While it’s crucial that all B2B entities understand the importance of customer retention, not every one of them does. 

I remember seeing a recent office exchange between a newly graduated salesperson and his veteran sales manager. The sales manager, let’s say his name was Michael, had asked the new salesperson, let’s say his name was Ryan, to share if business school had taught him any useful sales tips. 

Ryan: Is it cheaper to sign a new customer? Or to keep an existing customer? 

Michael: Uh… it’s equal. 

Ryan: It is TEN TIMES more expensive to sign a new customer. 

Michael: Okay. Yes! It was a trick question. 

No, Michael, it wasn’t a trick question, and a good sales manager would understand that in the world of B2B sales, the real challenge - and opportunity - lies in customer retention. 

So read on to explore the importance of customer retention, why it is genuinely crucial for a B2B company, and how to create the best customer retention plan or program. 

(And if you’re just here for the customer retention rate formula and other formulas related to retention, skip to the end to see them all)

Customer retention refers to the strategies and actions companies take to keep their customers over time. 

Customer retention is about creating a relationship with customers that encourages them to continue doing business with you, rather than turning to competitors. 

A key metric of your business's health, it is an indicator of whether your products and/or services please your existing customers. This also means customer retention is the lifeblood of B2B and SaaS-based companies.

Once you've guided a customer to their first purchase, your focus should shift to retaining them. Turning casual or first-time customers into full partners and brand advocates is a vital part of any B2B customer retention strategy. 

Retaining customers is crucial because, again, it costs five to ten times as much to attract a new customer than to keep an existing one. Need more convincing to revamp your customer retention strategies? Check out these other customer retention statistics: 

• 81% of customers report that they are likely to purchase from a business again after a positive experience.
• Existing or returning customers spend between 60-70% more than first-time customers. 

• More than 60% of customers will leave or defect after just one bad experience.

While both B2B and B2C businesses focus on retaining customers, the strategies and dynamics involved can differ significantly. 

In B2B customer retention, the relationships tend to be more complex and long-term. B2B retention often involves fewer customers but larger contracts, making each client relationship critical to the business's success. Additionally, decision-making in B2B settings typically involves multiple stakeholders, meaning that retention strategies must cater to various levels of an organization.

In contrast, B2C retention tends to focus on individual consumers, where emotional engagement, convenience, and brand loyalty play key roles. B2C strategies often rely on loyalty programs, personalized marketing, and fast customer service. B2B customer retention, however, emphasizes building trust, providing tailored solutions, and maintaining ongoing support and consultation.

Understanding these nuances is essential for crafting effective B2B customer retention strategies that meet the specific needs of business clients.

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Distilled from the insights of dozens of industry experts and streamlined into our Top 9 Customer Retention Strategies, here are the most effective strategies to strengthen relationships and boost long-term loyalty.

McDonald’s, the most successful restaurant chain in the world, lists Consistent as one of their Brand Promises. While not everyone enjoys the taste of McDonald’s, we can agree that the fast food giant is consistent. 

Whether you’re in New York, London, or Seoul, your Big Mac will look and taste as expected. This consistency, which extends to nearly every aspect of the business, is responsible for McDonald’s jaw-dropping customer return rate - a whopping 88% of customers who purchase McDonald’s will do so again the following year. 

McDonald’s founders understood - one of the cornerstones of customer retention is setting expectations right from the start and being consistent with those expectations. When customers know what to expect and you consistently meet or exceed those expectations, they feel confidence and legitimacy towards your brand. This consistency reinforces your reliability and makes it more likely that customers will continue doing business with you. 

Treating customers as individuals, not just numbers, is essential for building long-term relationships. 

Personalization means tailoring your sales communication, offers, and services to meet the unique needs of each customer. In today's world, customization and personalization are no longer optional - they’re mandatory. A staggering 63% of consumers refuse to buy from brands that lack personalized experiences, and 66% expect businesses to recognize and meet their unique needs.

Empathy in sales plays a key role in understanding the unique needs of your customers and shows them that you genuinely care about their experiences. 

By making customers feel heard and valued, you strengthen the emotional connection they have with your brand. This human-centric approach can set your business apart from competitors and foster deeper loyalty.

This episode of the Outside Sales Talk podcast featuring Shari Levitin provides expert insights from one of the world’s foremost authorities on authenticity and empathy in sales!

