The Ultimate Customer-Retention Resource Roundup
/Customers are the driving force behind your business’s success, yet earning customer loyalty is exceedingly challenging; SaaS companies and particularly subscription services have experienced these growing pains. Optimizing the customer experience at every turn means adhering to best practices. This will maximize your customer lifetime value (LTV) and return on investment (ROI), while minimizing churn.
There’s one big problem with that advice, however: best practices are constantly changing as we observe customer behavior. Determining what to take as gospel can be incredibly difficult, and failing to make proactive changes may hurt your business. Keeping current is essential to outpacing your competitors without spinning your wheels.
We’ve assembled a collection of dynamite resources that’ll help you improve your customer-focused craft. Proactive learning is the most effective way to stay nimble. These will help spark fresh, exciting ideas fit for your next strategic meeting or fireside chat.
Brilliant Blogs and eLearning Centers
Be sure to set some time aside for this insightful reading material. These oft-updated resources are havens for knowledge seekers, and deserve a look:
PostFunnel
In its own words, PostFunnel strives to serve “as a thought leader in the relationship marketing realm—successfully writing pieces that are neutral and brand agnostic…” The content team focuses on providing professional insights while injecting some fun into the mix. Each article is backed by a flurry of informative facts and figures, given that PostFunnel is data-driven.
PostFunnel’s community of marketing professionals regularly pens content under four main categories: features, strategy, analysis, and Optimove insights (Optimove owns PostFunnel). These articles challenge popular customer narratives, dispel myths, dive into metrics, and reinvigorate stale customer lifecycles. PostFunnel is superb at giving readers a broad picture of marketing trends, whilst tackling the nitty gritty with niche topics.
What we Love:
The bustling community that fuels regular updates and refreshing content
The occasional PostFunnel Brand-Prix, a case study series pitting two brands’ customer experiences against one another
Zuora Academy
Zuora is a marketplace, application, and solution vendor aimed at businesses with subscription services. It’s only fitting that they’re an authority on the subscription economy, teaching readers about customer journeys through their Academy. Zuora is decidedly more buttoned up than the likes of PostFunnel, though their content is far from sterile. Most articles are sourced from the company itself, with some guest posts sprinkled in.
Zuora regularly creates e-series centered on specific topics, such as monetization and digitization. Their content not only focuses on how SaaS companies can evolve; it also discusses each staff member’s role in promoting growth—from customer teams to CEOs. This well-rounded approach emphasizes the customer lifecycle’s holistic nature. There’s a plethora of insights readers can garner, from net retention, to LTV formulas, to subscription model adoption strategies.
What we Love:
Specific devotion to the subscription model, including successes, pitfalls, and stratagems
Zuora does not shy away from data, embracing metrics that will truly appeal to the marketing nerd within
The Hotjar Blog
Hotjar's services are adept at pooling customer insights into one unified dashboard for easy analysis. In turn, the Hotjar Blog focuses on improving your customer-facing online presence. The goal is to keep visitors engaged and interested in your offerings, and Hotjar is a big proponent of fluid customer experiences. Here you’ll find plenty of customer behavior and design-centric resources.
The best way to gauge your customer approach is not simply grasping at straws. Hotjar repeatedly emphasizes customer feedback’s vital role. If you need to spruce up your user interface (UI) and user experience (UX), Hotjar’s experts have you covered.
What we Love:
Hotjar’s reminder that first impressions are everything regarding acquisition, and that polished experiences also drive retention
The wide variety of in-depth, long-form content—presented in legible formats including lists and defined sections
The Shopify Blog
Shopify is a standout in the eCommerce space, and knows a thing or two about what makes customers tick. The company offers an informative guide to customer retention strategies, much akin to HubSpot’s. Shopify’s content is customer minded but also sales minded, adding depth to the customer approach. Blog articles focus on basics and advanced tips.
Readers will rejoice in articles focused on scaling businesses and customer strategies. Shopify’s content is approachable and explores unique stories that incorporate key marketing lessons. With its collection of ideas and customer insights, Shopify has proven itself as a reliable source for customer-retention tips and beyond.
