Reignite Your SaaS Growth with These 12 Actionable Strategies

Many Software as a Service (SaaS) companies, at some point in their businesses, go through a period of stalled growth. Although growth will not likely resume immediately, it is important to make some necessary changes today to make this possible.

SaaStr CEO Jason Lemkin insists that stalled growth “happens to all of us, at least for a few quarters.” When your growth stalls, it is important to act quickly to revive it.

This article provides 12 practical strategies to reignite your SaaS growth. Even if you haven't yet reached a growth plateau, these tips can benefit nearly any SaaS business. Let us dive into specific actions your business can take to re-engage and get back on track.

An Overview of the SaaS Growth Ceiling

Nicholas Holmes states that practically every SaaS business faces a challenging period known as the growth ceiling, and to achieve success, they need to tackle it head-on.

Your business could experience a churn rate that exceeds new sign-ups. This could result in business stagnation. A sound knowledge of your SaaS company's potential growth ceiling is key.

However, when new sign-ups equal the number of customers leaving each month, it results in growth challenges. While we won’t explore growth ceilings in depth here, acknowledging this common issue is important when discussing stalled growth.

Hands-on Strategies to Rekindle SaaS Growth

1. Analyze Metrics

This involves keeping a close eye on your Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) as the first step.

Look for deviations from your usual patterns and try to pinpoint possible causes:

• Did you implement a product change?

• Did you have reasons to change the SaaS pricing?

• Was your business hit by external factors like industry changes?

2. Supercharge Your NPS Scores

Your NPS reflects customer satisfaction and loyalty. Lemkin discovered that many SaaS companies go through growth stalls by the time they hit $20 million to $40 million in Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR). This can be attributed to a low Net Promoter Score (NPS).

If you are not measuring your NPS yet, now is the time to start! Look for trends in past NPS results and use those insights to guide your product decisions.

3. Target Higher Value Markets

Be clear about where you currently stand in the market. Determine whether you’re positioned to serve enterprise clients, or if you'd rather focus on an ease-of-use option, serving smaller businesses. Focus on what works best for you.

Several SaaS companies take the bottom-up approach by focusing on smaller customers before moving up to serve businesses in larger markets. Enterprise customers usually provide higher revenue and lower churn rates.

4. Build an “Ecosystem”

Think about transforming your SaaS offerings into a cohesive ecosystem. Companies can achieve growth by developing complementary products or services that enhance their main offerings and deliver added value to customers.

Consider Zoey, an eCommerce platform, which recently released a developer's toolkit. This single act can open up new opportunities on their platform.

5. Assess Lost Deals

When experiencing a growth decline, the SaaS company needs to take a pause and assess what went wrong. Before chasing new opportunities, it is pertinent that they seek to understand why they lost those deals. Discussing in depth with your sales team the expectations of target customers and how your competition met those needs could provide invaluable information for future execution. Understanding this can help you secure a significant share of the market.

6. Strategic Talent Hire

Consider introducing fresh leadership to your business to provide that needed spark for your SaaS. It has been proven that companies facing growth challenges sometimes fall short of the necessary skills to effect the desired change. Instead of following the norm and hiring a new VP of Sales, consider hiring strategically across different units/functions to infuse fresh energy into your growth strategy.

7. Consolidate Customer Relationships

Focusing on customer retention strategies, such as having your CEO personally reach out to clients, can make a huge difference during a period of growth stalls.

For instance, when Groove faced challenges, CEO Alex Turnbull committed over 100 hours to having conversations with 500 customers in only four weeks. These efforts resulted not only in stronger relationships with the customers but also provided insights into customer desires.

8. Revisit Your Core Beliefs

Every company needs to be flexible, dynamic, and open to change. They need to consider constituting a team focused on innovation, changing outdated and hindering policies and beliefs to ensure they align with the demands of the market.

9. Price Experimentation

Adjust your pricing model regularly to ensure that your product value is continuously optimized. It is advisable to start by testing new pricing strategies with new customers before rolling them out to all your customers. This also helps with product price sensitivity.

10. Search for Missing Features

Critically examine your product to identify any lacking features. This can contribute immensely to successful product development efforts, particularly in difficult times. Pay more attention to adding essential features that customers are looking for.

11. Be Knowledgeable About Market Trends

Keep abreast of the happenings around you—the market trends, your industry, and new opportunities. Not doing this will keep you ignorant of market changes. Consider that HubSpot has maintained its leadership position by staying knowledgeable of market shifts and opportunities, such as acquiring a startup focused on AI technologies.

12. Encourage Open Communication

Modeling and encouraging open, unfeigned communication is key when facing stalled growth. Engage with your team regularly to keep everyone informed and aligned about the happenings in the company and market, and how they can partner with you toward moving forward. Encouraging all team members to share their ideas can lead to innovative solutions and boost morale.

While experiencing stalled growth can be challenging, it’s possible to reignite momentum with thoughtful strategies and a collaborative approach. By implementing these suggestions, you can work toward revitalizing your SaaS business and exploring new avenues for improvement.