Guaranteed return customers are a business owners dream. All that time and energy invested into acquiring a new customer is truly paid off when that customer returns.
It’s not only great for your bottom line, but return business is a clear indication that your product or service is effectively meeting the needs of your market. It is in the pursuit of repeat business that we strive to perfect our offering and our customer service.
Of course, achieving the initial transaction is a win but if your customer has an ongoing need, and does not return to your business, it’s a red flag that something within your customer experience needs to improve.
And whilst many companies are working hard for their recurring business, channel businesses are being presented a massive opportunity that (almost) guarantees them the ongoing business of their customers.
The subscription-based model has the potential to guarantee your customer will return, but only if you are operationally equipped to meet their recurring needs. Examples of these needs are; service contracts, maintenance agreements, cloud consumption etc. which in many cases are being renewed monthly. Given the huge industry shift to this model, you must treat the initial transaction as just the first step in a customer lifecycle journey.
Many channel businesses are yet to implement the necessary internal processes to capture and automate their recurring business. In failing to do so, they are not missing out on business, they are LOSING business. They are letting their customers take their ongoing needs elsewhere, and over time the compounded loss of those low-cost renewals will be felt in their bottom line.
Recurring revenue is where most of your time and energy should be focused. This will grow your business exponentially faster than chasing new deals, because you don’t have the cost outlay to acquire. You already have the customer base; but you now have to protect it! If you don’t, you’re giving up your customer and their ongoing needs, and that sunk cost in acquiring them in the first place.
Having a sophisticated platform in place, to manage your subscription-based business will not just protect your recurring revenue, it will give you the ability to expand on your existing customer base. When you can automate every opportunity for upsell, cross sell, upgrade and end of life replacement, you aren’t just keeping customers, you are continually maximizing your relevance to them.
Of course, once you’ve automated these processes, you can again focus your attention on chasing new business, knowing that your new business will also have the potential to become recurring.
iasset.com has been created to allow channel businesses to thrive in the new world of subscription-based selling. Our SaaS platform will create a single source of truth for the data within your business and enable infinite customer lifecycles.
To learn more about iasset.com, contact me or a member of my sales team.
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