Customer health scores are like a "check engine light" for your business relationships. They help you predict whether a customer is likely to stay or churn by analyzing data like product usage, support tickets, and feedback. HubSpot makes tracking these scores easier with tools that automate scoring, integrate with your CRM, and trigger actions when customers need attention.

Here’s how to get started:

• Set Up: HubSpot's health scoring is available with Service Hub Professional or Enterprise plans. Ensure you have the right permissions and a configured Customer Success Workspace.
• Build Scores: Use templates or create custom criteria to track key behaviors like feature adoption or support interactions. Assign points to actions, and cap scores at 100 for clarity.
• Test & Activate: Validate scores using sample records and adjust thresholds as needed. Once ready, activate the system to track customer health in real time.
• Automate Responses: Use workflows to notify teams, assign tasks, or send alerts based on score changes.
• Monitor Trends: Add health scores to dashboards for ongoing tracking and adjust criteria every 3–6 months.

Customer Health Score in HubSpot: The Complete Setup Guide

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What You Need Before Setting Up Health Scores

Before diving into customer health scores, make sure your HubSpot subscription and permissions are in order. HubSpot’s health scoring tools are available only with Service Hub Professional or Enterprise subscriptions ^[1]. If you’re using the Starter plan or just the Marketing or Sales Hub, these features won’t be accessible.

You’ll also need a Service Seat assigned to your user and the right permissions - specifically, either "Manage Customer Success Settings" or "Super Admin." Without these permissions, you won’t be able to access the configuration area or publish health scores in your CRM.

The number of health scores you can create depends on your subscription tier. Service Hub Professional users can build 1 active health score and up to 5 draft scores, while Enterprise users can create up to 10 active health scores and 20 drafts ^[1]. If you’re managing multiple product lines or customer segments, the Enterprise plan gives you the flexibility to set up tailored scores for each group. Once these prerequisites are sorted, you can move on to finding the Health Scores tab.

How to Find the Health Scores Tab

After confirming your subscription and permissions, head to the health score setup area. Start by clicking Service in the top navigation bar of your HubSpot dashboard, then select Customer Success. In the top right corner of the Customer Success workspace, click the settings gear icon to access the Health Scores tab ^[1]. This is where you can create, test, and manage your customer health scores.

Make sure your Customer Success Workspace is configured correctly ^[1]. This includes defining which objects (like Contacts, Companies, or Custom Objects) represent your customers and assigning a HubSpot user property to indicate the Customer Success Manager (CSM) for each account. Without this setup, the health score tool won’t function as intended.

Step 1: Create a Customer Health Score in HubSpot

To start building a customer health score in HubSpot, go to the Health Scores tab and click Create a health score. This opens the builder, where you can choose between two options: using predefined templates (Take me to setup) or creating custom criteria from scratch (Start from scratch). Your choice depends on whether your business relies on standard metrics or needs more tailored tracking. Once you've decided, define which company or contact segments the score will apply to.

HubSpot allows you to assign the score to up to five company or contact segments for each customer health score. This is particularly helpful if you handle diverse customer groups, such as enterprise clients versus small businesses. For those using the Enterprise plan, you can create up to 10 unique models tailored to different segments ^[1][4].

Select Segments for Companies or Contacts

Under the Companies or Contacts tab, use the dropdown menu to select the segments you want to score. You can choose to score all records (with optional exclusions) or narrow it down to specific segments. If you don’t see the segment you need, you can create a new one directly within the builder. This feature is especially handy for monitoring distinct customer journeys, like onboarding groups or accounts leveraging specific features.

Start from Scratch or Use Predefined Groups

If you’re looking for a quicker setup, predefined groups can give you a head start. HubSpot offers five templates: 1:1 Engagement, 1:1 Call Engagement, Supported Tickets, CSM Sentiment, and NPS. These templates are ideal if your focus aligns with common SaaS metrics. However, if you need to track unique behaviors - like advanced feature adoption or customer advocacy activities (e.g., G2 reviews) - starting from scratch may be the better option ^[1][3].

"The best health scores aren't built in boardrooms - they're battle-tested with real customers. Let the data tell you what matters" ^[4].

This feature integrates seamlessly with your HubSpot CRM, ensuring your customer data translates into actionable insights. And don’t worry - if you leave the builder without publishing, your progress will automatically save as a draft ^[1].

Step 2: Set Up Score Criteria and Calculations

To create an effective scoring system, you need to define criteria that adjust scores based on specific customer actions and static data. HubSpot organizes these into two main categories: event groups (tracking actions like meetings or form submissions) and property groups (measuring static data such as NPS scores or industry type).

The concept of groups plays a central role here. Groups act as containers for related criteria and include a cap on the total points they can contribute to the overall score. For instance, you might set up an event group called "Product Usage" to track logins and feature adoption, setting a maximum of 40 points. This ensures that engagement metrics don’t overshadow other critical factors, such as customer sentiment. Once your groups are outlined, you’ll configure them by adding specific event or property criteria.

