It’s Valentine’s Day, and love is in the air. Let’s take a look at how you can delight your customers throughout their entire journey, effortlessly with digital tactics. That way, the love you show your customer accounts keeps you—and everyone else—smiling come renewal time.
Ah, the renewal stage. Like a perfectly crafted rom-com, renewals are all about keeping the spark alive and showing your customers that you’re their true love. With Gainsight’s Digital Customer Success (DCS) offerings, you can scale your charm, deliver delightful value, and secure those renewals without breaking a sweat (or an SLA). Let’s dive into some heartwarming strategies that will help your customers swipe right every time.
1. Create Segment-Specific Digital Renewal Journeys
Not all relationships are the same, so why treat them like they are? Tailoring automated renewal paths for account segments based on size, tier, and value ensures the chemistry is just right.
- For Enterprise Customers: Start the courtship early! Engage them 8–9 months before renewal with touchpoints that add a personal flair.
- For SMB Customers: Keep it sweet and simple with a smoothed-out 3-month process.
Think of it as matchmaking at scale: Renewals require delivering the right message at the right time for the right audience.
2. Implement Predictive Renewal Scoring
What’s better than a crystal ball? Data, of course!
With today’s advances in AI for CS, you can use machine learning to predict renewal likelihood based on usage and engagement trends.
With a “renewal likelihood score” in your back pocket, you can determine which accounts need a little extra love and which ones can glide through with digital touchpoints.
And let’s not forget about Staircase AI, which will further increase renewal accuracy by providing real-time insights on customer health, flagging churn risks and expansion opportunities well ahead of renewal time.
It’s like being a psychic, but cooler (and much more accurate).
3. Build Automated Milestone Celebration Campaigns
Everyone loves a little confetti! Celebrate your customers’ achievements every step of the way—not just at renewal time.
Send an “OMG, you did it!” email when they hit a significant usage milestone or achieve a vital business goal. These little customer journey moments of truth mean more than you might think—they reinforce why you’re their favorite partner in this journey. And it ensures they don’t feel like their achievements are going unnoticed. Think of it as leaving your customers Valentine’s cards all year long.
4. Design a Digital Executive Sponsorship Program
Busy executives can be like elusive crushes. Keep them engaged with quarterly video QBRs/EBRs, ROI dashboards, and industry benchmarks.
It’s like sending them a highlight reel of all the amazing ways you’ve made their lives easier—because who doesn’t love a good highlight reel?
5. Deploy In-Product Renewal Engagement
Don’t rely solely on email—it’s like sending a love letter via carrier pigeon in today’s digital world. Use in-app notifications and banners instead.
Add countdown timers, usage summaries, and one-click renewal links. It’s renewal on autopilot, with a lovely touch of convenience.
6. Create a Year-Round Customer Marketing Automation Program
Keep the love alive by sharing your thoughts all year long! Send out success stories, product updates, and industry insights.
You’re not just a partner; you’re the friend who knows just when to text them the perfect meme—or business advice, in this case.
7. Implement Digital Stakeholder Mapping Tools
Stakeholders come and go—don’t let their departures derail your renewal plans. Use tools to monitor changes, track LinkedIn, and get alerts about key contacts. For example, Gainsight has a feature called People Maps, which provides a graphical view of the hierarchy in an organization. Using this hierarchy, you can visualize the reporting structure, which in turn helps you contact the right people. As stakeholders change, using company intel and People Maps helps you keep track of who reports to whom, so you always know the decision-makers.
Pro tip: Always know who controls the purse strings. Appealing to key stakeholders with buying power is essential to curbing the risk of surprise churn.
8. Build Self-Service Renewal Options
For smaller accounts or DIY enthusiasts, offer self-service renewal paths via a customer portal.
You’ll get bonus points for adding incentives, like a discount for early renewals. After all, who doesn’t love a good deal—especially when it feels like finding a secret stash of chocolate?
9. Design Digital QBR Alternatives
Busy customers can feel overwhelmed. Instead of lengthy meetings, create automated emails or videos in place of QBRs filled with personalized usage data, ROI calculations, and benchmarks.
Think of it as their renewal cheat sheet—short, sweet, and too good to ignore.
10. Implement Usage-Based Renewal Recommendations
Leverage data to recommend the perfect renewal package. Whether it’s optimizing licenses or upsizing tiers, make them feel like Goldilocks: “This one’s just right.”
Renewals don’t have to feel like a second date where no one knows who’s picking up the check. With Gainsight’s Digital CS solutions, you can make the process efficient, engaging, and surprisingly delightful. Your customers will stay for the value—and the smiles are just a loving bonus!
Learn more about Customer Success at Gainsight to ensure all your renewals are love-at-first-sight moments.
