Building a strong customer base often comes down to two essential components: customer acquisition and customer retention. While gaining new customers is valuable, relying solely on customer acquisition is not the optimal approach for long-term success.

Undoubtedly, customer retention holds more significance than acquisition. This is especially true for B2B SaaS businesses that operate on a subscription model. 

Mixpanel's Product Benchmark report estimates that the typical B2B customer retention rate for SaaS businesses is roughly 35%. It just goes to show keeping customers around is no easy feat!

Focusing on customer retention can boost the lifetime value of customers and cut down acquisition costs. 

As customers stick around, they help businesses gather more insights about their preferences and behaviors. Plus, existing customers are more likely to make repeat purchases (60% to 70% chance) compared to new prospects (5% to 20% chance), making them more responsive to upsells and cross-sells and less sensitive to price changes.

So, how do you actually keep customers coming back? 

In this blog post, we recommend nine solid B2B customer retention strategies to help you build the right mix of tactics for your business. 

How is B2B Customer Retention Different from B2C?

B2B and B2C customer retention is distinct, purely driven by unique customer behaviors, transactional dynamics, and relationship strategies. 

Here are the different aspects of how they are unique in their own way:

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9 Expert B2B Customer Retention Strategies that Work

The Pareto principle holds true in customer relationships, where 20% of your customers often generate 80% of your revenue.  

So, if you belong to the league of brands that is ready to roll up your sleeves on this front, here are some top B2B strategies we recommend for you to make customer retention seamlessly happen. 

Additionally, we’ll also illustrate how, as an omnichannel customer service platform, Plivo CX can effectively contribute to retaining B2B customers.

1. Personalizing every customer touchpoint

Meeting today’s high expectations for seamless, instant customer support requires a strategic and personalized approach. Just think about how often you experience personalization with platforms like Spotify and Netflix—they always seem to know the perfect song or show for you. 

Customers now expect this level of service from every business interaction. In fact, nearly 62% of consumers say they’d lose loyalty if they received a non-personalized experience.

Start by mapping out the customer journey to spot and fix any bottlenecks. Embracing an omnichannel strategy is key to delivering a consistent experience across all touchpoints. Automation frees up agents to focus on more complex issues—77% of agents report they can deliver better service when routine tasks are automated.  

Adding AI-powered chatbots into the mix can efficiently manage inquiries, ensuring every interaction is relevant and helpful. Businesses can connect with customers on their preferred channels, delivering smooth, personalized support every step of the way.

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💡Insider tip: 
Plivo CX comes with several features that can help you implement these strategies without any delay:

• Unified Agent Desktop: The platform brings all customer interaction channels, such as AI-powered live chat, voice, SMS, email, and WhatsApp, into one interface, providing comprehensive customer data and the full context of issues.
• OpenAI-Powered Chatbots and IVR: The platform enables you to automate routine tasks and initial customer interactions with OpenAI-powered chatbots and IVR, freeing up agents time. 
• Drag-and-Drop Workflow Builder: Plivo CX's Drag-and-Drop Workflow builder can optimize the customer journey by enabling you create custom workflows. 

2. Anticipating needs before they arise proactively 

According to customer engagement research by Salesforce, 73% of customers expect companies to understand their unique needs and expectations.

For instance, when a company selects IBM's cloud storage suite, IBM assigns a dedicated team of specialists to engage with the customer immediately. They provide in-depth training and ongoing guidance for a smooth setup process.

Empowering your customer support team with a solid knowledge base transforms proactive service. Imagine it as a central hub packed with information about your products, services, and common issues. Many inquiries are basic questions already covered in your FAQs. Instead of burdening human agents, let chatbots handle these queries.

With a well-organized knowledge base and self- service module, your support agents and your customers can access solutions quickly, ensuring they receive timely assistance.

