Jump to read
6 ways to sustain & grow revenue during renewals
Conclusion
You may have sent the wrong invoice at the wrong time. Or perhaps, the customer asked for an add-on service, but you forgot to process the request. The result: disgruntled customers.
Such bad experiences are likely going to cost you a customer and their revenues.
Maarten Doornenbal, Co-Founder of Churned, a data-driven customer management and retention platform, in conversation with Linda Bergh, Customer Success Manager at Younium, even talked about how taking client relationships for granted can translate into big, missed opportunities e.g., no upsells during renewals.
And that can really affect your future revenues. After all, as he explained, the average software-as-a-service (SaaS) company grows 16% of their annual contract value simply by upselling to existing customers.
Luckily, there is a way to predict and seize such opportunities, well in advance. Read on, as we share exciting insights about improving subscription renewals by better managing churn.
6 ways to sustain & grow revenues during renewals
Most customers want to stay loyal to SaaS businesses.
But they end up leaving anyway because of completely avoidable bad customer experiences. There is also the matter of not proactively keeping customers engaged.
To reduce churn rate and boost revenues, Linda Bergh, Customer Success Manager at Younium, explained that it's important to increase the upsell and renewal likeliness by:
1. Staying ahead of the game: “Don't start talking to your customers when the renewal is just around the corner. Monitor their behavior in advance. And keep them updated about your product, from what's new to educating your customers about what services they can apply to their businesses (new modules, integration, etc.),” Linda said. This is the best way to increase CLPV and NRR, rather than cause churn.
2. Streamlining and automating the quote to cash flow: It helps to integrate your finance, CRM, and accounting systems with a subscription management solution. “The resultant single source of truth will ensure that your customers always receive the invoices and services that they expect,” she added.
3. Delivering time to value: If customers do not get value quickly and see merit in the product, then the risk of churn at the first renewal is quite high. But if you do deliver value quickly and make sure that the customer is happy, they will continue to patronize your product. Thus, Linda stressed the need to always find new ways to keep your customers engaged and satisfied in the long run.
4. Managing indexation: You are likely to have incorporated details of indexation into the sales agreement already. But you may have forgotten to add it to your spreadsheets or input the wrong percentage. Linda suggested skipping spreadsheets and using a subscription management system instead. This will ensure the right information is extracted and you are sent reminders about increasing the price of the service provided, as per the contract timelines. And you will never miss out on getting the agreed-upon boost in revenue.
5. Performing market research: “Always be aware of what competitors are up to”, Linda warned. If you find out that your competitors are changing their price model, then you can be prepared for price to be an issue during renewal discussions with a client. Or, if they have product features that you don't, it would be helpful to let your customers know that you have a roadmap ready with even better product upgrades.
6. Executing QBRs or business reviews: Quarterly business reviews (QBRs) can help gauge the happiness of your customers. “Focus on the highest risk and the highest ATV customers. If they are unhappy, you could find ways to remedy their concerns. And if they are happy with your business, ask them for a glowing reference. Also, reward them for their testimonials to further strengthen the relationship,” she said.
And here is the clincher: You do not need to do all this on your own. All you need is an AI-powered customer success platform (Churned) and a subscription management platform (Younium) to support the execution of these six tips.
Upon integration, Churned secures rich subscription data from Younium. Then, leveraging AI, Churned not only helps your business identify risk subscription cancellation but also suggests the most effective actions to boost renewals.
“AI detects very slight changes in customer behavior to signal what your churn risk is. Aside from predicting risk, it is also very good at deciding the next best action to prevent churn from happening,” said Maarten.
By leveraging these platforms, Maarten estimates that you can achieve a churn reduction of 15 to 30% (on average). Additionally, it helps boost the probability of upsells and renewals. Click here to know more about the benefits of both platforms.
Conclusion
Using Younium, with a Churned integration, will help improve your understanding of customer behavior, enable proactive subscription and customer success management, and better deal with the at-risk clients.
When harnessed together, they can help you streamline the quote to cash process and learn from every customer interaction to predict (and suggest ways to manage) churn risk better.
Ultimately, the platforms ensure customer delight and increased revenues for years to come.
Dive deeper into other topics on Younium blog and explore what is subscription billing and how it is different for SaaS.
Want to see Younium (integrated with Churned) in action as it reduces customer churn? Click here to request a demo.