Add Event and Property Groups

To create an event group, go to the Calculations tab and click + Add event group. Select an event type and apply filters to focus on relevant actions. For example, you could track meetings with an outcome of "Completed" instead of "No-show." Set additional parameters like timeframe (e.g., within the last 30 days) and frequency (e.g., at least 3 occurrences).

For property groups, click + Add property group and then + Add property criteria. Choose between Contact/Company properties or Associated object properties, select an operator (e.g., "is equal to any of"), and input your values. This approach is especially useful for tracking metrics like NPS scores, subscription levels, or customer success manager (CSM) sentiment ratings.

If your scoring needs align with HubSpot’s default templates, you can use those to save time.

Assign Points to Criteria

Once your groups are set up, assign specific point values to each criterion. Positive points should reward healthy behaviors (e.g., completing onboarding), while negative points flag warning signs (e.g., failed payments). Use the "Score Together" option to add points once per criterion or "Score Individually" to add points for each occurrence. Keep the total score across all groups capped at 100 for a balanced and easy-to-interpret system ^[4].

For example, if you’re tracking support tickets, "Score Individually" allows you to assign different point values to "Low Priority" versus "Critical" tickets.

To avoid inflated scores from repetitive actions (e.g., multiple email opens), use the "Limit to" feature to cap points for recurring behaviors. Additionally, enable Decay to reduce the weight of older events - like applying a 50% reduction every 30 days - so recent activity carries more significance.

"Weights are important because they let you prioritize the metrics that matter most. Without weights, every metric would count equally, which might not reflect how your business actually works." - Origin 63 ^[7]

Businesses with dedicated customer success teams see a 34% lower churn rate and a 31% increase in customer lifetime value ^[3]. This underscores the importance of assigning points that accurately align with the factors driving retention in your business.

Step 3: Configure Weights, Thresholds, and Labels

Now that you've outlined your scoring criteria, it's time to fine-tune the system by assigning weights and setting clear thresholds. This step turns raw scores into a practical tool your customer success team can rely on every day.

Assign Weights to Signals

Start by giving each event or property group a "Max points" value, ensuring the total adds up to 100 points ^[7]. Focus on the metrics that are the strongest predictors of churn or growth. For instance, if product usage is your most reliable indicator of customer health, assign a larger portion of the total points to that metric. On the flip side, you can apply negative weights for warning signs like missed logins, failed payments, or low NPS scores.

Set Thresholds and Labels

Head to the Settings tab in your health score setup, and find the "Health score threshold" section. Here, you’ll define numeric ranges and link them to specific labels and color codes. A common approach is the traffic light system:

• Green (70–100): Indicates "Satisfied"
• Yellow (40–69): Indicates "Neutral"
• Red (0–39): Indicates "Unhappy"

Once activated, the system creates two properties: a numeric health score and a health status label based on these thresholds. These labels are displayed on the Health Score card in the record sidebar and can also be added as a column in your Customer Success Workspace for quick access.

Health Status	Score Range	Color Code	Recommended Action
Satisfied	70–100	Green	Explore upsell opportunities or ask for testimonials
Neutral	40–69	Yellow	Schedule check-ins or share training materials
Unhappy	0–39	Red	Launch immediate outreach with a personalized "Save Plan"

Keep It Dynamic

Revisit these thresholds every 3–6 months, using churn data to ensure your system reflects actual risks. Companies with dedicated customer success teams see a 34% drop in churn rates and a 31% boost in customer lifetime value ^[3]. This shows that regularly refining your thresholds can make a real difference.

Step 4: Test and Activate the Health Score

Before rolling out your health score to the team, make sure it works as intended. HubSpot provides two main tools for testing: Test a record for individual validation and Preview distribution for a broader analysis of your database^[5].

Test on Sample Records

To test a specific record, click Actions in the score builder and choose Test a [contact/company/deal]. This will display the total score for the selected record, along with a detailed breakdown showing which criteria were met (marked with green checkmarks) and which were not (marked with red Xs)^[5]. For accuracy, test one customer who is thriving and another who is at risk to ensure the scores match their actual statuses. If the results seem off, check the record's property history for potential data errors^[5].

If you want a bigger picture, select Actions > Preview distribution. This option gives you an overview of the average score across your database and shows how many records fall into each score range. In large accounts, HubSpot uses a sample of about 20% of eligible records to generate this preview^[5]. If too many struggling customers are classified as "Healthy", you may need to adjust the point weights or thresholds before finalizing the score^[4]. This broader analysis ensures your scoring system is accurate and ready for activation.

"A proper testing phase helps avoid confusion and ensures your team can trust the scores."

• Romeo Mann, Founder, MAN Digital^[4]

Take the time to review the test results and confirm they align with your expectations before moving forward.

Publish and Activate the Health Score

Once you’re confident in the setup, click Review and Turn On in the score builder. Double-check the summary, then hit Turn on to activate your health score. After activation, HubSpot will automatically create two new CRM properties: Health score (a numeric value) and Health status (a descriptive label like "Satisfied" or "Unhappy"). These properties will appear on the Health Score card in the record sidebar and can also be added to your Customer Success Workspace for quick reference.

