Your existing customers are your most valuable asset. With the right insights and strategy, you can turn these relationships into a powerful engine for predictable, recurring revenue while delivering exceptional value.
Customer Expansion
Retain & Expand Your Existing Customer Base
Improve the customer journey
Meeting customer expectations for deep understanding and consistent value can be tricky because:
- Customer data is often fragmented across multiple systems, making it difficult to identify customer expansion opportunities
- Resource-constrained teams struggle to provide proactive, personalized attention at scale
- Siloed departments deliver inconsistent customer experiences
- Customers want a clearer demonstration of ROI
Deliver more value and timely solutions
Your current customers already see the value in your solutions. By understanding their needs, usage patterns, and growth potential, you can:
- Drive significant revenue: Find strategic upsells and cross-sells aligned with customer goals
- Increase customer lifetime value: Proactively identify and act on expansion opportunities
- Strengthen relationships & create advocates: Launch personalized engagement that anticipates customer needs
Actionable insights for Customer Success teams
6sense gives Customer Success a heads-up about what matters:
- Which customers are ready for advanced features
- When customers research solutions you offer (even on other sites), and may be ready for an upsell
- If they’re checking out competitors
- What content they’re engaging with
- What they’re looking for support on
No more waiting for quarterly business reviews to uncover opportunities.
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Frequently asked questions
How can I create a customer expansion plan?
Creating an effective customer expansion plan requires a systematic approach that combines data analysis, strategic planning, and consistent execution. Start by segmenting your existing customer base according to their current value, growth potential, and engagement levels. Then establish clear success metrics for each segment.
A comprehensive customer expansion plan should include:
- Account health monitoring framework that tracks usage patterns, engagement levels, and satisfaction metrics
- Regular touchpoint schedule tailored to each customer segment
- Value realization benchmarks that demonstrate ROI
- Clear expansion triggers based on customer behavior and needs
- Defined expansion pathways for different product lines or service offerings
For optimal results, integrate your expansion plan with your customer success strategy and ensure all customer-facing teams are aligned on goals and metrics.
What is an example of a B2B customer expansion strategy?
A typical B2B customer expansion strategy focuses on identifying and capitalizing on growth opportunities within existing accounts. Consider a software company that starts by selling their core project management tool to a customer’s marketing department. Their expansion strategy might involve:
- Phase 1: Ensure successful adoption and value realization of the core product
- Phase 2: Identify additional departments that could benefit from the solution
- Phase 3: Introduce complementary products or features based on usage patterns
- Phase 4: Scale deployment across multiple business units or geographies
This strategy succeeds through careful monitoring of usage metrics, proactive engagement at key moments, and clear demonstration of ROI at each expansion stage.
What are the biggest challenges in customer expansion?
The most significant challenges organizations face in customer expansion include:
- Data visibility: Companies struggle to aggregate and analyze customer data across multiple systems, making it difficult to identify expansion opportunities. 6sense solves this by unifying customer data and providing AI-powered insights about account behavior and needs.
- Timing: Knowing when to initiate expansion conversations can be challenging. 6sense’s predictive analytics help identify the optimal timing for expansion discussions based on customer signals and behavior patterns.
- Resource allocation: Teams often lack the bandwidth to properly nurture all accounts. 6sense helps prioritize efforts by identifying high-potential accounts and automating routine engagement tasks.
- Cross-team coordination: Different departments often work in silos with misaligned goals. 6sense provides a unified platform where all teams can access customer insights and coordinate their expansion efforts.
How do I calculate customer expansion revenue?
Customer expansion revenue can be calculated using several key metrics:
- Starting Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR)
- Expansion revenue (upgrades, cross-sells, upsells)
- Contraction (downgrades)
- Churn (cancellations)
(Starting MRR + Expansion – Contraction – Churn) ÷ Starting MRR x 100 = Net Revenue Retention (NRR)
For a more detailed analysis, track expansion revenue by type:
- Upsell Revenue: Revenue from upgraded packages or increased usage
- Cross-sell Revenue: Revenue from additional products or services
- Price Increase Revenue: Revenue from pricing adjustments