When I worked at Netflix, the CS department had the stated common purpose of “We’re here. We’ll fix it. Stream on.” Nothing revolutionary, but it was straightforward, easy to remember, and effective in uniting the CS teams and cultivating a sense of belonging. 

Is your CS department united under a known, common purpose? Because exceptional customer service is about more than just resolving issues - it's about addressing customer needs and providing support that exceeds expectations. 

I was also impressed with how proactive Netflix was with customer service. 

It expanded its accessibility across multiple platforms, recognizing the importance of meeting customers where they are. Support was available through phone, email, chat, and even social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, as well as traditional snail mail. By ensuring their service was accessible, responsive, and solutions-oriented, Netflix would turn very frustrated individuals and negative experiences into loyalty-building opportunities. 

When customers know they can rely on prompt and helpful support, they are going to stay loyal to the brand.

A seamless customer experience strategy can be the deciding factor in keeping a customer or losing them to a competitor. From the first interaction to post-purchase follow-ups, every touchpoint should be designed for ease and satisfaction. Whether it’s fast delivery, customization options, or omnichannel support on preferred platforms, consistently positive experiences build loyalty and encourage word-of-mouth referrals.

A great CX also means ensuring customers feel truly supported at every stage. 

For example, when Badger Maps CEO Steve Benson worked at IBM in his younger years, he was impressed by how they assigned a team of specialists to each customer to help set up cloud storage and train them on the best and most relevant applications. Inspired by this, Steve implemented a similar approach when he founded Badger Maps, believing that when customers truly understand the product, they’re more engaged and successful.

Badger Maps is a sales route planner with the customer experience at its heart. By optimizing your  field sales routes and getting you to each appointment on time, you can automatically plan, route, and maximize your time in the field, cutting down driving time by 20%.

Being on time to every meeting is a critical part of delivering a great B2B customer experience. 

The Badger Maps route planning tool takes your long customer list and turns it into a drivable, optimized route. By optimizing your routes, something you can’t do with Google Maps, you will save money on gas and meet with more customers than you normally would. 

By being on time, driving less, and selling more, field sales teams using Badger Maps have reported a 22% increase in annual revenue.  

Improving your CX is a true win-win situation for everyone involved when you implement it correctly, and to do that you need to leverage the data in your B2B CRM software.

With Badger Maps you can mobilize your CRM, ensuring you have instant access to important customer information as you work your sales territory. You can easily sync and leverage data in your CRM, all from your mobile device. 

Badger Maps seamlessly integrates with the most popular CRMs such as HubSpot, Salesforce, Zoho, Microsoft Dynamics, NetSuite, Insightly, and many more.  

On average, sales teams using Badger Maps save 8 hours a week, drive 20% less, and sell 22% more.

Discover the value Badger Maps can provide your sales team by trying it out yourself. Start a free trial or schedule a demo now!

Consistently ranked as one of the most trusted B2B companies in the world, FedEx owes a lot of this trust to their open communication with customers. 

Based on measured customer preferences, their communication strategy is centered around providing real-time updates on shipments. They also provide proactive notifications and alerts, keeping businesses informed of potential delays or issues, which enables companies to adjust their operations accordingly. This transparency helps reduce uncertainty and builds trust with clients, demonstrating that FedEx is committed to ensuring smooth deliveries.

You may not be in the transportation industry like FedEx, but the principle is the same - staying ahead of customer needs by being proactive in your communication is a powerful retention strategy. 

Don’t wait for customers to reach out to you - regularly check in with them, whether it’s to share updates, offer new products, or just to see how they’re doing. By maintaining an ongoing dialogue, you demonstrate that you value their business and are committed to keeping them informed.  Proactive communication helps to prevent issues before they arise and keeps your brand top of mind for customers.

Check out this Outside Sales Talk podcast episode with Jon Levy who teaches salespeople the art of connection and trust!

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What do tech companies like Slack, Dropbox, and HubSpot have in common? Their product roadmaps are dictated by customer feedback:

• Slack received numerous complaints from customers about the complexity of the Slack user interface. Slack executives and employees didn’t share this view, yet wisely went ahead and simplified their UI navigation. Higher user engagement occurred almost immediately.
• Dropbox was planning to differentiate themselves from other cloud services by building unique new features, but this announcement was met with dismay from customers. Listening to criticism and requests from business users, they pivoted their efforts into enhancing their foundational file-sharing and collaboration tools.
• HubSpot rolled out a redesigned dashboard after customers pointed out challenges with tracking sales metrics; they saw measured improvement in usability and client satisfaction.

