If you think you are like most of the SaaS managers, you are committed to growing your business. But to do that, you must ensure that whatever you do results in customer stickiness. For that is all that matters.

As a company, you would not take a backseat from spending a good amount to acquire a customer. Reducing churn is also of high priority for any given SaaS company. And that is why building a strong customer base that sticks around is crucially important.

Here are seven such battle-tested ways to help you do that:

Communication is the Key

What makes a service sticky? How do you know that there is no option from switching to another product without reverting to the earlier ways? If you are wondering about similar questions, let me break it to you – Communication is all you need.

Do communicate every single day with your clients. Hear them out. How do they feel about your product? And if they have any concerns, address them immediately.

Offer them help and demonstrate the value of your product, gently and gradually. Ensure that your client feels completely comfortable. It is your job to ensure the trust.

Slack Channel to the Rescue

Adding to the feature of communication is dedication slack groups. You can set up a true customer success process in the early stages itself with the right staff. That is when you can deploy a slack channel to attain customer stickiness.

With the help of a slack group, you will have the chance to chat with the whole group. This immensely helps customers build a rapport as early as they join. It will cut down the number of support tickets and also will speed up adoption rates.

An easy-peasy Training Manual

Gone are the days when you were supposed to by-heart a thick instruction manual. As a customer success manager, you too would not like to bring that back. That is when you can deploy various informative tools like infographics or videos. You can also choose to elucidate with the help of a graphic presentation too.

By using the same principles of readability, you generally use in marketing, you are almost halfway through getting more customers engaged. Additionally, this way they would also understand the product better.

Adapt to a revamped method of training the new joiners with a simpler training manual, which is better to digest.

As Maurice Franks rightly quotes it, “Loyalty cannot be blueprinted. It cannot be produced on an assembly line. In fact, it cannot be manufactured at all, for its origin is the human heart-the center of self-respect and human dignity. It is a force which leaps into being only when conditions are exactly right for it-and it is a force very sensitive to betrayal.”

Identify Red-flag Metrics and Act on it

Sometimes, it is rational to see some users that do not respond to your dunning notifications. Or it is even possible that some are past due or accounts where the activity has taken a notch down, significantly.

In such a case, you can do is identify such red-flag alerts and take action, if you want to reduce churn. Remember, the goal is to engage your client base and reach out to them before they churn out.

Also, act fast and act diligently. Always follow up with the users who are on the verge to cancel their subscription.

Customer Loyalty and Rewards

Statistics state that rewarding an individual with a surprise or a beneficial symbol can lead to better performance by the user and in turn lead to customer stickiness.

Congratulate the success of your employees who are good at their work. Let them know that you are there to see their hard work and that their efforts do not go in vain.

Also, you may award them with a little something. More like an ‘employee of the month’ award, or a gift coupon or a Chilli’s discount offer. Do that and wait to see the difference.

On the Lookout for Upsell Opportunities

Being a leader of your Customer Success team means that you have the leverage to establish an open line of communication with your clients. In short, you are proportionately responsible for the health of your account.

By analyzing a client’s workflow in detail, you tend to get an idea of the account usage. Over and above, you can provide access to an add-on that will boost your client’s confidence.

All that you need to do is to stay tuned with your client’s growth and always be in the lookout for an upsell opportunity. As we say, opportunities never knock your door.

Solicit Feedback as they go

You need to accept that people will come and go. You would be really lucky if your customer stickiness ratio is high but you always need to be prepared for the worst.

Remedy to such an issue is to receive feedback as much as you can from the clients who are willing to switch or have unfortunately switched already. Ask them politely what went wrong, what were the issues that caused them the inconvenience?

Ensure that you take all the feedback in a positive heart but work diligently on the point so that you do not another client for the same reason. Remember, the reason could be the same but your approach is all that makes a difference.

Final Take

The term ‘customer stickiness’ can be a tough thing to perfect. Having said that, note that while it can be a tad bit tough to set up the whole process, but once it is done customers who love it will stick around. The influence and spread will reach across and get viral.

Take in all the aforementioned 7 points seriously and start practicing them. Aside from this, analyze the effectiveness of automated checks and surveys. Tailor your client’s personalized solutions. And later take it to the pinnacle of success.

Good Luck!

Love and Light!

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