Renewal Jobs

This guide walks you through configuring a renewal job in Trig, with detailed explanations of why each configuration choice matters and how to think through decisions for your specific business.

Worked Example: Throughout this guide, we’ll follow TeamFlow, a collaborative project management tool with 2,000 customers. Their product is sticky when teams actively use it, but customers who don’t achieve full team adoption often churn at renewal. With only 4 CSMs, they can’t personally manage every renewal.

Why proactive renewal management matters

The renewal reality

By the time a customer tells you they’re not renewing, the decision was made weeks or months ago. The renewal conversation is just the notification—the actual decision happened during:

The month they stopped logging in
The week their champion left
The day they couldn’t get a support issue resolved

Proactive renewal management means detecting these moments early enough to intervene.

The cost of reactive renewal

Approach	Detection Point	Intervention Success
Reactive	Customer says “we’re not renewing”	10-20% save rate
Proactive (late)	30 days before renewal, health check	30-40% save rate
Proactive (early)	60+ days before, warning signs detected	50-70% save rate

Step 1: Define your renewal window

What you’re configuring

The renewal window determines how far in advance of a customer’s renewal date they enter your renewal job.

How to choose your window

Consider your typical “save” conversation timeline:

Window Length	Best For	Considerations
30 days	SMB, self-serve, low-touch	Fast cycles, quick decisions
60 days	Mid-market, moderate touch	Time for 1-2 intervention attempts
90+ days	Enterprise, high-touch	Complex buying processes, multiple stakeholders

Example: TeamFlow’s decision

TeamFlow chose 60 days because their typical “save” conversation requires:

Week 1: Identify the problem (usage drop, champion left, etc.)
Week 2: Diagnostic call with the customer
Weeks 3 to 4: Implement solution (training, configuration change)
Weeks 5 to 6: Verify the solution is working
Weeks 7 to 8: Buffer for delays

Renewal Window: 60 days before renewal date

Step 2: Set your entry criteria

Example configuration

Entry Criteria:
- Renewal date is within 60 days
- Customer status = Active
- Contract type = Annual

Start simple. You can add segment-specific criteria later (e.g., different windows for enterprise vs. SMB).

Step 3: Configure renewal health assessment

Healthy renewal indicators

These signals indicate a customer is on track to renew without intervention:

Indicator	What It Means	How to Measure
Consistent usage	Product is embedded in workflow	DAU/WAU/MAU stable or growing
Recent feature adoption	Still investing in learning	New features used in last 30 days
Expanding usage	More users or use cases	Seat count increase, new team adoption
Support engagement	They ask questions, they care	Support tickets with positive resolution
Champion engagement	Internal advocate is active	Champion user login frequency

TeamFlow’s healthy indicators

Healthy Renewal Indicators:
- Usage in last 14 days: Yes
- Active users: ≥70% of licensed seats
- Champion last login: Within 7 days
- Open escalated tickets: 0

At-risk renewal indicators

These warning signs signal a customer may not renew:

Warning Sign	What It Signals	How to Measure
Usage decline	Decreasing engagement	30%+ drop vs prior period
Champion absence	Advocate has disengaged	No login in 30+ days
Low seat utilisation	Not getting full value	Under 50% of seats active
Support frustration	Unresolved issues	Open tickets, negative sentiment
Invoice issues	Financial friction	Late payments, billing disputes

TeamFlow’s at-risk indicators

At-Risk Renewal Indicators:
- Usage decline: >30% drop in WAU vs 30 days ago
- Champion login: >21 days since last activity
- Seat utilisation: Under 50% of licensed seats active
- Open support tickets: >2 unresolved for >14 days

Pattern recognition

TeamFlow identified four churn patterns from their data:

Pattern 1: The Slow Fade

Signal: Usage drops 30%+ over 30 daysCause: Often happens when a key project ends or team priorities shiftIntervention: Re-engage with new use case discovery

Pattern 2: The Champion Departure

Signal: Primary buyer/champion stops logging inCause: Often means they’ve left the company or changed rolesIntervention: Identify and engage new stakeholder