What we Love:
Breadth of content is impressive and information is easy to navigate
Shopify’s “Customer Retention 101” guide is an exceptional resource for everyone touching the customer lifecycle
Bellwethr Insights and Library
We also highly recommend you check out our insights blog—a rapidly-growing knowledge base based around optimizing the customer lifecycle. We’re obsessed with providing innovative tips for subscription businesses and direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands. We’re nerds at heart who explore the role technology and machine learning have in acquiring, retaining, and winning back customers.
You can find a variety of materials like blog posts, eBooks, and case studies. For those brushing up on industry concepts, our Explain Like I’m 5 page make things simple. Subscribers love The Chime newsletter for its collection of insights and fun stories.
What we Love:
Calculators like the Net Win-Back Score
Our informative eBooks like The Dreaded Exit
Praiseworthy Podcasts
Whether you’re killing time on your commute or listening during your lunch hour, these podcasts will provide some creative inspiration:
Digiday Podcast + Making Marketing
Digiday takes a conversational approach with its content, and while this may seem obvious, each podcast is warm and welcoming. Interviewers cover multiple niches, while Digiday dives deeply into consumer marketing in their Making Marketing segments. Hosts Shareen Pathak and Brian Morrissey inject life into every topic, chatting with startup leaders and executives from established brands. This allows listeners to observe strategic differences.
Marketing is the topic du jour, though everything ties back to the customer in one way or another. Digiday’s podcasts don’t simply bombard you with technical information. Each interview provides colorful, detailed lessons on how customers and entire industries are continually shifting. Each podcast includes a detailed synopsis, should you miss a beat.
Get started with these episodes:
The Laundress co-founder Lindsey Boyd: Retaining customers is more important than acquiring new ones
American Express’s Elizabeth Rutledge: Customer advocacy is the best marketing
Length: approximately 30 minutes
Zuora Subscribed Podcast
Hosts Tom Krackeler and Rachel English regularly chat with executives and growth leaders in the SaaS space, among others. The Zuora Podcast focuses primarily on the subscription model which is so central to modern customer retention. Every episode highlights key strategies that drive customer satisfaction.
Interviewees are authorities in their respective areas, so every morsel of information has immense value. Zuora’s episodes also emphasize how even non-customer-facing groups impact customer success.
Get started with these episodes:
Ep #29: Krista Anderson-Copperman – CCO at Okta, Inc.
Ep #25: Chris Haigh – Director of Product, Web, Acquisition & Retention at DAZN
Ep #24: Daniel McCarthy – Marketing Scientist & Assistant Professor at Emory University
Length: approximately 30 minutes
SaaStr Podcast
SaaStr is a community of SaaS executives, founders, and entrepreneurs, and it derives much of its content from this core group. SaaStr Podcast episodes cover topics ranging from career advice to customer success, hitting a variety of touchpoints across the business realm. SaaStr provides full transcripts for each episode, if you need to reference key information later on.
The company regularly hosts business leaders from established companies. We love the sheer scale of SaaStr’s operation—there are over 265 episodes available, with 30 dedicated to tackling customer success.
Get started with these episodes:
Podcast 212: Nick Mehta, CEO @ Gainsight On Why Burying Customer Success Under Sales Does Not Work
Podcasts for the Week with Gainsight and WP Engine (Ep. 264)
The Chief Customer Officer Human Duct Tape Show
Author and five-time CCO Jeanne Bliss hosts numerous C-level executives from some of the world’s most-influential companies. The Human Duct Tape Show homes in leadership practices, and how fearless strategies can boost customer success. Jeanne lives and breathes the customer experience. Accordingly, most episodes revolve around customer journeys in many ways. Multiple episodes focus on building customer experiences for specific types of businesses—instead of focusing on one or two industries.
The show asserts that business leaders have a responsibility to unite teams around a central strategy. Customer success is earned, reinforcing the idea that all companies must hustle to improve retention. Jeanne is charismatic and knowledgeable; we love the energy she brings to each discussion.
Get started with these episodes:
How to Execute a 90-Day Plan to Improve Customer Experience in a B2B2C Retail Organization
4 Steps to Improve Customer Experience At Your SaaS Organization
3 Steps to Mapping a Robust Customer Journey with Chelsie Rae Lee of SnackNation
Length: approximately 30-60 minutes
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The best customer-retention strategy starts with smarter, automated solutions. To learn how machine learning can boost customer retention, visit our product page.