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💡Insider tip: 

• Intuitive Chatbot: You can utilize Plivo CX's OpenAI-powered chatbot to streamline customer interactions with accurate responses and efficient routing.
• Customizable IVR Solution: The customizable IVR system can help you offer personalized self-service options tailored to customer needs around the clock. 
• Custom Knowledge Base: Plivo CX empowers proactive support by enabling the development of a custom knowledge base, facilitating faster access to information for agents. 

3. Building bridges with passive customers

You probably have sent this to your customer–'On a scale of 0 to 10, how likely are you to recommend this product/company to a friend or colleague?'  

Within the NPS framework, there are three customer segments, one of which is Passives. Passives are not actively endorsing a brand, nor are they spreading negativity. 

However, there are risks associated with Passives:

• Competitive pricing from competitors can entice them away
• The absence of essential product features may prompt them to explore other options
• Even minor service issues, such as slow responses to emails, can erode their loyalty
• Frustrating product experiences, like inadequate knowledge base support, may push them toward competitors

To address these risks effectively, consider the following strategies:

• Be proactive in engagement and gather valuable feedback through surveys
• Promptly address concerns, whether through public responses or exceptional after-sales service
• Implement self-service support for quick resolutions
• Utilize data analytics to personalize communication tailored to their preferences and needs

While there's no universal solution for turning Passives into Promoters, improving their experience can help build lasting relationships, eventually retaining them. 

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💡Insider tip: 

• Unified conversations: Plivo CX's omnichannel contact center platform can enable your customer service agents to personalize conversations and enhance speedy communications across preferred customer channels.
• Self-Service AI bots: You can provide 24/7 support with OpenAI-powered chatbots that can be trained on customized content for more accuracy and relevance.

4. Elevating advocacy by rewarding loyalty 

Have you explored the benefits of loyalty programs for your business? 

Loyalty programs can be a powerful strategy for B2B customer retention and partner engagement, offering numerous advantages for your brand when implemented effectively! It drives stability, encourages repeat purchases, and boosts revenue, fostering long-term growth. 

These programs also strengthen business relationships, forging valuable partnerships with shared benefits. Moreover, they unlock opportunities for upselling and cross-selling, enhancing your overall experience and operational efficiency.

However, B2B loyalty programs differ from their B2C counterparts:

Here are a few examples of B2B businesses that have successfully implemented loyalty programs:

• Take the Salesforce Partner Program, for instance. It offers extensive support and rewards to partners through training, certification, and marketing resources. They also utilize smart tactics such as tiered memberships, providing partners with more perks as they excel.
• HubSpot’s Partner Program targets startups, offering discounted access to their high-quality tools. They focus on personalized support and co-marketing initiatives to drive growth.
• Mailchimp & Co. caters to freelancers and agencies, providing exclusive training and priority support. This empowers partners to deliver exceptional services and fosters advocacy, boosting loyalty and ensuring customer retention.

In summary, nurturing advocacy through well-crafted loyalty programs can drive business success.

5. Maximizing value: The upsell and cross-sell approach

Want to keep customers coming back for more? Offer them more! Companies can deepen customer relationships and boost retention by providing access to additional products and services. One effective approach is offering bundle deals that combine different items at a reduced price. 

Another smart move is providing personalized upsells and cross-sells based on each customer's unique needs and usage patterns. Using data to understand what customers want is crucial. These strategies go beyond just increasing revenue—It's all about building stronger bonds with customers by delivering what they want when they want it.

6. Listen, act, track, measure and repeat

Closing the loop on customer feedback is key for keeping folks happy and loyal. Amazon nails it by listening, acting fast, and staying on top of things.

Traditional metrics like CSAT and NPS surveys are useful, but they only scratch the surface in today's fast-paced world. With omnichannel personalized support and automation, relying solely on these metrics might not tell the whole story. To truly understand your customers, you need to dig deeper and address any process gaps. 

For example, metrics such as average response time and total conversation count give quantitative insights into agent workload and issue resolution speed. 

