No one likes churn. It’s especially dangerous when your livelihood is based on subscriptions and renewals.So how do you reduce churn and create happy, loyal customers? You focus on building relationships with them. Regular customer contact is a pillar of long-term customer success. If you only talk to your customers when they have a problem or when their renewal is due, those interactions will characterize your company. And more than ever, those characterizations matter.Value-based outreach is more important than it was just a few years ago, and it will only gain power as markets become more saturated and customer expectations rise.Customer happiness isn’t just built on product quality—it’s about the quality of your service and the strength of your customer relationships. If you want to retain deals and keep your recurring revenue streams healthy, you need to know where you stand with your customers throughout the year, not just 30 days before a contract expires. To combat churn effectively, you need to adopt a nurture cadence for your customers that speaks to their needs at the right time.
What Does a Good Customer Nurture Cadence Looks Like?
Contacting a customer once a year doesn't cut it anymore, but companies often struggle to determine exactly how often they should reach out. You don’t want to bug customers, but you don’t want them to disengage if you leave them alone too long. The happy medium obviously lies somewhere between, but how do you find it?The most effective way to plan outreach is by timing your major customer communications with new product and service releases, and filling in the interim with helpful tips and best practices. If you’re sharing useful, actionable info with your customers, they’re far more likely to engage and appreciate your contact.A good rule of thumb for proactive touchpoints is every two to four weeks. These touches should focus on customer education above all else. Try hosting a customer webinar to discuss a recent release or sending a newsletter to highlight a new use case. When your customers feel they’re getting value out of the relationship, that critical bond will begin to take shape. And, best of all, they’ll come to you for guidance and advice on tackling their latest challenge.This approach isn’t just about staying top of mind. Regular outreach can lead to upsells, multi-year renewals, and happier customers! Who doesn’t want that?
How Can You Increase Customer Retention?
As you set out to bolster your customer outreach, ask yourself if you can objectively measure the strength of each of your customer relationships. Do you have the right tools to track and measure customer interactions? Without the right metrics, any progress is subjective, so it’s key to implement these processes early.People.ai helps Customer Success teams make data-driven decisions. Team Leads can use the solution to coach and manage based on insights, not intuition. Within seconds, you can answer questions like “How many accounts did your CSM touch this week?” and “What types of touch points did they have (email/meeting/phone)?”That data gives Customer Success leaders the power to monitor their customer touches without exporting tons of data and running multiple pivot tables. Plus, managers can leverage these data insights to identify at-risk customers who aren’t getting the attention they need—and prioritize their success before they jump ship.Ready to boost customer satisfaction and renewals? Get a demo of People.ai to see how AI can supercharge your Customer Success team.