If you’re managing customer relationships for a SaaS company and you’re tired of staring at a messy list of accounts, this guide is for you. Segmenting customers by lifecycle stage isn’t just a “nice to have”—it’s the difference between reacting to fires and actually doing proactive customer success. I’ll walk you through how to do it using Custify, and I’ll be honest about what’s worth your time and what isn’t.
Why bother with lifecycle segmentation?
Let’s cut to the chase: not all customers need the same thing. Some are kicking the tires; others are deep into renewal talks. If you treat them the same, you’ll annoy the first group and neglect the second. Segmentation helps you:
- Prioritize outreach (stop wasting time on happy, low-touch accounts)
- Spot churn risks before they explode
- Personalize your playbooks
- Prove to your boss that you’re not just “managing accounts”—you’re moving the needle
But don’t overthink it. Start simple. Too many segments and you’ll drown in your own filters.
Step 1: Define your customer lifecycle stages (for real)
Before you open Custify, get clear on what stages actually matter for your business. Ignore any generic “best practices” that don’t fit your reality. Here’s a basic template to start:
- Onboarding: Customers who just signed up and are getting set up
- Active: Regularly using your product—these are your bread and butter
- Adoption/Expansion: Customers trying new features or adding seats
- Renewal: Coming up on contract end or subscription renewal
- Churn risk: Showing signs of trouble (low usage, late payments, etc.)
- Churned: Gone, but maybe not forever
Pro tip: If you can’t describe what triggers a move from one stage to another in one sentence, it’s too complicated. Start broad—you can always split stages later.
Step 2: Map your data fields to lifecycle stages
Custify can’t read your mind. You’ll need to line up your actual customer data with the stages you just defined. This is where most people get stuck, so let’s make it practical.
Ask yourself: - What events or properties signal each stage? (e.g., first login date, contract renewal date, last activity) - Where does that data live? (CRM, product analytics, billing, etc.)
You’ll likely use:
- Account properties (e.g., Created At, Status, Renewal Date)
- Custom fields (e.g., Onboarding Complete?, Risk Score)
- Product usage metrics (e.g., logins, feature adoption)
Don’t waste time: If you don’t have a field or event for a stage, skip it for now. You can always add more data later.
Step 3: Set up filters in Custify
Now for the hands-on part. Log in to Custify and head to your customer list.
How to create a filter
- Open the Customers view.
- Click the “Filters” button (usually top left or right—Custify moves things around sometimes).
- Choose your first filter condition. For example, to find onboarding customers:
Created Atis within the last 30 days-
AND
Onboarding Complete?is false -
Name your filter something obvious, like “Onboarding - Needs Attention.”
-
Save it. Now you can click this filter anytime to see just those customers.
Build filters for each lifecycle stage
- Onboarding:
- Created less than X days ago
- Onboarding not marked complete
-
Usage below Y threshold
-
Active:
- Regular logins or activity
-
Not flagged for renewal or risk
-
Adoption/Expansion:
- Recently enabled a new feature
- Seat/license count increased
-
NPS survey completed recently
-
Renewal:
- Renewal date within 60 days
-
Contract status is “pending renewal”
-
Churn risk:
- Usage dropped by Z% over 30 days
- Support tickets increased
- Late invoice or payment warning
Keep it simple: Start with a couple of fields. If you need a PhD to explain your filters, you’ve gone too far.
Step 4: Test and tweak (don’t just trust the filter)
Filters look perfect in theory, but real data is always messier than you hope.
- Check your segments: Does everyone in “Onboarding” actually need onboarding help, or did someone slip through?
- Spot anomalies: If your “Churn risk” group is empty, your criteria are too strict. If it’s huge, they’re too loose.
- Get feedback: Ask your team if these segments match what they see in their day-to-day.
What to ignore: Don’t chase every outlier right now. Focus on the 80% that fits.
Step 5: Take action—don’t just admire your segments
This is where most teams drop the ball. Segmentation is only useful if it changes what you do.
- Assign owners: Make someone responsible for each stage (e.g., onboarding specialist, renewal manager).
- Automate follow-ups: Use Custify’s playbooks or tasks to trigger emails, calls, or check-ins based on lifecycle stage.
- Measure: Track how many accounts move from one stage to another each month. If nobody ever leaves “Onboarding,” something’s broken.
Pro tip: Don’t spam customers with “engagement” for its own sake. Reach out when there’s a real reason to help them move forward.
What works, what doesn’t, and what to skip
Works well: - Simple, clearly defined stages - Filters based on a small number of solid data points - Regular reviews—filters aren’t “set and forget” - Using filters to trigger focused, human outreach
Doesn’t work: - Overcomplicating segmentation with 10+ micro-stages - Relying on data you don’t actually track or trust - Pretending automation can solve every problem—sometimes you just need to pick up the phone
Ignore this: - Fancy dashboards that don’t help you act - Chasing “AI-powered” predictions if your basic segmentation isn’t dialed in yet - Overly broad or vague criteria (e.g., “low engagement” without specifics)
Common pitfalls (and how to avoid them)
- Stale data: If your CRM or product analytics are out of date, your segments will be, too. Set up regular syncs or audits.
- Ignored filters: Don’t let segments become “set it and forget it.” Schedule a monthly review.
- Trying to be perfect: You’ll never get 100% accuracy. Good enough is good enough—tweak as you learn.
Summary: Keep it simple, keep it useful
Segmenting customers by lifecycle stage in Custify isn’t rocket science, but it takes a bit of upfront thinking. Start with broad strokes, focus on the data you trust, and don’t create more segments than you can actually use. Most importantly, use those segments to drive real action, not just prettier lists.
You’ll get better results by iterating than by over-engineering from the start. Keep things tight, review your filters regularly, and adjust as your business changes. That’s how you get true value from your segmentation—without drowning in the details.