If you’re managing SaaS customers and tired of chasing spreadsheets or just guessing where accounts get stuck, setting up customer journey milestones in Vitally will save your sanity. This guide is for anyone who wants to actually use their customer data, not just stare at dashboards. Whether you’re new to Vitally or trying to wrangle it into something useful, you’ll find clear, no-nonsense steps here.
Why customer journey milestones matter (and where people mess up)
Customer journey milestones are specific checkpoints—like “Onboarded,” “Launched,” “First Value”—that show where a customer is in their lifecycle. They’re supposed to help you spot risks, see wins, and know where to focus. But here’s where most people go wrong:
- They track too many things, so they drown in noise.
- They get vague (“Active User!”) instead of specific.
- They automate everything and lose touch with what’s actually meaningful.
The goal: set up a handful of real milestones that actually tell you something. Then, use Vitally to track and act on them—without making it your full-time job.
Step 1: Define your core milestones before opening Vitally
Don’t start clicking around blindly. First, sketch out the 4–7 biggest moments in your customer journey. These should be real, observable checkpoints, not fuzzy feelings.
Examples: - Account created - Onboarding complete - First data sync - First project launched - First renewal
Pro tips: - If you can’t measure or see it in your product, it’s probably not a good milestone. - Ask your team: “If a customer hits this, do we care? Does it change what we do?”
Skip brainstorming sessions with 20 “stakeholders.” Get input from your frontline CSMs and pick what actually matters.
Step 2: Map your milestones to real data sources
Vitally only works if you feed it something real. For each milestone, figure out where you can get the signal:
- Product events (e.g., first API call, data import)
- CRM updates (e.g., deal closed, contract signed)
- Manual CSM input (when there’s no clean data source)
What not to do:
Don’t create milestones you “wish” you could track but can’t yet. Start with what you have. You can always improve later.
Step 3: Set up milestones in Vitally
Now, the hands-on part. Vitally calls these “Milestones,” and they’re built to be flexible (sometimes too flexible—don’t overcomplicate it).
a. Go to the Milestones section
- In Vitally’s sidebar, find the “Milestones” tab or section.
- Click “Add Milestone” or the equivalent button.
b. Name and describe each milestone
- Use clear, literal names (“First Project Launched,” not “Customer Success Achieved”).
- Add a short description so teammates know what it means.
c. Choose how the milestone is triggered
- Automatically: If you have product events or CRM data flowing into Vitally, set up rules (e.g., “When event X occurs, mark Milestone as complete”).
- Manually: For anything that still needs a human touch, let CSMs check it off.
Pitfall alert:
Don’t over-engineer. If an API event covers 90% of cases, live with the edge cases for now. Manual exceptions can be handled as one-offs.
d. Set milestone order (optional, but recommended)
Drag milestones into the expected order—this helps with reporting and makes the journey clearer. Don’t stress about getting it perfect.
Step 4: Test your milestone tracking (don’t skip this)
Before rolling out to the whole team, pick a handful of accounts and make sure milestones trigger as expected.
- Does the “First Data Sync” milestone actually move when a customer syncs data?
- Are there false positives or missed milestones?
- Can CSMs update things manually if needed?
What often goes wrong: - Data mapping errors (event doesn’t match, so milestone never moves) - Overly strict logic (nobody ever qualifies) - “Test” accounts polluting reports
Fix these now, not after the team has already built processes around bad data.
Step 5: Build simple reports and alerts
Once milestones are tracking, make them visible and actionable.
a. Dashboards
- Set up a basic dashboard showing accounts by milestone stage.
- Don’t try to build a fancy funnel right away—just see who’s stuck and who’s moving.
b. Alerts
- Create alerts for milestones that don’t get hit in X days (e.g., “Onboarding not complete after 14 days”).
- Start with broad alerts, then get more specific if needed.
c. Segment accounts by milestone
- Use segments to filter accounts by where they are in the journey.
- This makes it easy to pull lists for outreach or check-ins.
Don’t:
Try to automate every email or task from day one. Start with visibility—then add automation for the steps you’re confident about.
Step 6: Train your team (and actually use the data)
Even the best setup falls apart if nobody trusts it or uses it.
- Do a short walk-through with your CSMs. Show them how to update and use milestones.
- Explain what each milestone means, and why you’re tracking it.
- Get feedback—are there milestones that don’t make sense, or steps that are a pain?
Tip:
If you need a 20-page playbook to explain your milestones, they’re too complicated. Make changes as you learn.
Step 7: Monitor and iterate (this is ongoing, not “set and forget”)
Milestones aren’t a “launch it and leave it” thing. Every few weeks or months:
- Review which milestones are actually being hit.
- Drop any that nobody cares about.
- Add new ones if you find a stage you’re missing (but don’t bloat the list).
- Check that triggers are still working as expected (especially after product changes).
What works, what doesn’t, and what to ignore
What works: - Focusing on a handful of clear, measurable milestones - Using existing product or CRM data for automation - Training your team to actually use the milestones
What doesn’t: - Overcomplicating with 15+ milestones or vague stages - Relying only on automation if your data is messy - Ignoring feedback from your CSMs (they’ll just bypass the system)
Ignore: - Vendor pitches about “AI-powered journey mapping” until you nail the basics - Fancy visualizations that don’t help you take action
Keep it simple and keep improving
You don’t need a perfect customer journey map. You need a system that tells you, at a glance, where customers are and who needs help. Start small, get your team involved, and tweak as you go. Most importantly, use your milestones to drive better conversations and decisions—not just to make pretty reports.
If you do that, you’ll get real value out of Vitally, without all the noise.