Customers not growing? Try looking under these 3 rocks

growthNRRcustomer journeycustomer success

21 Feb

Yeah, I know. Retention is more important than ever. But you know what? You can’t get over 100% NRR without growth. That’s just maths.

I’ve been in this position. I’ve had 100% GRR, which is lovely… but not very impressive. Customer growth is one of the most important indicators of overall company health. Doesn’t matter what size the company is. If your customers aren’t growing, you either aren’t building products which solve problems for your existing customers (no focus), or you’re not listening properly.

No focus is a hard nut to crack. Focus comes from the CEO, and in my experience a lack of focus is because the CEO is probably still running your sales org. No ICP and want to solve problems for anyone who’ll talk to about anything that sounds vaguely like something you do? No wonder your existing customers aren’t growing.

If that doesn’t sound like you, here are 3 rocks you might want to look under. If your customers aren’t growing, it’s either because you’re not maximising your opportunities or you’re not selling your value well enough through the problems you solve.

Top tip: If you have a few customers that have grown, get into the details with them. If you have 10 customers, even if you can’t articulate the problems you solve and the value you deliver, I reckon one of them has worked it out on their own. Ask them what their primary focus is, what are the outcomes they care about and why. These are the details you need to build your value story. Then, apply this to your other customers. Bing bang bosh, you’ve got yourself a framework you can use to focus other customers (who care about the same things) in the same way and demonstrate ROI. If you need help working this out, let me know.

Anyway, to the rocks. There’s a good chance your customers are telling you what they want to pay for, and you’re not listening.

Rock #1 - Support Tickets

What are your customers asking about? What are the most commonly asked questions or frequently submitted tickets? Who are your most active customers support ticket-wise?

Support tickets aren’t a sign of struggle. They’re a sign of activity and usage. Customers who frequently ask questions and want to talk about how to do things want to be listened to, and I guarantee if you listen, you’ll build a stronger relationship. Strong relationships lead to better conversations, and more upsell conversions.

Try this - If you have a customer who’s always asking about product features and wants to know how to make the most of your product, reach out to them and schedule a call to ask about what they’re doing and why it’s important. If they’re asking about things you don’t do, bring a product manager. You’ll get some great user feedback either way and if you ask the right questions about what they’re trying to achieve, you’ll likely uncover some cool problems you can help them solve.

Rock #2 - Technical Documentation

You know one of the fringe benefits of great technical documentation? Often, it includes all sorts of hidden features and information that you don’t know about and that your customers find when they’re working through an implementation or a change.

I have personally closed several expansion deals, which started out as “I found this in your docs and I’d like to know if it can help me with X”.

Especially if your users and key personas are technical, make sure your technical documentation is shit hot. It pays you back in leads and revenue.

Rock #3 - Community

Are you building a community? Is there a place (even a substack) where your users can come together to talk about you? Do you have a customer advisory board? Are you having mixers for your customers at events?

Mixing your customers together has two benefits. 1. Value, people want to hear about how other people who do their job in other places do it and what they can learn. Orchestrating these conversations is legitimate value that you can deliver for your customers. 2. When they talk, they learn what other people are doing with your product and how they can use it better. If you start mixing big and small customers, well, those smaller customers might just start seeing how they could maximise their value with different features, mixes of products or just more capacity.

Honestly, the next industry event that you’re attending throw a mixer for your customers. Get some big, successful ones to come along and talk to some smaller ones (or prospects) about how great you are and watch engagement levels soar.

Have you noticed the theme of all the rocks?

If your customers are talking to you, listen. Actively seek out ways to start conversations with them about their goals and about their industry in general. Be the catalyst for the conversations and prioritise learning. Either be driven by your desire to learn about them and what they’re up to or prioritise them learning about their industry.

Create listening and learning opportunities at every touch point where it makes sense. Then, start implementing what you hear. Build a community around what you do, and you’ll always be adding value to the experiences of the champions you work with. That value you add will keep them renewing and probably growing.