2019客户保留调查.pdf

2019 State of Customer Retention SurveyHow B2C, B2B and hybrid companies manage churn1State of Customer Retention SurveyHow B2C, B2B and hybrid companies manage churnINTRODUCTIONSubscription businesses are facing immense pressure to grow. Theyre employing strategies to acquire customers faster than ever before. But whats the plan to keep customers paying? Until recently, retention has taken a backseat to acquiring new subscribers. Thats changed. Now customers can cancel and find a new solution in a few clicks. So, how do B2C, B2B and hybrid subscription companies approach retention in an increasingly competitive landscape? We asked 300+ CEOs, founders and executives across 28 industries about the challenges they face to retain their hard won customers.These leaders are united in their prioritization of retention with 97% of all respondents indicating its a top priority. But initiatives, challenges and tools differ across B2C, B2B and hybrid companies. Heres what we learned.B2C COMPANIESCustomer base is primarily individualsB2B COMPANIESCustomer base is primarily businessesHYBRID COMPANIESCustomer base is both individuals and businessesRespondent typeRespondent profileTOP INDUSTRIESTechnology, Retail, FinanceCOMPANY SIZE500+ employeesCOMPANY REVENUE1/4 respondents belonging to companies generation more than $250MState of Customer Retention SurveyHow do you feel your company prioritizes customer retention?2B2C companies know they must do better at retention Great subscription businesses are those that win more customers and keep them paying for longer. B2B companies are most confident in the way they prioritize retention with only 30% of respondents believing they could be doing more. Respondents at hybrid companies are split: barely over half think priority is appropriate while nearly 40% believe theres room for improvement. Only 44 percent of B2Crespondents feel retention is prioritized appropriately within their company com-pared to 68 percent of theirB2B counterparts.B2C B2B HybridAppropriately44%68%54%We could do better49%29%39%We over-prioritize retention at the expense of other initiatives3%3%7%State of Customer Retention SurveyWhich of the following customer retention objectives is the highest priority for your company this year?3B2B companies prioritize customer education, while B2C companies focus on supportOur research shows B2B and B2C respondents differ greatly in their beliefs of whats most important in retaining customers. This disparity illustrates how B2B and B2C companies view customer retention. Because each B2B buyer represents a much greater revenue opportunity with the customer relationship lasting months or even years, theres more value in B2B companies providing education, personalization and flexibility to keep customers satisfied. For B2C and hybrid companies, the market is far broader, and so these organizations focus on providing customer support en masse and retaining customers through upselling. Our research shows B2B and B2C respondents differ greatly in their beliefs of whats most important in retaining customers.B2C B2B HybridImproving customer satisfaction through better customer experience and support56%14%32%Better upselling and cross-selling across the base19%11%19%Saving customers from cancelling9%5%7%Educating customers to facilitate usage and mastery of our services5%34%15%Onboarding new customers effectively11%32%28%State of Customer Retention SurveyWhich of the following tactics have you tested in order to reduce customer churn? Select the three most effective.4Today, most companies turn to discounts and deals to retain customersWhen it comes to engaging customers with personal-ized offers, B2C and B2B respondents choose different moments in the customer journey. B2C companies are twice as likely to offer bundles or special deals preemp-tively to at-risk customers than B2B (58 percent vs. 26 percent), while B2B companies are more than twice as likely to test a range of discount offers at the point of cancel than B2C (51 percent vs. 20 percent).B2B and B2C companies have the opportunity to further implement each others top tactics. B2C custom-ers may like the opportunity to pause their subscription while B2B customers could be given the opportunity to inform organizations why theyre leaving.Engaging at-risk customers with discounted pricing is considered a top three most effective retention tactic by all respondents.Offering bundles or special deals to at-risk customers58% 26% 37%B2C B2B HybridSystematically surveying the Net Promoter Score (NPS) of customers who cancel22% 11% 11%Preemptively engaging at-risk customers with discounted pricing41% 35% 44%Implementing a customer cancellation survey to identify common reasons for leaving27% 17% 29%Offering easy ways to downgrade to a free plan at the point of cancel19% 23% 32%Offering a free private consultation or training11% 20% 27%Offering the ability for customers to pause or suspend their subscription24% 39% 38%Offering new compelling educational content to solve common service issues14% 12% 23%Proactively emailing or calling at-risk customers19% 25% 22%Automated email or dunning processes to update expired/bad credit card details9% 