24

What's the Champion Dependency diagnostic?

Accepted Answer

A focused diagnostic that flags accounts where retention is dangerously tied to a single contact. Outputs risk score and a mitigation playbook.

Question 25

What's the ROI Calculator?

Accepted Answer

A model that translates CS investment (headcount, tooling, programs) into projected NRR uplift, payback period, and gross margin impact. Useful for budget conversations with your CFO.

Question 26

What are the NRR Benchmarks?

Accepted Answer

Anonymized quarterly data from operators in our community, segmented by ARR band, segment (SMB / Mid-Market / Enterprise), and motion (PLG / Sales-led / Hybrid).

Question 27

What are the four editorial sections?

Accepted Answer

The CS Vanguard (news & field reports), The Retention Protocol (playbooks & frameworks), The Outcome Forum (validated case studies), and The CS Codex (reference library).

Question 28

What's the Two-Voice System?

Accepted Answer

Every premium essay is written in two parallel registers: Analytical (structured, McKinsey-tone) and Witty (narrative, Wodehouse-tone). Toggle inline. Same argument, same facts, two reading experiences.

Question 29

What's the 3-2-1 model?

Accepted Answer

Our editorial spine: every new article delivers three facts, two insights, and one actionable. No filler, no recap, no "5 things" listicles.

Question 30

Can I submit a guest piece?

Accepted Answer

We don't accept unsolicited submissions but we do commission operator essays for The Outcome Forum. Pitch via the contact link in the footer.

Question 31

How does the editorial team use reader signals?

Accepted Answer

Every dispatch ends with one structured question — 'What did this change for you?' — and four reactions. The admin Reader Signals dashboard surfaces per-dispatch breakdowns and a disagree-rate, plus the full pushback threads readers start with Lumi. Theses with high disagree-rates get revisited; the strongest counter-arguments often seed the next dispatch.

Question 32

What does '61% of operators said this changed their approach' mean?

Accepted Answer

It's the live aggregate of reader reactions on that specific dispatch. Updated as new readers signal in. One signal per reader per article — readers may change their choice but it never double-counts.

Question 33

What tiers are available?

Accepted Answer

Free Briefing, Vanguard, Practitioner ($39/mo), Operator ($89/mo), Team, Scale, and Enterprise. Pricing and entitlements live on /pricing.

Question 34

How do I sign in?

Accepted Answer

Email/password or Google. Use the sign-in link in the header.

Question 35

How do I cancel or change plan?

Accepted Answer

Account → Billing. Changes take effect at the end of your current billing cycle. No retention dark patterns.

Question 36

Do you offer team or enterprise pricing?

Accepted Answer

Yes — Team, Scale, and Enterprise tiers include seat pools, shared workspaces, and admin controls. Contact us via the footer for Enterprise quotes.

Question 37

Do you offer refunds?

Accepted Answer

Within 14 days of your first paid charge, full refund, no questions. After that, billing is non-refundable but you can cancel anytime to stop future charges.

Question 38

Does the Lumi Debrief count toward my monthly Lumi limit?

Accepted Answer

Free readers get one debrief per month, standalone — it doesn't touch any other quota because there isn't one. Paid tiers (Practitioner and above) count each debrief as one Lumi run from your monthly pool, the same as any other Lumi conversation.

Question 39

Do dispatch reactions or pushback threads cost a Lumi run?

Accepted Answer

Tapping one of the four reactions is always free. If you choose 'I disagree with the thesis,' Lumi opens a pushback thread — the opening question is free; subsequent turns in that thread count as Lumi runs from your monthly pool, the same as any other conversation.

Question 40

Where is my data stored?

Accepted Answer

On managed infrastructure with row-level security. Your Workspace data, Lumi runs, and highlights are private to your account.

Question 41

Do you train AI models on my data?

Accepted Answer

No. Your Workspace content, Lumi prompts, and account data are never used to train third-party models.

Question 42

What happens when I delete my account?

Accepted Answer

Your Workspace, highlights, runs, and personal data are permanently deleted within 30 days. Anonymous aggregate benchmarks remain.

Question 43

How do I unsubscribe from emails?

Accepted Answer

Every email has a one-click unsubscribe footer link, or use /unsubscribe directly.

Question 44

What is Reader access?

Accepted Answer

Reader is the free tier that anonymous visitors unlock by sharing their email when they hit the paywall on a shared Lumi run. Reader includes the weekly briefing, the public archive, and continued access to any shared run.

Question 45

Why am I being asked for an email on a shared run?

Accepted Answer

Shared runs are gated past the 50% scroll mark. Sharing your email unlocks the full run instantly and grants Reader access — no credit card, no spam.

Question 46

Does the gated viewer get redirected to the original run?

Accepted Answer

Yes. After unlocking, the viewer stays on the original run page and a welcome popup confirms what they've unlocked before fading away.

Question 47

What does NRR mean?

Accepted Answer

Net Revenue Retention — recurring revenue from existing customers including expansion, minus churn and contraction, over the prior period.

Question 48

What does GRR mean?

Accepted Answer

Gross Revenue Retention — recurring revenue retained from existing customers, excluding any expansion.

Question 49

What does ARR mean?

Accepted Answer

Annual Recurring Revenue — the annualized value of a SaaS contract base at a point in time.

Question 50

What does MRR mean?

Accepted Answer

Monthly Recurring Revenue — the monthly equivalent of ARR, normalized across contract lengths.

Question 51

What does ACV mean?

Accepted Answer

Annual Contract Value — the average annualized revenue per customer contract.

Question 52

What does TCV mean?

Accepted Answer

Total Contract Value — total committed revenue across the full contract term.

Question 53

What does QBR mean?

Accepted Answer

Quarterly Business Review — a structured executive check-in tying product usage to business outcomes.

Question 54

What does EBR mean?

Accepted Answer

Executive Business Review — a higher-altitude QBR aimed at C-level stakeholders.

Question 55

What does CSM mean?

Accepted Answer

Customer Success Manager — owner of post-sale retention and expansion for a portfolio of accounts.

Question 56

What does CSQL mean?

Accepted Answer

Customer Success Qualified Lead — an expansion opportunity surfaced and validated by CS before handoff to sales.

Question 57

What does TTV mean?

Accepted Answer

Time to Value — elapsed time between a customer signing and realizing the first measurable outcome.

Question 58

What does LTV mean?

Accepted Answer

Lifetime Value — the projected gross profit a customer generates across their full tenure.

Question 59

What does CAC mean?

Accepted Answer

Customer Acquisition Cost — fully loaded sales and marketing spend to land one new customer.

Question 60

What does PLG mean?

Accepted Answer

Product-Led Growth — a go-to-market motion where product usage drives acquisition, expansion, and retention.

Question 61

What does NPS mean?

Accepted Answer

Net Promoter Score — likelihood-to-recommend metric on a 0–10 scale, surfaced as promoters minus detractors.

Question 62

What does CSAT mean?

Accepted Answer

Customer Satisfaction — short-interval rating of a specific interaction or moment.

Question 63

What does RACI mean?

Accepted Answer

Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, Informed — a role-mapping grid for cross-functional decisions.

Question 64

What does THI mean?

Accepted Answer

True Health Index — composite account-health signal blending usage, sentiment, and commercial posture.

Everything, in one place.

The Basics

Lumi — your CS agent

Workspace & Exports

CSFactors — the command centre

Diagnostics, Benchmarks & Calculators

Editorial

Account, Billing & Tiers

Privacy, Data & Security

Glossary

Troubleshooting & Contact