Boost Net Revenue Retention Through Customer Engagement

For customer success and marketing leaders, Net Revenue Retention (NRR) isn’t just a KPI—it’s the heartbeat of sustainable growth, and frankly,? in a volatile tech market it can make or break whether or not you keep your job (sorry for the scare tactic, but you know it's true). High NRR means your customers aren’t only renewing but are also expanding their investment with your company, which is hugely critical in today’s competitive markets. But what drives strong NRR? More often than not, it’s rooted in a company’s ability to meaningfully engage its customers.

Why Customer Engagement is a Game-Changer for NRR

Engaged customers are more likely to renew, expand, and advocate for your brand. Research shows a clear correlation: companies with higher engagement levels enjoy higher NRR, as engaged customers see ongoing value in their investment and deepen their commitment over time. For example, Gainsight found that businesses with highly engaged customers see NRRs exceeding 100%, which reflects the added revenue from both renewals and upsells.?

How Leading Companies Leverage Engagement for NRR Growth

Several companies have demonstrated how a focus on customer engagement can directly impact NRR. Here’s how some of them have done it:

1. HubSpot: Creating Value with Education and Community HubSpot has built a strong ecosystem for customer engagement, including HubSpot Academy (a free educational platform) and an active community forum where users share knowledge and connect. This approach empowers users to maximize HubSpot’s features and build long-term loyalty. With these resources, HubSpot has maintained NRR rates well over 100% by delivering consistent value and encouraging deeper customer relationships.
2. Salesforce: Personalized Success Management and Training Salesforce offers personalized customer success managers (CSMs) who guide customers with tailored advice and regular check-ins. Additionally, Trailhead, their gamified training platform, helps users gain expertise and make full use of Salesforce’s extensive features. These efforts lead to high NRR, as customers receive ongoing value from Salesforce’s products and services, increasing their likelihood to renew and expand.
3. Zendesk: Data-Driven Engagement and Proactive Support Zendesk takes a data-driven approach, monitoring usage and adoption rates to identify customers at risk of disengagement. For these customers, they provide tailored content and proactive outreach to ensure they get the most out of their Zendesk solutions. This preemptive engagement approach has boosted their retention rates and NRR by ensuring customers remain satisfied and see value continuously.

Measuring and Monitoring Customer Engagement

To leverage engagement as a driver of NRR, companies need reliable metrics to understand customer behavior and satisfaction. Here are key ways to assess engagement:

• Usage Frequency and Depth: Track how often customers log in, the features they use most, and the time spent in your product. High usage levels indicate that your product is essential to their daily operations.
• Customer Satisfaction Scores: Metrics like Net Promoter Score (NPS) and Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) reveal how customers feel about your product and can predict loyalty and advocacy potential.
• Support Interactions: Frequent support issues might signal friction, while low support needs often indicate smooth usage and understanding. Keep an eye on unresolved tickets, which may point to frustration, versus proactive support, which signals positive engagement. And whether the feedback is good or bad (especially when it's bad!), make sure you relay that information back to your product team. It's vitally important that new features and improvements correlate to solving customer problems rather than whatever "cool new thing" the dev team thinks of in a bubble.
• Community Involvement: Active participation in webinars, forums, and user groups suggests that customers are committed to maximizing the value of your product and are more likely to renew.
• Customer Advocacy: Customer advocacy is one of the strongest indicators of engagement. Whether customers join a formal advocacy program, volunteer to be a reference, speak at conferences, refer colleagues, or promote your brand publicly, these acts of advocacy reflect high satisfaction and commitment.

Diagnosing and Addressing Low Engagement

Low engagement signals the need for improvement, but getting to the root of the problem is crucial:

• Onboarding Gaps: A weak onboarding experience can cause customers to lose interest early. Consider revisiting your onboarding process to make sure it’s thorough and equips customers with the skills they need to succeed.
• Feature Complexity or Misalignment: If certain features show low adoption, they may be overly complex or misaligned with customer needs. Analyze feature use data and gather feedback to determine if simplifications or customized training might increase usage.
• Perceived Value Deficit: Customers may reduce engagement if they don’t see a clear ROI. Regular check-ins, such as quarterly business reviews (QBRs), can highlight the value they’re receiving and uncover new ways to meet their evolving needs.

Actionable Steps to Enhance Engagement and Drive NRR

Improving engagement is a multifaceted process. Here are some practical strategies:

1. Implement Proactive Customer Support: Use usage data to proactively offer resources, training, and best practices that align with customers’ goals and usage patterns.
2. Establish Regular Check-Ins and QBRs: Routine check-ins ensure that customers are realizing value and give you opportunities to demonstrate additional ways your product can meet their needs.
3. Encourage Community Participation: Fostering an engaged community through webinars, user groups, and forums strengthens customer relationships and can turn users into brand advocates.
4. Build out Formal Advocacy programs: Customers that get value from your product and feel valued by your company are far more likely to renew and buy more. Programs that drive, leverage and expand that customer value will ultimately be the lowest CAC you can spend–with the highest upside. Those customer proof points will not only provide an authentic voice that helps drive new business, they also reinforce the customer relationship, making renewals and upsells that much easier.?

By making customer engagement a priority, companies can drive significant gains in NRR. Engaged customers are more than just loyal—they’re the foundation of long-term growth. Prioritizing engagement creates a powerful feedback loop, where satisfied customers stay, grow, and help fuel your business's success. For customer success and marketing leaders, it’s clear: investing in engagement isn’t just about retention. It’s a direct path to sustainable, scalable growth.

Need some help reaching your NRR goals? Let's talk!