Check out the full writeup here
Topics discussed in this episode:
Having an outcome-focused product roadmap
- First we look back at our first episode with Oscar Carlsson of Framer. His advice was to have an outcome-focused product roadmap. Rather than worry about different features and capabilities, Oscar described how the entire company was aligned about segmenting their buyer personas and the outcomes they were working toward. This led to a laser focus for the entire company to radically shift, not only the distribution channel, but their product itself.
Breaking down customer cohorts
- Next we look at our episode with the crew over at Knowledgehook. They advised to break down customer cohorts. At Knowledgehook there are three key people: there is the end user who uses the tool, there is the economic buyer, and there is the technical decision maker. They have assigned individual storyboards for each of these which help with pushing deals forward. Additionally, they have created story cards for each team on customer success so that they know the journey for teachers and district leaders. These storyboards and cards are helpful but only illuminate what’s on the surface. They still double click in to individuals to understand common bottlenecks in the customer experience.
Retention starts with onboarding
- Next, Romain Pouillon of Beatport told us that retention starts with onboarding. Before retaining a customer, you have to instill the value that your product provides. At first, retention will seem to be all over the map, but this is no cause to panic. Over time as you improve your product and correspond it to the needs of your customers, numbers will naturally start to normalize. The best thing you can do upfront is ensure your onboarding is in a good place. Check in with your team weekly and ensure that the tweaks, large or small, are affecting the numbers you are tracking.
Letting certain customers churn
- Let’s take it back to our episode with Oscar Carlsson. He had some great advice about customer churn. Though it sounds counterintuitive, letting certain customers go is a good thing. You want to focus your efforts and resources on those customers that are going to provide a higher lifetime value.
Have a cross-functional approach
- And last, let’s look at our conversation with Kelly Danahy of CompanyCam. Kelly advised to have a cross-functional approach.Above everything else, a cross-functional approach is crucial to retention and it shouldn’t just be up to customer success. Aligning sales, marketing, and even product gives CompanyCam a holistic approach to making sure customers succeed.
This is a ProfitWell Recur production—the first media network dedicated entirely to the SaaS and subscription space.