Gathering customer feedback is vital for continuous improvement. 

By regularly collecting customer feedback, you gain insights into what’s working well and where you can make enhancements. However, it’s not enough to just collect feedback - you must act on it. 

When customers see that their input leads to tangible changes, they feel heard and appreciated. Making improvements based on feedback shows that you’re dedicated to delivering the best possible experience, which will greatly improve customer retention.

We all have a friend who chooses restaurants for the group based on his loyalty points or punch card at that business. When that friend gets their way, the restaurant gets an entire batch of customers from the efforts of one. If a sandwich shop knows the value of establishing a loyalty program of some kind, why don’t you? 

Loyalty & referral programs and incentives are powerful tools for encouraging repeat business. By offering rewards, discounts, or exclusive deals to long-term customers, you create additional value that keeps them engaged. 

Gamification, such as reward systems, points, or interactive experiences, can enhance these programs by making them more fun and engaging for customers. Referral programs and VIP perks can further enhance customer loyalty by making customers feel special and valued. 

Of course, every program is going to be different based on the interests and behaviors of the customer base: 

• Focusing on sustainability and eco-friendly practices, HP’s “Planet Partners Program" rewards B2B customers for recycling used HP products, such as printer cartridges. 
• Tesla's loyalty program is centered around its referral program, where owners who refer new buyers earn credits that can be redeemed for rewards like free Supercharging miles, accessories, or entries for high-value raffles, such as those for a Tesla Cybertruck.
• Badger Map’s referral program is about as straightforward as can be, offering a $50 Amazon gift card for each successful referral tracked through personalized referral links, with no limit on the number of gift cards referrers can receive. 

Keeping customers engaged doesn’t stop at their initial purchase. Creating true win-win situations, upselling and cross-selling relevant products or services can add value to the customer experience and deepen their relationship with your brand. 

These strategies help customers discover more of what you offer and can lead to increased satisfaction and loyalty. By ensuring that your upselling and cross-selling efforts are personalized and relevant, you can enhance the customer experience and boost retention.

Let’s check out how some have implemented this practice effectively: 

• Salesforce excels at upselling and cross-selling by offering clients premium add-ons, such as advanced analytics and AI-powered features. These upsell strategies help Salesforce improve customer lifetime value and ensure that clients stay engaged with their expanding suite of tools.
• Adobe’s upselling success stems from encouraging users of basic software plans to upgrade to Creative Cloud’s full suite, which includes additional tools for design, video, and web development. Cross-selling also occurs when Adobe suggests complementary services like stock photo subscriptions, further embedding customers into their ecosystem.
• Shopify is known for upselling merchants to higher-tier plans that include more features, such as advanced reporting, shipping discounts, and custom automation. Shopify also cross-sells services like payment processing (Shopify Payments) and shipping solutions (Shopify Shipping), which further embed merchants into the ecosystem.

Check out our guide that shows you everything you need to know about Upselling and Cross-selling!

Shared values create a strong emotional connection between your brand and your customers. When customers feel that your company aligns with their personal values - whether it’s sustainability, innovation, or social responsibility - they’re more likely to stay loyal. 

REI, the outdoor retailer, is a prime example of a company leveraging their products, programs, and values in cultivating customer loyalty. Their products, programs, and values work together to foster deep customer loyalty by aligning with the values and mindset of their target audience - outdoor enthusiasts who value sustainability, quality, and community. 

The bottom line is this - people are drawn to those who reflect their own traits and values. 

Make these values a central part of your brand’s identity and reinforce them through your actions and communications. Customers who believe in what your company stands for will not only remain loyal but may also become advocates for your brand, spreading positive word-of-mouth and helping you attract like-minded customers.

You’ve just read nine guaranteed customer retention strategies, now go and make a plan to implement those that are the most cost-effective and relevant to you! 

Remember that customer retention is an ongoing process that requires constant attention and innovation. 

By applying these B2B customer retention strategies, you are guaranteed to increase customer retention and build lasting relationships that benefit both your customers and your business.

The exact rate that you retain customers should NOT be a mystery. To measure the effectiveness of your customer retention strategies, use the customer retention rate formula:

Customer retention rate goes hand in hand with a handful of other metrics, including customer churn rate, customer lifetime value, repeat customer rate, and purchase frequency rate. These other relevant formulas provide insight into how well you're retaining customers plus their value and purchase rates.

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