> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://b2-b-playbook.mintlify.site/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Expansion marketing **Last reviewed:** 2026-08-30 · **Reading edit:** 2026-09-12 An existing customer may need another use case, more capacity, or a wider rollout. Start with evidence of value and a new need, then work with the account owner on a relevant offer. Do not treat the customer base as a list for every product announcement. Value from today's use; Evidence of another need; A relevant expansion offer *Reading guide: value from today's use → evidence of another need → a relevant expansion offer.* ## Use this when * New-logo quota is covering a leaking book and nobody will say so. * CS and sales both “own expansion” and the customer hears two stories. * Every QBR ends with a SKU, including accounts that never launched. * Packaging created a second product and marketing wants a campaign to the whole base. ## Do not use this when * There are no customers. Stay in [first ten](../01-strategy-and-buyers/first-ten-customers.md). * You need who owns the book. That is [customer success](https://b2-b-playbook.mintlify.app/playbooks/08-lifecycle-and-customer-marketing/customer-success). * You need the renewal clock. That is [renewal marketing](https://b2-b-playbook.mintlify.app/playbooks/08-lifecycle-and-customer-marketing/renewal-marketing). * Gross churn is the fire. Fix onboarding and ICP before you sell more surface area. ## A few useful terms | Word | Meaning here | | -------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Realization** | They got the first job they bought. No realization, no expansion ask | | **Trigger** | Dated evidence a second job is now expensive (usage wall, new seat, new constraint) | | **Commercial owner** | The role paid for the expansion—written, not “we’ll figure it out” | | **Survivor growth** | Expansion that makes net look fine while gross still leaks | ## Keep this in mind **Do not expand an account that has not realized the first purchase.** If launch is still open, or they cannot name the result, another SKU is how you create contraction. [CS workspace](https://b2-b-playbook.mintlify.app/playbooks/08-lifecycle-and-customer-marketing/cs-workspace) must show realization before marketing writes a campaign. ## How to do it ### Step 1: Agree on who owns the conversation Write the sentence [customer success](https://b2-b-playbook.mintlify.app/playbooks/08-lifecycle-and-customer-marketing/customer-success) already demands: *renewals live with \_\_\_\_; expansion lives with \_\_\_\_; they are paid on \_\_\_\_.* If both are paid on the same dollar, say so. If they conflict, stop the campaign until [sales compensation](../09-operations-pipeline-and-measurement/sales-compensation.md) is honest. ### Step 2: Look for a customer need Allowed triggers (need two that a stranger could check): * They hit a usage or seat wall they already understood on the [pricing page](../07-website-and-conversion/pricing-page.md) * A new seat or team asked for the same job * A dated constraint (security, region, product line) the first SKU does not cover * They asked Not a trigger: “we launched a module,” “the AE is behind,” “they opened a newsletter.” ### Step 3: Offer the next useful use case One additional job, one owner in their committee, one next step (scoped conversation or a [case study](../03-brand-story-and-content/case-study.md) from a similar expand). [Positioning](../02-product-marketing/positioning.md#step-8-position-the-way-you-sell) already says add-ons are for accounts that own the lead product—not a second standalone category story. ### Step 4: Review losses as well as expansion If expansion is the only reason net looks healthy, say that in [GTM planning](../09-operations-pipeline-and-measurement/gtm-planning.md). Review upgrade revenue alongside departing customers so growth in healthy accounts does not hide problems elsewhere. ### Step 5: Keep the outreach relevant to each account Do not email the whole customer list a new SKU. Segment on realization + trigger. A base-wide “what’s new” is [lifecycle](https://b2-b-playbook.mintlify.app/playbooks/08-lifecycle-and-customer-marketing) later—and even then it is education, not a close. ## Worked example (illustrative) Ops queue product. Second SKU = audit log / enterprise admin. | Field | Fill | | --------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Commercial owner | AM, paid on expansion. CSM paid on retention. Written. | | Trigger we will honor | Security questionnaire appeared, or a second queue asked for the same job | | Trigger we refuse | “New module” email to everyone who launched | | Proof | One [case study](../03-brand-story-and-content/case-study.md) of a team that added admin after realization | | Will not expand | Accounts still in onboarding, or at-risk on the CS queue | ## Copy: expansion card (fill) * Who is paid for expansion / who is paid for renewal: * Realization rule (what must be true): * Triggers we will honor (checkable): * Triggers we refuse: * Next job we are allowed to introduce this quarter (one): * Segment (not the whole base): * Gross vs net sentence we will not hide: Working file: [expansion-marketing.md](../../templates/expansion-marketing.md). ## Before you start * [ ] Commercial owner is written and does not secretly fight CS pay. * [ ] Realization is visible in [CS workspace](https://b2-b-playbook.mintlify.app/playbooks/08-lifecycle-and-customer-marketing/cs-workspace). * [ ] Triggers are dated and checkable. * [ ] One next job, not a catalog. * [ ] At-risk and unlaunched accounts are excluded. * [ ] Gross is reported next to any expansion celebration. ## Metrics | Metric | Diagnostic use | | ------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Expansion on realized accounts | Upgrades where first-value was already dated | | Expansion on leaking accounts | Upgrades we should not have asked for | | Gross vs net | Whether expansion is covering cancel + contraction | | Ask quality | Expansion conversations the customer initiated or clearly triggered | Do not treat “expansion pipeline from a product-launch email” as health. ## Common mistakes * Expanding before launch. * Two owners, two stories. * Base-wide SKU blast. * Using expansion to paper over gross churn. * A second category story for an add-on. ## What to read next The clock that must not be a surprise is [renewal marketing](https://b2-b-playbook.mintlify.app/playbooks/08-lifecycle-and-customer-marketing/renewal-marketing). The leak expansion must not hide is [revenue churn](https://b2-b-playbook.mintlify.app/playbooks/08-lifecycle-and-customer-marketing/revenue-churn). Who runs the book is [customer success](https://b2-b-playbook.mintlify.app/playbooks/08-lifecycle-and-customer-marketing/customer-success). How the second product is positioned is [position the way you sell](../02-product-marketing/positioning.md#step-8-position-the-way-you-sell). Named-account expansion still uses [account planning](../06-account-field-and-partner/account-planning.md). ## Sources and evidence boundary This is an owner-maintained operating synthesis. Realization-before-ask and “do not let expansion hide gross” are this library’s judgments, already implied by [customer success](https://b2-b-playbook.mintlify.app/playbooks/08-lifecycle-and-customer-marketing/customer-success), [CS workspace](https://b2-b-playbook.mintlify.app/playbooks/08-lifecycle-and-customer-marketing/cs-workspace), and [revenue churn](https://b2-b-playbook.mintlify.app/playbooks/08-lifecycle-and-customer-marketing/revenue-churn) (Kellblog-shaped gross vs net). ITSMA/ABM “land and expand” slogans are not a method. This page is not a packaging or revenue-recognition opinion. *** Copyright © 2026 Ivan Xu. All rights reserved. See the [copyright and reuse terms](https://github.com/weilun88313/B2B-Playbook/blob/main/LICENSE). Canonical source: [github.com/weilun88313/B2B-Playbook](https://github.com/weilun88313/B2B-Playbook)