Analyzing trends in abandoned metrics can also highlight instances where agents may be overwhelmed, leading to longer customer wait times or indicating a need for more training in customer engagement.

With comprehensive data, you can gain a holistic understanding of operations and optimize customer engagement for better customer retention.

7. Voice of customer: insights that drive co-creation

Did you know that companies with strong omnichannel customer engagement keep an average of 89% of their customers? Are you actively listening to your customers? 

Analyzing Voice of Customer (VoC) insights can help you identify early signs of friction to prevent churn, customize products or services to better meet customer needs, and assess demand for new offerings.

To run effective B2B Voice of Customer (VoC) programs, follow these steps:

• Assess Revenue Coverage: Measure the percentage of your revenue base from which feedback is collected to gain comprehensive customer insights
• Engage Multiple Stakeholders: Gather feedback from various decision-makers within each account to satisfy B2B purchasing requirements
• Prioritize by Value: Differentiate accounts by their value to effectively address issues, prevent churn, and maximize revenue

Active VoC methods involve direct engagement with customers to gather insights in real-time. 

• Customer Interviews: Engage in both online and offline interactions to capture detailed feedback
• In-App Surveys: Utilize real-time insights to gather feedback on specific app features or services while customers are actively using them
• Live Chat Support: Provide immediate assistance and uncover customer support issues and feature requests during interactions
• Phone Support: Offer direct assistance and gather valuable feedback, revealing common phrases, customer sentiments, and recurring issues

Passive VoC methods capture customer feedback indirectly through monitoring and analytics. 

• Website Analytics: Track user behavior on your website to understand customer preferences and pain points
• Social Media Listening: Monitor social media channels for customer feedback, sentiment, and brand mentions
• Review Mining: Analyze customer reviews and ratings to identify trends and areas for improvement
• NPS Surveys: Send periodic surveys to gauge customer loyalty and satisfaction levels
• Historic Support Call Data: Analyze historical support call data to uncover recurring issues, customer pain points, and areas for improvement

This dual approach can empower you to gain comprehensive insights into customer needs, facilitating informed decisions for product and service improvements that align closely with customer expectations. 

8. Financial insights for proactive customer engagement

When it comes to B2B customer retention, leveraging financial data and predictive churn analytics is a game-changer. Your financial data uncovers subtle signs—like a drop in purchases or missed payments—that can signal at-risk customers. 

Meanwhile, predictive churn analytics use advanced algorithms to predict potential churners based on past behavior. Armed with these powerful insights, you can proactively nurture customer loyalty by reaching out with personalized strategies, exclusive offers, and exceptional support. 

Don’t just wait and watch—provide tailored customer support that includes additional training or resources to address specific challenges, reassuring customers. 

For at-risk accounts, extend special deals such as discounted pricing or exclusive features to reaffirm their choice of your product and enhance their experience. 

9. Finding meaning in the quiet

Silence speaks volumes. You may notice that clients who were once enthusiastic about your products or services suddenly go missing in action. When the silence becomes too loud to ignore, it's your cue to step in. 

By tracking churn data every month, you can clearly understand whether the customer churn rate is increasing or decreasing. This proactive approach allows you to identify potential issues early and take timely actions to retain valuable customers and strengthen relationships. 

Try Plivo CX for B2B Customer Retention

The role of well-developed strategies for enhanced customer retention cannot be overstated. Ultimately, the journey towards customer retention isn't about pushing products or services—it's about nurturing connections and creating spaces where customers feel valued.  

With Plivo CX, you can put the above strategies into action. The web-based omnichannel customer service platform is designed to help you:

• Create personalized experiences that guide new users with care
• Stay one step ahead of customer needs by being proactive in your support
• Use OpenAI-driven chatbots to quickly address common questions and concerns, just like a helpful assistant
• Empower customers with self-service options that make them feel capable and informed

Ready to see your B2B customer retention in motion? Speak to our experts today!