From visionary startups to established enterprises, companies are in a continuous race to expand their customer bases. But this intense focus on acquiring new customers sometimes overshadows an equally crucial initiative — customer retention.
Driving customer retention requires a deep understanding of their needs, preferences, and behaviors. Companies that aren’t fluent in their customers have a lot to lose, like:
- Brand reputation
- Market share
- Long-term sustainability
- Revenue
Customer support representatives (CSMs) work to keep and expand business, but customers don’t always volunteer every opportunity or point of frustration during one-on-one conversations. But you can use intent data to spot hidden growth opportunities (and the warning signs of churn) — and take action.
Getting to Know Your Customers Even Better
Understanding your customers is at least as important as understanding your prospects. Perhaps Srividya Sridharan, vice president and group research director at Forrester, puts it best:
“B2B firms that only focus on revenue growth are hindering their long-term success. To meet evolving buyer expectations and needs … they must ensure that their revenue processes are designed to provide demonstrable value throughout the customer lifecycle.”
Srividya Sridharan
VP, Group Research Director, Forrester
The best way to provide that value? Listen for the intent signals generated between calls.
Here are some of the key opportunities you can find to either expand or salvage a customer relationship.
Upselling and Cross-selling
Use real-time intent data to identify customers who are ready to expand their relationship with your business.
Intent data can reveal which customers are actively researching your solutions — or those of a competitor. Armed with this knowledge, reps can proactively reach out and initiate conversations.
Here are some examples:
Product Interest
If a customer frequently visits pages about advanced features of your product, it signals a readiness to upgrade to a higher service level. You can proactively reach out with personalized offers and highlight the benefits of the upgrade that match their needs.
Research Patterns
Intent data is often used to spot when target accounts are researching solutions that you can offer. That same tactic works well for existing customers, too. When customers research solutions that they could be buying from you, that’s your signal to reach out.
Organizational Engagement
When you land a contract with a large organization, you may start out with a toehold in a specific department or region. Listening for intent signals throughout the organization can reveal opportunities to expand relationships across business units.
Prevent Churn
Customers aren’t always forthright when they’re unsatisfied. Instead, they simply start researching other solutions.
6sense gives your Customer Success team an edge in knowing about this activity, like:
- Frequent visits to customer support pages: An increase in visits to troubleshooting or support pages suggests that the customer is experiencing issues with your product.
- Engagement with competitor websites or reviews: If a customer is spending more time on competitor websites, it signals they are considering a switch.
- Decline in usage of key features: A noticeable drop in product usage might show that the customer is not finding value in your solution anymore.
- Unsubscribing from newsletters: When a customer unsubscribes from emails or newsletters, they may be losing interest in your product.
Gartner’s 2024 Tech Trends survey found that 68% of businesses are switching software more often than they did in 2021.
Intent data reveals when customers might be at risk for churn, enabling you to intervene before it’s too late. Using this information, you can once again take proactive measures:
- Customer success teams reach out promptly to address any potential issues or concerns, and provide additional training or resources.
- Marketing teams craft targeted campaigns designed to help customers get more value out of your products or services.
- Sales representatives uncover opportunities to introduce more offerings that may reignite the customer’s interest.
With the right technology and approach, you can stay ahead of potential problems and ensure customers remain happy and engaged throughout the lifecycle of the relationship.
For instance, FullStory, a company specializing in digital experience intelligence, uses 6sense to “play offense” and mitigate customer churn. Using custom dashboards, the team focuses on customers with upcoming renewals within a three to six-month timeframe. Their proactive approach enables them to spot at-risk accounts early by tracking which were researching competitor terms or exploring other market options.
Conclusion
While growth through customer acquisition is vital, nurturing existing relationships is equally — if not more — important for sustainable success.
By using advanced tools like 6sense, you gain more than just an understanding of your customers’ needs; you’re empowered to act on these insights, reduce churn, and foster a loyal, engaged customer base. The power of intent data drives strategic actions and creates meaningful connections with your customers.
Harnessing these capabilities transforms your approach from reactive to proactive, ensuring that every customer interaction is an opportunity to deepen trust and drive long-term loyalty.