Pattern 3: The Underutilised Account

Signal: Paying for 20 seats, only 8 active usersCause: Often means the rollout stalled after initial enthusiasmIntervention: Adoption support, training offer

Pattern 4: The Frustrated Customer

Signal: Multiple support tickets unresolved for 14+ daysCause: Often means they’ve hit a wall and are giving upIntervention: Escalation, executive attention

Step 4: Configure at-risk renewal interventions

Trigger configuration

Trigger Condition:
- Customer is within 60 days of renewal
- AND matches any At-Risk Indicator
- AND has not received intervention in last 30 days

OR vs AND Logic: TeamFlow chose OR logic—any single warning sign triggers the job. “We’d rather have false positives than miss a churning customer.”

Step 5: Write your intervention message

Message best practices

Principle	Why It Works	Common Mistake
Plain text format	Feels like a real email	HTML templates scream “marketing automation”
Human sender	People respond to people	”The TeamFlow Team” gets ignored
Acknowledge reality	Shows you’re paying attention	Pretending everything is fine
Offer help, not sales	Reduces defensiveness	”Let’s talk about your renewal” = instant delete
Single ask	Clear next step	Multiple CTAs create paralysis

Example message

Draft 1 (Rejected)
Draft 2 (Approved)

Subject: Your TeamFlow Renewal is Coming Up

Dear {first_name},

We noticed that your annual TeamFlow subscription will be
renewing on {renewal_date}. We wanted to reach out to ensure
you have everything you need for a smooth renewal process.

Our records indicate some changes in your usage patterns
recently. We'd love to schedule a call to discuss how
TeamFlow can continue to support your team's project
management needs.

Please let us know if you have any questions.

Best regards,
The TeamFlow Customer Success Team

Problems:

“Dear” is formal and cold
“The TeamFlow Customer Success Team” isn’t a person
“smooth renewal process” makes it about the transaction
“changes in your usage patterns” is vague and ominous
No specific ask

Subject: Quick question about your team's projects

Hi {first_name},

I noticed your team's activity in [Product] has dropped off
over the past few weeks. Before your renewal comes up in
{days_until_renewal} days, I wanted to check in.

If something's not working the way you need it to, I'd
genuinely like to hear about it — there might be features
or configurations we haven't explored that could help.

Do you have 15 minutes this week for a quick call?

Sarah
Customer Success

Why this works:

“Hi” is warm and normal
Sarah is a real person (or believable persona)
“dropped off” acknowledges reality without accusation
Offers help, not a sales pitch
Single clear ask: 15-minute call

Message variants by trigger

Trigger	Message Focus
Usage drop	”I noticed activity has dropped…”
Champion absent	”I haven’t seen in [Product] recently…”
Low adoption	”I noticed only of your team members are active…”
Support issues	”I saw you’ve had some support tickets open…”

Step 6: Configure sender identity

Options

Sender Type	Best For
Real CSM (dynamic)	Accounts with named CSM relationships
CS Persona (static)	Accounts without assigned CSMs
Functional Role	Transactional communications

TeamFlow’s decision

High-value accounts (>$25K): Email from actual assigned CSM
All other accounts: Email from “Sarah Chen” — a shared persona that any team member can respond as

Step 7: Set message timing

Timing considerations

Option	Trade-off
Immediately	Maximum relevance, unpredictable timing
Wait X hours	Less urgency, allows batching
Next business day, specific time	Predictable, but less contextual
Customer timezone optimised	Best of both, requires timezone data

TeamFlow’s decision

Message Timing:
- Within 25 minutes of trigger
- Delivery window: 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM customer timezone
- If trigger fires outside window, queue for next available slot

Step 8: Configure internal escalation

Tiered escalation system

Tier	Trigger	Channel	Action Expected
1: Standard	All at-risk triggers	#renewals-at-risk Slack	CSM reviews, decides on follow-up
2: High-Value	$25K+ contracts	CSM DM + Manager	Same-day review, potential executive outreach
3: Critical	Multiple at-risk signals, under 30 days	CS Manager + VP Sales	Executive intervention, discount authority

