Introduction
Once renewals are completed, it’s important to conduct a post-renewal analysis to understand the factors that contributed to successful renewals and those that led to churn. By analyzing outcomes and gathering feedback, you can refine your renewal strategies and improve success rates for future renewal cycles. This article will guide you through conducting post-renewal analysis using Gainsight’s tools to drive better customer retention and renewal forecasting.
Step 1: Collect Feedback from Customers and Internal Teams
Start by gathering feedback from both customers and internal teams to understand the renewal process from all perspectives:
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Customer Feedback: Use Gainsight Surveys to collect post-renewal feedback from customers. This helps identify what went well during the renewal process and what could be improved.
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Internal Team Feedback: Gather feedback from CSMs, Sales, and Support teams to get insights into the challenges faced during the renewal process. Use this feedback to identify common pain points or opportunities for streamlining future renewals.
By collecting feedback from both sides, you gain a full understanding of the renewal experience and how to refine your strategy.
Step 2: Analyze Renewal Outcomes and Identify Trends
Use Dashboards to analyze the results of the renewal cycle and identify trends:
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Track Renewal Outcomes: Use Dashboards and Reports to track renewal success rates, churn, and upsell/cross-sell opportunities. Identify which factors—such as health scores or product usage—were predictive of renewal success or failure.
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Identify Trends: Look for patterns in the data. For example, were customers with lower engagement less likely to renew? Did customers with high product adoption renew at a higher rate? Understanding these trends helps you focus on the most impactful factors in future renewal strategies.
Analyzing these outcomes provides data-driven insights that inform your team’s approach to future renewals.
Step 3: Refine Playbooks and Processes Based on Analysis
Based on your findings, refine your playbooks and processes to improve future renewals:
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Adjust Playbook Steps: If certain steps in your Playbooks are consistently leading to successful renewals, consider adding those steps to other playbooks. For example, if offering a dedicated check-in call is proving effective for securing renewals, make it a standard step for all playbooks.
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Update CTA Triggers: Use the Rules Engine to refine when CTAs are triggered based on the outcomes of the post-renewal analysis. If certain health score thresholds are proving to be good indicators of renewal risk, adjust your CTA triggers accordingly.
Refining your playbooks and processes ensures that your team is continuously improving based on real-world outcomes.
Step 4: Implement Lessons Learned for Future Renewals
Finally, implement the lessons learned from your analysis into your overall renewal strategy:
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Improve Customer Onboarding: If your analysis shows that customers who struggled with onboarding were less likely to renew, focus on improving onboarding for new customers. Use Adoption Explorer to track onboarding progress and address issues early.
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Prioritize High-Risk Accounts: Based on your analysis, ensure that high-risk accounts are prioritized for renewal engagement. Use Scorecards to flag at-risk customers early and focus on re-engaging them before renewal.
Implementing these lessons helps refine your renewal strategies and improves the likelihood of success for future renewal cycles.
Next Steps for Success
With post-renewal analysis in place:
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Review renewal outcomes regularly: Use dashboards to track renewal results and identify patterns that can improve future strategies.
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Refine playbooks and processes: Continuously refine your playbooks and processes based on renewal analysis and feedback from customers and internal teams.
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