Episode 636 | A Customer-Led Approach to Driving More Recurring Revenue
Nov 22, 2022
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Claire Suellentrop, a co-author focusing on customer-led growth, and Georgiana Laudi, co-founder of a consulting firm for startups, discuss their new book, which promotes a customer-centered approach to building recurring revenue. They explain why they titled the book 'Forget the Funnel' and outline a three-step strategy for unlocking customer-led growth. Key insights include engaging future customers and operationalizing insights for sustainable revenue. Real-world examples illuminate how to adapt business strategies based on customer feedback.
The podcast discusses a customer-led approach that prioritizes understanding customer motivations and mapping experiences to drive recurring revenue.
It emphasizes the necessity for companies to adapt their strategies continuously by engaging with both current and future customers to identify unmet needs.
Deep dives
Customer-Led Growth Framework
The book emphasizes a customer-led approach to generating predictable revenue, moving beyond the traditional sales funnel model. It introduces a three-phase framework focused on genuinely understanding customers, mapping their experiences, and identifying opportunities for growth. This approach highlights the need for companies to see the marketing process as continuous, where customer retention and expansion are just as vital as initial sign-ups. By rethinking marketing in this way, businesses can better align their strategies with customer needs and preferences, ultimately fostering sustainable growth.
Understanding Customer Perspectives
To effectively understand customers, the framework suggests starting with defining who the ideal customers are based on their engagement with a product. This involves conducting job interviews to uncover customers' motivations for choosing a product and understanding their pain points prior to finding it. Teams are encouraged to focus on those customers who truly resonate with their offerings, distinguishing between those who generate revenue and those who might be a burden. This alignment ensures that businesses prioritize learning from their best customers, creating a foundation for informed marketing strategies.
Learning from Future Customers
The framework also addresses the importance of understanding future customers or target audiences, particularly for companies still in the early stages of development. Real-life examples illustrate how businesses can pivot their strategies in response to shifts in their target market, such as responding to the challenges faced by the restaurant industry during the COVID-19 pandemic. By actively engaging with potential customers through online channels, companies can identify unmet needs and adjust their offers accordingly. This adaptive approach can result in significant outreach and eventually convert interested prospects into loyal customers.
In episode 636, Rob Walling chats with Claire Suellentrop about the new book she co-wrote with her co-founder, Georgiana Laudi. The book is called Forget the Funnel: A Customer-Led Approach to Driving Predictable Recurring Revenue. Gia and Claire have run a consulting firm for the past several years where they are working with startups and SaaS companies to help them learn more about their customers in order to drive more revenue. And this book is a distillation of their learnings.
Topics we cover:
1:09 - Why did Claire name their new book, Forget the Funnel?
2:36 - A three-step approach for unlocking customer-led growth
3:09 - A framework for getting inside your customers’ heads
14:01 - How to learn from future customers
20:21 - Applying and operationalizing all your customer insights
If you have questions about starting or scaling a software business that you’d like for us to cover, please submit your question for an upcoming episode. We’d love to hear from you.