When it comes to the revenue that established SaaS subscription companies make, a significant portion of that revenue will be coming from repeat customers and recurring billing. But, to make sure that recurring revenue is secured, businesses need to make sure they aren't missing opportunities for renewals and upsells. When your SaaS company doesn't have control of the right data, you may find you're missing too many crucial opportunities.
Reason number 1: too many sources of data
If you have a number of tools that you use for your subscriptions, such as separate tools for customer management, invoicing and billing, revenue recognition and other financial reporting, it can be easy to lose track of data. You need to be able to ensure that your reporting is not only thorough, but you are able to properly cross-reference the right data to find important customer metrics such as usage versus renewal dates, or usage versus your product offerings and pricing tiers.
If your data is coming from multiple sources, you may find it challenging or even tedious to spot any upcoming opportunities for renewals and upsells, and it can lead to you missing them altogether. Especially if you are doing manual reporting, you should look to see how you can reduce the number of data sources, and/or ensure that you are referencing the right corresponding data to be able to spot those future opportunities to secure revenue from existing customers.
Reason number 2: no control over master data
Similarly to reason number one, reason number two is all about the data. While having too many sources of data can be problematic for catching opportunities, not having proper control over data is another big issue. By this we mean, perhaps you have access to all the possible data you could want and need, but if you aren't managing it properly, it won't do you any good.
The other thing to consider with subscription management and data, is that having more data is not always beneficial. You need to make sure you have control over the right data. What type of information do you need to to identify customers at-risk for opting out of renewals? What type of information will allow you to see if a customer is perhaps better suited to a different product package or pricing tier?
Without having command of this type of information, you'll have no way of truly identifying the opportunities you're likely missing. Greater control of your master data means greater control over how your subscriptions and your customers can be managed.
Reason number 3: lack of automations and alerts
Perhaps you do have great reporting methods and control over your subscriptions and customer information, but do you have the capabilities of catching every opportunity in real time? You likely don't have the time and resources to spend reviewing all your subscription information every hour of every day, so automations can play a big role in capturing these opportunities.
Companies that aren't using automations for subscription management are likely unable to truly see all the potential for future sales in renewals and upsells. That's why we need programs for things like revenue recognition, and algorithms that help us with forecasting and budgeting. But when it comes to customer support and management, they can be just as useful.
Setting up automations to help you identify customers who are coming up on the end of their termed agreement, or those who may be primed to increase their subscriptions will ensure that you aren't missing crucial opportunities. But automations will also give you more freedom to focus your time and energy on other sales generating activities, or on developing your products and services. When you can set your business up for future success, you won't have to rely on manual activities that are more likely to miss upsells and renewals.
When subscription based companies are using too many import sources for data, and they do not have the proper command of all the master data they are using, it can make for problems in identifying the right opportunities for future revenue capture. Add in a lack of automations, and most businesses simply don't have the ability to truly identify when customers may be ready for renewals and upsells.
Want to learn more about how you can manage all your master data in one place and reduce your missed opportunities? Request a Younium demo now.