20% 15%Testing a range of discount offers to customers at the point of cancel20% 51% 45%We havent tested any churn reduction tactics5% 2% 3%State of Customer Retention Survey5Faster response times and better-trained customer support34% 6% 15%B2C B2B HybridDeveloping predictive models to forecast customer propensity to churn or expand27% 12% 17%Refining our Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) and customer journey13% 8% 5%Segmenting customers based on estimated lifetime value and/or account health5% 7% 7%Pricing changes3% 0% 3%Regular monitoring and classifying of subscriber churn5% 32% 21%Automating workflow around the customer cancellation process0% 11% 9%Proactively engaging at-risk customers with personalized offers14% 22% 22%Excluding product improvements, which of the following initiatives do you feel would have the greatest impact on customer retention at your company this year? The future of retention is knowing when to engage and whyRetention is fueled by ongoing engagement and personalization over time. In spite of growing interest in predictive models for cancellation and expansion, many companies are currently ill-equipped to measure what their customers need and deliver the best experience.B2B and hybrid companies indicate theyre looking to monitor and classify subscriber churn. These companies are keen to understand why customers cancel in order to incorporate insights into their onboarding and educational materials. B2C respondents remain consistent in their view that improved customer support will deliver the biggest impact on retention at scale, but their teams must be equipped with the right data in order to provide customers what they need. In a turn away from current practices, respondents from all companies indicate that pricing changes would have the lowest impact.33 percent of all respondents believeproactively engaging at-risk customers with personalized offers would have the greatest impact on retention. State of Customer Retention SurveyWhat percentage of your recurring revenue churns each month on a GROSS basis (i.e. revenue lost from account cancellations and contractions)?6All subscription businesses should ensure they are looking beyond the number of cancellations to the value of churn in order to tackle deficiencies.Secondly, B2B organizations may be investing less in retention programs and more in onboarding and customer training experi-ences, whereas B2C customers make a greater effort to intervene when subscribers show intention to leave. These numbers reveal an opportunity for B2B companies to implement some of the offer-based tactics used by B2C companies to save customers before cancellation. Subscription businesses churn an average of 2.0%-3.9% of revenue each monthB2B companies have the highest overall monthly recurring revenue (MRR) churn with 59% of respondents indicating a rate of over 3.0%. B2C companies have the lowest overall churn rates with 57% of respondents indicating their churn rate is 2.9% or lower. This data goes against the widely accepted belief that B2C companies have higher churn than B2B or hybrid companies. So, why do more B2C companies believe they have room to improve their retention efforts while having lower MRR churn rates than their B2B and hybrid counterparts? First, lets look at the calculation itself. MRR churn is the percentage of revenue lost due to cancellation or downgrades, but not all customers are worth the same as the next. For example, assume a company loses 10 customers this month and 5 customers next month. This month they churn $50 (10 customers at $5/month) and next month churn is $500 (5 customers at $100/month customers). Overall, 54 percent of respondentshave between 2.0 percent-3.9 percent of revenue churn each month. B2CB2BHybrid 1.0%8%8%4%2.0% - 2.9%33%20%30%2.0% - 2.9%17%6%17%3.0% - 3.9%23%31%23%4.0-4.9%14%20%10%5.0% or greater2%8%11%Dont know3%8%4%State of Customer Retention SurveyWhat is your current year over year revenue growth rate?7Only 1 in 4 subscription companies are growing more than 30% year over yearB2C, B2B and hybrid companies delight customers with conve-nience, exceptional customer experience and ease of use. However, its never been easier for customers to cancel, downgrade or switch service providers in a few clicks. And increasing competition means the emphasis on customer acquisition continues. Acquiring customers is important, but can overshadow retention efforts. In order for subscription businesses to drive increased growth, subscription business must invest equal, if not more, resources into retaining customers as acquiring them. Retention is also a more efficient way to grow with a dollar retained being 7x cheaper than a dollar acquired.B2CB2BHybrid 0% 0%-5% 5%-10% 20%-30%0%2%1%19%8%5%20%20%24%28%18%15%30%-50%13%23%13%Dont know0%5%4%50%-100%0%5%9%10%-20%16%20%28%State of Customer Retention Survey8Top customer relationship management (CRM) and e-commerce platforms123456781234567B2C E-COMMERCEB2B CRM HYBRID CRM123456789State of Customer Retention Survey9Top customer support software123456123456B2C CUSTOMERSUPPORT SOFTWAREB2B CUSTOMERSUPPORT SOFTWAREHYBRID CUSTOMERSUPPORT SOFTWARE123456State of Customer Retention Survey