Step 5: Monitor and Automate Health Scores

After launching your health score, the next step is keeping a close eye on it and responding quickly to any changes. HubSpot offers tools to help you track these scores and automate responses based on specific triggers.

Add Health Scores to Dashboards

The Customer Success Workspace serves as your main hub for tracking health trends. To streamline your monitoring, navigate to the Dashboards tab within the workspace and click Add dashboard to integrate your reports^[8]. The Summary tab includes a "Health score summary" card, which provides an overview of your average score and breaks down customers into categories: At-risk, Neutral, or Healthy^[8]. To dive deeper into individual accounts, open a contact or company record to find the Health Score card in the sidebar. This card shows the current score, status, and any recent changes. By clicking See score history, you can access a monthly trend graph that pinpoints events influencing score fluctuations^[1].

For teams needing historical data to compare trends week by week, create a scheduled workflow to save health scores into a custom "Health Score Snapshot" object on a weekly basis^[9]. Service Hub Enterprise users also benefit from advanced reporting tools that track score distribution and average scores over time, all accessible directly within the workspace^[8].

Once your dashboards are set up to display these trends, you can take it a step further by automating workflows to act on the insights.

Set Up Automated Workflows

Workflows make your health scores actionable. By integrating workflows with your dashboards, you can respond to changes in real time. Use the Health status property or specific score ranges to trigger automated actions^[1][4]. For example, if an account is flagged as at-risk, you can set up a workflow to create a "Renewal-Risk" ticket, notify the account manager using native HubSpot job-change alerts, and assign a task for a check-in call within 48 hours^[4]. You can also automate tasks like sending "nudge" emails to customers whose scores drop below a certain threshold or inviting high-scoring customers to exclusive webinars and requesting testimonials from them^[6][4].

"HubSpot's Health Score relies on a point-based system, but you can work around this by leveraging your custom 'Health score' property. Use it in dashboards for quick visibility, set up workflows for alerts based on score changes, or highlight it on records for easy access."

• Pam Cotton, HubSpot Alumni^[6]

The Actions tab in the Customer Success Workspace provides an "Alerts" view, helping you track health status changes. Keep in mind that alerts expire after 14 days, so timely action is key^[8].

Conclusion

Using HubSpot to track customer health scores allows businesses to take charge of their relationships and reduce churn. By following five essential steps - creating the score, setting criteria, configuring weights, conducting thorough testing, and enabling automated monitoring - you can establish an early warning system to address potential issues before they escalate. Studies reveal that improving customer retention by just 5% can increase revenue by 25% to 95% ^[2]. This makes proactive customer management a smart and profitable strategy.

Automation and real-time monitoring are key to acting quickly. With health scores triggering workflows that assign tasks, send alerts, and flag at-risk accounts within 48 hours, your team shifts from simply reacting to problems to actively preventing them. HubSpot’s automation doesn’t just identify accounts needing attention - it also highlights your most loyal customers, paving the way for upselling opportunities and advocacy. Considering that 65% of a company’s revenue often comes from just 8% of its most committed customers ^[2], identifying and nurturing these relationships is essential for sustained growth.

As Lincoln Murphy, a well-known customer success expert, wisely puts it:

"If churn is a major issue in your business today... it's critical to view churn for what it is: a symptom of a deeper, underlying disease."

• Lincoln Murphy ^[2]

Start small by tracking three to five key metrics, and adjust quarterly based on trends in churn and growth. A simple traffic light system can offer immediate clarity on account health, helping your team stay focused and effective.

FAQs

Which health signals should I score first?

To spot potential churn or engagement issues, start by evaluating early warning indicators. These include key metrics like customer engagement, satisfaction levels, and how often your product is being used. For instance, you can monitor factors such as product interactions, support ticket trends, Net Promoter Score (NPS) results, communication frequency, and payment patterns. By focusing on these signals, you can pinpoint at-risk accounts early, giving you a chance to address concerns and keep retention strong. Make sure your indicators are customized to fit your customer journey and align with your specific business objectives.

How do I choose the right score thresholds?

When defining score thresholds, it's crucial to establish clear categories that make sense for your business, such as healthy, at-risk, or needs attention. Start by analyzing historical data to understand the typical score ranges across your customer segments. For instance, accounts with scores above 80 might be considered healthy, while those dipping below 50 could indicate a higher risk.

It's also important to keep these thresholds flexible. Regularly review them to ensure they reflect changes in customer behavior or align with shifting business objectives. This approach helps maintain thresholds that are both relevant and actionable, making them a reliable tool for decision-making.

How can I alert my team when a score drops?

To keep your team in the loop when a customer’s health score takes a dip, HubSpot’s automation tools can help. Set up a workflow to watch the health score property. If the score drops by a specific threshold - say, 40 points - it can automatically trigger an email alert to the assigned team member.

For teams that want deeper insights, custom properties can be a game-changer. These allow you to compare previous scores and fine-tune the conditions for sending alerts, ensuring you’re always on top of customer health trends.

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