How to Keep Customers, and recoup profits to your SaaS-based business

May 6, 2023

Subscriptions form the basis of any SaaS business model.

This seems like an excellent concept. The customer signs up to your services and, every month, gets charged for the privilege of making use of the service. Simple, right?

Incorrect payment details can lead to one of the unspoken reasons behind customer losses in the SaaS industry--involuntary churn. Involuntary churn happens when a customer isn't aware that they've made a error or is doing it without thinking about it. Involuntary churn is 7.2 percentage of the total number of customers churned in addition to 7.5 percent for the SaaS area.

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We'll look at ways you can apply these methods into your company.

Why do involuntary payment or failed payments? The issue of customer churn goes out of mind

One of the foundations that support all of them is providing your customers with an outstanding service. If you've put the correct methods in place, then you'll have the ability to make sure your customers are happy and generate revenue while simultaneously.

Before diving too deeply into how to keep the flow of your income, it's important to understand the definition of the term "involuntary churn. Think of a procedure for payment you've set up for your clients:

  • Join your account
  • The company is expected to make payment by the 28th day of March.
  • The first transaction they attempt to make with the card in their accounts is not success.
  • The software you employ to send your client an email advising the customer that their purchase was not successful and they may be prevented from accessing your services in the event that they fail to act on the issue.
  • The customer doesn't make changes when they try another time, and the next attempt to use their credit card to pay with also fails.
  • In the event of another attempt at payment, the application suspends the subscription. It will then return them to an uncost version of the program or the account is canceled totally.

The thing this report isn't revealing are the numerous reasons that could cause the process of collecting payments to stop.

That's why planning for involuntary churn is essential to recoup revenue. It can be done by a number of methods like:

  • The procedure of setting up an order of "dunning" emails which create an ongoing reminder for customers to update the information of their credit cards or payment processing choices
  •       Check how the details of your credit card are changed within your internal system. If a customer update their details does it transfer accurate information into your payment processor?
  • HTML0 Verify that your method doesn't suffer from issues with gateways and prevents fraudulent transactions.

Three steps that you can do to increase your earnings and decrease the involuntary churn of your customers.

There are three methods you could use to make money.

1. Provide your customers with an easy experience while collecting payment

The year 2020 is just beginning and are in an age when customers aren't expecting to receive payments automatically. They expect that you pay them.

If you're mailing invoices to customers and then asking them to make payments by cash, it's not an attempt to improve the effort, however, it could result in payments being delayed. There's a possibility that invoices could be erased. while not on purpose certain clients may not pay or accidentally risk their subscription.

The ideal way to fix the issue is to give your customers a simple automated payment experience after they have paid for their subscription. Your payment page must not just offer the customer a smooth experience while they sign up to subscribe. Also, it should make it possible for them at any time they wish to modify the information of the payment.

There are several ways to help your customers to make subscription payments effortless and smooth:

  • Create an additional portal or webpage that lets customers update their personal information: A customer should be able to modify the details of their transaction at any time they like, not only if it isn't successful. It is important to ensure that this feature is readily available to customers at all times.
  • First, security. When a customer inputs their credit card details, it is recommended to input the details in a safe place. Ensuring that you keep your client's data on their credit cards safe is essential to maintaining their security. Do you really want to work with a company that doesn't have secure payment options?
  • Make it easy--even when your customers are browsing on mobile: Your clients are very active individuals. It is important to ensure that your website or payment gateway can be responsive regardless of what device you're using. If they're able change their data on the account no matter whether you're working or commuting and the greater chance they'll complete this.
  • Make sure everything functions as it should While technology is as amazing as it might be, we recognize the possibility that it is not working. Make sure you check your payment cycles as well as update page to ensure the pages are working in the way that they're supposed to. If not working, it could be due to your customers trying to alter their details about their transactions, however they haven't been able to.

     With iPayment, you can receive automated payments to your subscription. It handles subscriptions via various payment options and can be used with the majority of major payments, currencies and languages.

2. Let them breathe in the event that the first installment does not go as planned.

Late payment can cause problem. It is part of the subscription process.

If a credit card belonging to a person fails to work, offer clients time to reflect on the reasons for this. With technology like card updaters appearing on the market, information on cards is usually promptly updated. There are however instances where a customer's information on their card will not be current. It happens because sending email dunning can be the cause.

Now, a dunning email isn't a way to nag customers with the absence of payments. The email should rather be used to check in with the customer to make sure everything's working in the way it should, and also give the possibility of changing their payment details, like this dunning email from Hulu:

  • Make sure your customers know that your services are worthy of their time. Don't demand payment at all. Instead, create your email in a way that reminds your customers about what they've spent on your service initially. In the Hulu illustration above, it is a message for users to know that they will be able to keep watching shows that they love if they decide to keep their subscription.
  • Keep it short and concise: Don't send a junk mail that's as long as an entire book. Reduce it to just a few paragraphs and ensure that every message is geared towards an objective. The goal could be to remind the customer of the advantages your service offers them. It should be followed by a short explanation of the event which didn't go as planned. Make sure that the message doesn't just focus on the part that didn't perform, but be sure to emphasize that if the customer doesn't act in a timely manner then they'll lose their membership.
  • Use a concise CTA Similar to what Hulu did with the email you mentioned earlier. Instead of putting in"pay today" instead, or a "pay immediately" button and reminding your customer of the simple steps to "reactivate" the subscription. Create a simple CTA for your customers to ensure they are aware of what they must do to ensure your subscription remains active.

It is also important to try to make the changing process easy as you can. There is a chance that the CTA can direct customers to a different payment page that can be flexible to whatever device they are mailer on. It is important to note that the easier the process for consumers to alter their credit information on their cards and the simpler they are to do so then the greater chance they'll be able to make the required changes.

3. Don't be afraid to give you another chance.

Offer your customers the chance to understand the reasons behind the bounce, and work in partnership with them to offer alternative solutions in their service.

For example, when their payment fails you shouldn't immediately erase the account, or remove them completely from your database. Instead, contact them and inquire about what they could do in helping them.

You can offer:

  • Maintain their subscription at a lower level that they are able to afford.
  • Change them to a no-cost version of your software now
  • Shut down your account

In the case of SaaS in particular It is crucial to be aware that you are selling expensive items and are afraid of letting your customers loose when the initial payment does not go through. Perhaps they've depleted the lowest point of their budget or are in a position to not keep their subscription in the present. If this is the case, you can offer to transfer their account to a no-cost level of your services or to pause your subscription until they reach a point where they're at a point where they can afford it.

Naturally, ensuring that you are able to provide your clients with a good service even when they have issues in their payment will make them satisfied. Customers want to be assured that you can handle the fluctuating fluctuations that occur along the course of running a business. In putting their account in the hold instead of removing it, this saves the need for re-onboarding whenever renewal is due.

Your efforts will be recognized, as will your customers.

Rectifying failed payments is essential to lowering the amount of turnover

If they don't work in the event of failure then it is crucial to develop the correct procedure to not only make the profit however, you should also keep your customers. If the payment of a client fails, your first interaction with them shouldn't be just to recoup the money. It's crucial to follow up with your clients, and seek their input about issues or have concerns and work to solve the customer.

Customers are the vital lifeblood of your business. The fact that you're succeeding with your business doesn't mean that your customers are likely to leave. In the opposite direction If you manage it right you can create satisfaction both for your clients and your company.

Kimberlee Meier Kimberlee Meier is a Content Writer for B2B/SaaS, which helps startups to accelerate their growth with top-quality continually updated and constantly green materials. Workshops she conducts are located on kimberleemeier.com

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