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SaaS Customer Retention in a Crisis Situation

There is nothing surprising to know that the world is undoubtedly going through an uncertain time of crisis. Some of the latest events, including the COVID-19 pandemic, have undermined the world economy, the majority of businesses, and especially SaaS products. Well, under this blog, you will get some fantastic tips on the retention of customers to reduce the impact of the crisis web that companies go through as of now.

  • Stay Active and Flexible- No matter what happens in the world, the company has to be on top of all the operational activities. There are still some business opportunities management has to keep looking for despite this challenging crisis period. There are a plethora of ways to keep business floating, and great teamwork, combined with top productivity, can help your business to survive this period successfully with as minimum loss as possible. It is essential to pass any challenges as taking the initiative, collaborating closely with all the team members, and sharing ideas.
  • Importance of Cost-Effectiveness- For the most important things, a company has to allocate financial resources only. Generally, it is advisable not to reduce expenses on main business assets. Instead, a company needs to optimize finances and choose cheaper services and solutions if possible. It will be great to do it temporarily if some of the processes that require additional expenses can be put on hold. Cost-effectiveness is one of the most critical tasks for a company, especially during a crisis. It will have a lot more chances to survive these hard times if a team can save budget and minimize operational costs.
  • Human Resources Reorganization- It is integral not to fire people but to teach them new skills during the challenging period and turn these employees into valuable assets that can be useful for a company in the future. This scenario can be a fantastic choice for both the business and employees as it is possible to minimize salaries instead of firing people. It is good to invest time and effort into teaching existing team members some new knowledge than spending a budget on hiring and training new staff. When the crisis gets over, you will still have employees to work on business development. It would be best to keep in mind that the last feature can appear way more expensive for a business.
  • Impeccable Customer Support-One thing which is essential for the user is SaaS customer support because it is way more important than costs and sets of features. The only thing which can create a positive brand image and increase the satisfaction rate is excellent customer support. Above all, it is essential to optimize customer support services. During the crisis, the company has to allocate all resources to make it happen for clients and maintain the highest level of assistance. Hire more customer support professionals, and make the aid as fast and effective as possible to reduce the average response time. To get invaluable customer feedback and improve services, it is recommended to use social media platforms. A company can include a FAQ section that will give better answers for the most commonly asked questions to provide a better customer experience. Besides helping customers, it is essential to integrate a live chat. A team can build both loyal, long-lasting customer relationships that will sustain any crisis scenario by improving support practices and providing top-notch assistance. When you choose to outsource a customer support team, it would be one of the smart decisions. One of the most cost-effective solutions a company can take is outsourcing, and it is gaining popularity also. It is one of the most remarkable ways to save costs on employee recruitment and training. Outsourced employees possess everything from experience to knowledge needed to provide the best customer assistance at the same time; outsourcing support representatives costs less than keeping an in-house team.
  • Diverse marketing activities- One thing that a company needs desperately during tough times is marketing, especially SaaS customer retention. Above all, it is quite essential not to lose connection with the target audience. To engage with others, a company must conduct practical and diverse marketing activities through different communication channels. Through social media, you share useful content that can be relevant to customers and maintain communication with customers. You can enhance your SEO practices by working with paid advertisements. Even if it is temporary, it will be beneficial to keep the interest around your business with giveaways, freeways, and features. You need to provide customers something valuable for free or for a reduced price can help you build loyal relationships that will last even after the crisis ends as the economic crisis affects not just businesses but also clients.
  • Get set for the crisis to end-. It is important to channel all the time and effort into getting ready for the times when the problem ends if your business is affected by the crisis situation. A company can implement all the ideas you have now in the future because the tough times will end anyway. Still, now your business has time to use this low season period as a way to improve all operational processes. All you have to do is focus on things that can be enhanced, what new features can be created. When the crisis is over, this teamwork will surely grab everyone’s attention. Hence by doing so, you can stand out in the crowd and make up for all the money which you have lost during the challenging period.
  • Be a good citizen- It is crucial right now to prioritize the good of the community and show moral, caring judgment for the collective interest and for the good of your brand. You need to make some tough calls that hit your short-term profits but protect people from making this possible, like giving some free zoom calls.
  • Shift from a growth to a retention mindset- It is not valid for all businesses globally, as some companies who give e-commerce toilet paper are having some good moments now. Customer success and renewal conversations must be deeply empathetic to this as budgets are being trimmed in all parts now. Above all, everyone in the world has been left with no option but to trim off their budgets. Your internal champion can confidently advocate for you because you are delivering value, so you just need to step up your customer success initiatives.
  • Improve customer experience at customer journey touchpoints- You need to use an all-important NPS survey to gauge overall loyalty and surface any issues that may affect renewal, especially under SAAS. You can consider asking for feedback at critical SaaS journey points–after onboarding, support interactions, and during product/feature use if you are serious about retention. It is all about prioritizing improvements to moments that, if they fail, can sow some seeds of hard work.

Wrap up:

One thing you can say is that by implementing these tips, you can surely get out of the crisis web smoothly that the majority of the businesses experience today, and you can retain the majority of the clients, so your keep will perform well. For future business endeavors, the tips as mentioned above will help businesses to stay afloat and even optimize some processes.