4 tips for customer retention in the world of SaaS

Selling SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) can be a tricky process. 

It involves a lot of time and effort from many different team members just to get a new customer to sign a contract. And if your Customer Success team doesn’t keep them happy before the end of the cancellation period, it could have all been for nothing.   

So to make sure that doesn’t happen to you, here are a few internal best practices that we implement at Talon.One.

Understanding and reacting to your customer’s needs and expectations is a crucial part of keeping them happy with the service you’re providing, and always has a direct impact on your customer success plan.

Your Sales team usually discover customer requirements as part of the pre-signing engagement process. And if not, the CSM (Customer Success Manager) can do it as part of the onboarding process. 

It’s important to have this information as soon in advance as possible, because it’s the type of tool every CSM should have ready in their tool-kit for a successful start to the onboarding process. 

The majority of churning takes place during the onboarding process. So no matter how good your procedure for this is, there will always be room for improvement. 

The important thing to remember here is that early value for each of your customers can be very different depending on their respective use cases. 

Make sure your focus is on understanding your customer’s goals and future plans. 

Once these are established, you can create a plan for a structured series of meetings and workshops that offers the most practical and valuable knowledge your clients need to know.    

To make sure your customer is on the right track, you need to define and monitor customer KPIs regularly without fail. 

You should focus on customer metrics like Product Adoption (who’s using it, and how), Product Stickiness (how much customers return to use your product or depend on it), and any other metrics that help you achieve your internal KPIs. 

Always remember to define your strategies in a way that your KPIs can be improved at a later stage. And always adapt your methods to accommodate every client based on their needs and expectations. 

The frequency of communication from your customers gives you a preview of what is about to happen in the future. 

If customer engagement is low, it usually means that they have stopped using your product and your chances of retaining that customer will be steadily dropping. 

Consistent communication with the customer is of utmost importance. 

Your customer has to know that you are proactive and always there to help them whenever they need you. 

Communication can be made via phone, video conference or email, but remember that not all customers want to receive regular communication. Some customers can get frustrated by constant check-ins and prefer the self-serve model, using the Help Center Guides to help them get where they need to be with minimum effort. 

So depending on your customer’s needs you should always adjust your approach.

So, Preparation, Observation and Engagement are the 3 keys to SaaS success.

Before working with a customer always: 

Want to offer your customers more personalized sales promotions and Loyalty Programs? Find out more about Talon.One’s Campaign Manager and Promotion Engine by booking yourself a quick, no-obligation demo.