5 Simple Strategies That Will Boost Your Renewal Rate

We always hear about 5-10 companies hitting a 100%+ retention rate and think to ourselves,

“If we had the same resources as them, we’d also win all our renewal deals.”

But, what if I told you that every company, including yours, has the potential to retain all its customers? 

It all depends on one thing: your approach to existing customers.

Want to Know Your Future? Track Your Renewal Rate

Churn and Renewal Rates are critical barometers for the health of your company.

A high Renewal Rate indicates successful retention efforts and satisfied customers,

while a high Churn Rate is a sign of dissatisfied customers and a negative growth rate.

High churn is like a leak in your boat; it can easily sink your business. 

If you want to improve retention, you need to measure these KPIs regularly.

So, if you haven’t had the chance to measure them, STOP everything you’re doing and go measure them.

Here is a great guide with detailed instructions and a FREE KPI calculator.

Improve Your Renewal & Churn Rates with these powerful strategies!

5 Strategies to Boost Your Renewal Rate

#1: WHO is my business for?

Customers are the engine of every business. The more satisfied they are, the higher the success and the bigger the market share.

Yet, too many companies focus on their prospect while neglecting their customers.

The results? High acquisition rate and low renewal rate.

If you want a successful business, you need to know your customers as well as you know your prospects.

Success Only Comes to Those Who Care.

Customers judge your product based on actual results.

If it makes their job/life easier, they renew. If not, then it’s a waste of their money.

Understanding where you stand requires you to understand your customers and their businesses.

My recommendation is to interview your (past and current) customers;

Ask about their decision-making process and experiences with your product. Try to learn why some renew it every year while others don’t.

Every piece of information you learn can be a game-changer to a 100% renewal rate.

4 Questions to Ask Your Customers Today.

1. Why are they using your product?

2. What are their desired outcomes?

3. What are their pain points? What’s holding them back from succeeding?

4. What is their willingness to pay? Has it changed recently?

#2: Do customers LIKE me?

You can’t increase retention without positive customer relationships. This is where Customer Success shines the brightest, as it has one goal: 

Helping customers achieve their desired outcomes with your product.

This is why Customer Success Managers can establish strong relationships with customers.

We are their trusted advisors. Our customers define success and we help them achieve it.

Strong Relationships are built on trust.

When customers trust your brand and their CSM, they see good as fantastic and bad as room for growth.

This means that:

• They’ll be vocal about their good experiences.

• They’ll be more forgiving after poor experiences.

4 Rules to Building Real Relationships

1. Deliver value in every single interaction.

2. Get personal with your customers.

3. Pay attention to them.

4. Help them succeed.

#3: Am I Stoping My Customers?

I’ve spoken with several companies with state-of-the-art solutions.

Champions at acquiring new customers, but terrible at retaining them.

After reviewing their renewal processes, the reason for the high churn was obvious:

Customers had to jump through hoops to renew their subscriptions.

Your renewal process needs to be smooth, easy, and painless. 

The harder the purchasing/renewal process, the higher the likelihood of churn.  

So if you want your customers to stick around, take these 3 easy steps: 

1. Interview your customers about your renewal process.

1. Understand what isn’t working.

2. Fix it.

#4: Where are my customers?

Every time a deal is won, a new multi-stage journey begins. Its destination - the renewal process.

Each stage, with its goals and pain points, influences the ultimate decision - whether to renew or not.

So, if you want to increase your renewal rate, you need to work on your Customer Journey.

Once your map is ready, enhance the journey and proactively solve pain points.

Start mapping your Customer Journey now.

If it wasn't clear up until now - your renewal rate depends on your Customer Journey.

Create the ultimate Customer Journey with my step-by-step guide here.

#5: Will my customers leave?

We collect thousands of data points about our customers; from who they are to how they use our product.

For CS Teams, this data is a goldmine for customer AND business success because it can be leveraged:

1. Generate more revenue by identifying "green flags" (upsell or cross-sell opportunities).

2. Prevent revenue loss by identifying "red flags" (risk of churn).

3. Help customers make the most out of our product.

4. Prove the value of our product.

Customers Renew Only If They See Value.

Data helps us not only prove this value but also increase it.

One example is tracking and leveraging usage data relevant to our customer's goals;

1. Celebrate major milestones with them.

2. Offer a helping hand in case of a "red flag",

This can strengthen trust and create new revenue opportunities.

Final Thoughts…

There you have it! 5 strategies to boost your renewal rates and unlock the potential of your customer base.

I’d love to hear your strategies - feel free to share them in the comments section.

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