Sample Slack notification

🚨 At-Risk Renewal Alert

Customer: Acme Corp
Contract Value: $18,000/year
Renewal Date: March 15 (47 days)

Warning Signs Detected:
• Usage down 42% vs last month
• Primary contact last login: 28 days ago

Automated intervention sent to: john.smith@acme.com
Subject: "Quick question about your team's projects"

📊 View in Trig → [link]

Step 9: Configure follow-up logic

Follow-up sequence

Day	Action
Day 0	Initial intervention message sent
Day 5	If no response → Send follow-up message
Day 10	If no response → Internal escalation
Day 14	If no response → Phone call attempt (high-value)

Follow-up message

Subject: Re: Quick question about your team's projects

Hi {first_name},

Just floating this back up—I'd love to help if something's
not working the way you need.

Even a quick reply with what's going on would help me point
you in the right direction.

Sarah

Step 10: Define success metrics

Metrics to track

Metric	What It Measures
At-risk identification rate	% of renewals flagged as at-risk
Intervention response rate	% who reply or engage
Save rate	% of at-risk customers who renew
False positive rate	% flagged at-risk who would have renewed anyway
Net retention	Overall renewal + expansion revenue

Benchmarking

Metric	Target
At-risk identification	20-30% of renewals
Intervention response	15-25%
Save rate (with intervention)	40-60%
Save rate (without intervention)	10-20%

Summary checklist

Renewal window defined (30 to 90 days based on sales cycle)

Entry criteria set (active, annual contracts)

Healthy indicators defined (4 to 5 positive signals)

At-risk indicators defined (4 to 5 warning signs)

Trigger logic configured (OR vs AND)

Plain text intervention message written

Sender identity configured

Message timing set (business hours, customer timezone)

Internal escalation tiers configured

Follow-up sequence designed

Success metrics defined

Next steps

Configure Onboarding Jobs

Get customers to their “aha moment” before they give up

Using Signals Guide

Proactively surface and act on customers who need attention

Getting Started

Core Concepts

Guides

Use Cases

Resources

​Why proactive renewal management matters

​The renewal reality

​The cost of reactive renewal

​Step 1: Define your renewal window

​What you’re configuring

​How to choose your window

​Example: TeamFlow’s decision

​Step 2: Set your entry criteria

​Example configuration

​Step 3: Configure renewal health assessment

​Healthy renewal indicators

​TeamFlow’s healthy indicators

​At-risk renewal indicators

​TeamFlow’s at-risk indicators

​Pattern recognition

​Step 4: Configure at-risk renewal interventions

​Trigger configuration

​Step 5: Write your intervention message

​Message best practices

​Example message

​Message variants by trigger

​Step 6: Configure sender identity

​Options

​TeamFlow’s decision

​Step 7: Set message timing

​Timing considerations

​TeamFlow’s decision

​Step 8: Configure internal escalation

​Tiered escalation system

​Sample Slack notification

​Step 9: Configure follow-up logic

​Follow-up sequence

​Follow-up message

​Step 10: Define success metrics

​Metrics to track

​Benchmarking

​Summary checklist

​Next steps

Configure Onboarding Jobs

Using Signals Guide

Why proactive renewal management matters

The renewal reality

The cost of reactive renewal

Step 1: Define your renewal window

What you’re configuring

How to choose your window

Example: TeamFlow’s decision

Step 2: Set your entry criteria

Example configuration

Step 3: Configure renewal health assessment

Healthy renewal indicators

TeamFlow’s healthy indicators

At-risk renewal indicators

TeamFlow’s at-risk indicators

Pattern recognition

Step 4: Configure at-risk renewal interventions

Trigger configuration

Step 5: Write your intervention message

Message best practices

Example message

Message variants by trigger

Step 6: Configure sender identity

Options

TeamFlow’s decision

Step 7: Set message timing

Timing considerations

TeamFlow’s decision

Step 8: Configure internal escalation

Tiered escalation system

Sample Slack notification

Step 9: Configure follow-up logic

Follow-up sequence

Follow-up message

Step 10: Define success metrics

Metrics to track

Benchmarking

Summary checklist

Next steps