A cadence is a promise
A check-in cadence is the regular rhythm of meetings you keep with a customer: how often, with whom, and for what. Done well, it means problems surface early, the customer feels looked after, and nobody is surprised at renewal time. Done badly, it becomes a recurring meeting that both sides quietly start to skip.
The right cadence is not "as often as possible". It is as often as the relationship needs, with every meeting worth the customer's time.
Segment before you schedule
You cannot meet every customer every week, and you should not try. Group customers by what they need from you:
- Value and complexity. Large or complex accounts need more contact, and more senior contact.
- Stage. A customer in onboarding needs far more attention than one in a stable second year.
- Risk. Low usage, a recent escalation, or a change of sponsor all justify more contact for a while.
- Preference. Some customers want frequent calls; others prefer to be left alone until something matters. Ask.
A simple three-tier model is enough for most teams, with a different rhythm for each tier, and room to move an account between tiers as things change.
The meetings in a typical year
For a mid-sized B2B customer, a year might include:
| Meeting | When | With whom | | --- | --- | --- | | Kickoff | At the start | Sponsor, project lead, users | | Onboarding check-ins | Weekly or fortnightly at first | Project lead | | Regular check-ins | Monthly, once stable | Day-to-day owner | | Business reviews | Quarterly or twice a year | Sponsor and key users | | Renewal meeting | Months before the contract ends | Sponsor and decision-maker |
Smaller customers may get group sessions, office hours, or a lighter-touch version. The largest may also join a customer advisory board or meet your executives at events.
Making check-ins worth attending
A check-in that exists only because it is in the calendar is quickly skipped. Give each one a purpose.
- Send a short agenda in advance, and ask the customer to add to it.
- Bring something useful: an observation about their usage, a tip relevant to their goals, a heads-up about an upcoming change.
- Track open actions from the previous check-in, and close them.
- Keep it short. Thirty minutes is usually plenty, and fifteen is fine if there is little to discuss.
- Cancel when there is nothing to discuss, with a short note offering to talk if anything comes up. That is more respectful than a meeting with no content.
When to change the cadence
Adjust the rhythm when the situation changes, not just at the start of the year:
- Increase it after an escalation, during a big rollout, when a sponsor changes, or when usage falls.
- Reduce it when the customer is stable and tells you a lighter touch suits them.
- Change the attendees when the relationship needs it, such as bringing in a senior colleague after a difficult escalation.
Keeping it on the calendar
- Book the rhythm ahead, as recurring meetings or a quarter at a time, so it does not depend on someone remembering.
- Keep one owner for each account, who knows about every meeting.
- Record outcomes against the account, so a colleague covering a holiday knows what was discussed.
- Review the cadence each quarter across your portfolio, to see where you are over- or under-serving.
CallShark is being built to schedule customer meetings with the right people from both sides, and keep their outcomes attached to the account. The product is temporarily down.