29th Jan Jan, 2023

70+ techniques to increase customer retention in SaaS

Customer retention in the SaaS (Software as a Service) industry can be challenging for several reasons.

1. SaaS companies typically rely on recurring revenue from subscription-based models, so retaining customers is essential for long-term success.
2. The SaaS industry is highly competitive, with new companies and products emerging regularly. This means that customers have a wide range of options to choose from, and it can be difficult to keep them loyal to your brand.
3. SaaS products can be complex and require a significant investment of time and resources to fully implement and utilize. If customers don't see the value in using the product or if they find it difficult to use, they may be more likely to cancel their subscription.
4. Customer's expectations and needs are changing rapidly with the fast pace of technology, so SaaS companies need to keep up with these changes in order to meet customers' expectations and retain them.
5. Finally, the cost of acquiring new customers is significantly higher than retaining existing ones, so retaining customers is a more cost-effective way to sustain growth for a SaaS company.

Overall, customer retention in the SaaS industry requires a combination of effective marketing, a great product, excellent customer service and continuous improvement. Vishal Rewari has curated 70+ strategies that he has learnt in his 15+ years of experience. You can access the strategies by clicking here.

1/10/100 Rule for CRM Data

The "1/10/100 Rule" is a guideline for determining the value of CRM data. It states that:

1. The cost of acquiring a new customer is often ten times more expensive than retaining an existing one.
2. It is ten times more expensive to attempt to win back a lost customer than it is to retain a current one.
3. The value of a satisfied customer to a business over their lifetime is often worth 100 times the cost of acquiring them.

The same data quality principle could be applied to CRM systems, where the cost of preventing bad data from entering a CRM system is $1, the cost of correcting existing problems is $10, and the cost of fixing the problem after it causes a failure, either internally or with a customer, is in the neighborhood of $100. Do check out the blog by HubSpot on "4 Types of Data to Have in Your CRM (& How to Structure It)"

What’s Coming in 2023: 7 Big Trends in Customer Engagement

OpenAI's GPT-3 powered chatbots can certainly have an impact on traditional customer engagement platforms like Braze in the area of content marketing.

1. Automation of content creation: GPT-3's natural language generation capabilities can automate the creation of various types of content such as product descriptions, email campaigns, and more. This can help companies save time and resources on content creation.
2. Improved conversational experiences: GPT-3 can be used to build advanced chatbots that provide customers with a more natural and conversational experience. This can help companies improve the customer experience and increase customer engagement.
3. Increased efficiency: GPT-3 can help companies automate various customer engagement tasks, such as answering customer questions, handling customer requests, and more. This can help companies increase efficiency and free up resources to focus on other areas of customer engagement.

However, it is important to note that GPT-3 powered chatbots are still in their early stages of development, and there are limitations to their capabilities. Traditional customer engagement platforms like Braze, Customer.io, Klaviyo, CleverTap, WebEngage, Bloomreach & MoEngage may still offer a more comprehensive and sophisticated solution for customer engagement, especially in areas such as personalization, cross-channel orchestration, and omnichannel e-commerce integration. GPT-3 powered chatbots will complement these platforms and provide additional benefits for customer engagement.

Bill Magnuson, James Manderson and Marc Suchland have also share their thoughts on what’s ahead in 2023 and what brands need to do today to get ready. To summarize:

1. Economic volatility will put the spotlight on customer engagement automation
2. Spends will get more efficient—and optimization will become essential
3. Brands will double down on customer loyalty and retention
4. Targeted customer engagement campaigns will no longer be a nice-to-have
5. To capture every customer, brands will need to focus in on anonymous users
6. Operational efficiency will become a key need in customer engagement
7. 2023 will see the rise of the interdisciplinary marketer

Read the complete article here.

First-party Data vs. Zero-party Data

First-party data refers to data that is collected directly from a company's customers or users through interactions such as website visits, purchases, or sign-ups. This data is typically collected and owned by the company and can include information such as demographics, browsing history, and purchase history.

Zero-party data, on the other hand, refers to data that is voluntarily provided by a customer or user, usually through proactively filling out a form or survey. This type of data is intended to be more specific and actionable, and can include information such as preferences, intentions, and context. It is collected by the company and owned by the customer, the company can use it with their consent.

Both first-party and zero-party data are valuable for companies, as they can help them better understand their customers and tailor their marketing and sales efforts. However, zero-party data is considered more valuable as it is self-disclosed data where customers provide their information willingly, which makes it more accurate and actionable than first-party data.

Arpit Choudhury talks about the topic in more detail and identifies subtypes of each. It can be accessed here.

Hightouch Personalization API

With this feature, Hightouch users can programmatically query and return data from any of their data models in real-time. The response data can then be used to deliver personalized experiences across the customer journey. Traditional Reverse ETL allows users to sync data out (push) from the data warehouse into 125+ SaaS destinations based on a pre-configured schedule. The Personalization API enables users to flip that paradigm and fetch (pull) data directly from a highly-performant API. http://bit.ly/3WLj4m3.

Bloomreach + Phrasee Integration

Bloomreach and Phrasee are both marketing technology companies that offer different services. Bloomreach is a digital experience platform that helps businesses create personalized experiences for their customers, while Phrasee is an AI-powered copywriting platform that generates marketing copy and subject lines.

By using Bloomreach's customer data and insights to inform Phrasee's AI algorithms, businesses could create copy and subject lines that are tailored to their specific target audience, improving the chances of engagement and conversion.

However, the specifics of the integration would depend on the capabilities of each platform and the needs of the business. I recommend contacting the support teams of both Bloomreach and Phrasee for more information on the integration process and potential benefits.

Upcoming Events

Leaders in Mobile Growth Dubai - Request an Invite

Branch, Braze and mParticle are bringing "Leaders in Mobile Growth Summit to Dubai".

Hear their insights and gain concrete strategies for all things mobile growth at this invite-only event.

Request an invite! http://bit.ly/3RgVfRY

• Date: 16 March 2023
• Time: 5 PM Onwards
• Venue: Atlantis Dubai