Engagement or Results? What Really Matters in Customer Success

“The customer hasn’t logged in for 10 days. I’m panicking.”

“But… their team just closed their biggest deal using us.”

It’s a familiar debate in the Customer Success world:
Is it more important to drive product engagement and adoption… or to focus on the actual results a customer achieves with your product?

Let’s break it down — story style

🚨 The Log-in Obsession

Your dashboard lights up.
Red flag: inactive account.

You send an email.
No response.

You start sweating.

Then your Slack pings:

Customer: “Hey, just a quick one—we used your tool last week to help prep for a major client pitch. Landed the deal. Thanks again!”

You (thinking): “Wait, what? But… no logins since last week?”

Moral of the story: Product usage isn’t the full picture. Especially for tools that support workflows outside the product (think coaching, strategy, enablement).

Value > Vanity Metrics

Don’t get me wrong—engagement does matter.

A customer using your product regularly is a great sign.
But the real win is when they achieve something meaningful because of it.

“I’d rather have a customer who logs in twice a week and hits revenue targets…
than someone logging in daily without any tangible outcomes.”

Engagement is a means to an end. Not the end itself.

Understanding the Why Behind the Usage

Take this conversation I had last month:

Me: “I noticed your team’s usage has dipped—everything okay?”

Customer: “Yeah, we actually implemented a new workflow based on what we learned from your onboarding. The team doesn’t need to log in much now, but we’re seeing results.”

If I had only chased log-ins and usage stats, I’d have completely missed the fact that we were doing exactly what we were supposed to do: helping the customer succeed.

So What Should We Track?

Glad you asked.

Here’s what we recommend tracking alongside engagement:

• Outcomes tied to business goals (sales closed, time saved, errors reduced)

• Sentiment feedback (CSAT/NPS + qualitative check-ins)

• Milestones achieved (training complete, workflow live, first integration done)

• Retention predictors (are they renewing, expanding, referring?)

And yes—combine this with engagement data like:

• Feature usage

• Active users

• Login frequency

But always ask: “Is this activity translating into impact?”

🎯 Final Take: Stop Measuring Value by Mouse Clicks

Imagine a world where we celebrated the customer getting what they came for, even if they don’t use every bell and whistle we built.

Crazy idea?

Not really.

At the end of the day, the goal isn’t high usage.
It’s high impact.

“Don’t chase dashboards. Chase outcomes.”

TL;DR: What Matters More—Engagement or Value?

✅ Product adoption = important
🏆 Business results = essential

Track both. But give more weight to what your customer actually achieves.

Because when the renewal comes due, they won’t ask themselves,

“How many times did I log in?”
They’ll ask:
“Was this product worth it?”