Customer retention vs. acquisition: What's the best method?

The age-old debate of customer retention versus acquisition remains a pivotal discussion point for marketers, entrepreneurs, and executives. Both strategies are crucial for growth, but determining which should be prioritized can significantly impact a company's success.

This article explores the intricacies of customer retention and acquisition, exploring their benefits, challenges, and the best approach for various business models.

Understanding customer retention

In its most basic form, customer retention refers to a company’s strategies and actions to keep its existing customers engaged, satisfied, and loyal. The focus is on creating long-term relationships that encourage repeat purchases and reduce churn rates.

The benefits of customer retention

There are many benefits of customer retention.

The first is cost efficiency. It’s widely acknowledged that retaining customers is cheaper than acquiring new ones. Data suggests that acquiring a new customer can cost up to five times more than retaining an existing one. Customer acquisition costs (CAC) are more substantial due to the marketing, advertising, and sales effort required to attract new customers.

Second, retaining customers enables higher profit margins. Loyal customers are more likely to make repeat purchases and are often willing to spend more, which leads to higher profit margins. Loyal and satisfied customers will also help drive word-of-mouth marketing. These customers are more likely to recommend a company to others, providing valuable, organic marketing.

Finally, retaining customers also means that revenue is more predictable. With a stable base of returning customers, businesses can better forecast sales.

SaaS renewal benchmarks by company size and industry

Renewal rates in SaaS aren't one-size-fits-all—they vary widely by company size and industry segment, and these differences can shape your entire retention strategy.

For small-to-midsize businesses (SMBs), annual renewal rates typically range from 70% to 85%. Mid-market SaaS providers often see rates in the 80% to 90% range, while enterprise-focused vendors regularly report renewals north of 90%. Why the jump? Larger customers usually have more complex onboarding, deeper integrations, and higher switching costs, all of which drive stickiness.

Industry also plays a pivotal role. For example, SaaS platforms serving regulated industries like healthcare or financial services often report renewal rates 3–5% higher than those in fast-moving verticals like e-commerce or marketing tech. The reason? Compliance requirements and data residency concerns make switching providers a bigger lift, so customers stay longer. In contrast, SaaS tools in highly competitive, low-barrier markets may see more churn and thus lower renewal rates.

Understanding where your business sits on this spectrum is essential. If your renewal rates lag behind your segment's benchmarks, it's a signal to dig into root causes – maybe onboarding needs tightening, or your value realization milestones aren't clear enough. On the flip side, outperforming your segment can be a powerful proof point for investors and a rallying cry for your team.

Bottom line: Benchmarking renewal rates by size and industry isn't just a numbers game – it's a strategic lens for prioritizing retention investments and setting realistic targets.

The challenges of customer retention

There are, however, many challenges relating to customer retention. All Customer Success Managers (CSM) and CS leaders out there will be all too familiar with these challenges. Maintaining engagement is a fickle task. How do you constantly and consistently keep customers engaged? This in itself requires continuous effort and innovation. Content marketing, gamification, and exceptional customer service are just a few of the methods that can be implemented. Following on from the task of managing engagement, these days, customers demand a personalized experience – now more than ever. Naturally, this can be highly demanding of resources.

Lastly, managing customer expectations, is, in my opinion, one of the more challenging aspects of the role of a CSM. Customers have pressure from their business to ensure that the product or service they are delivering internally is successful, and CSMs also experience similar pressures from their internal business. This could be related to product delivery or feature updates. It’s challenging to consistently set and manage customer expectations whilst ensuring success.

How customer health scores drive SaaS renewal rates

Customer health scores have become a cornerstone metric for SaaS organizations aiming to predict and improve renewal outcomes. At their core, health scores distill a range of customer signals – product usage frequency, feature adoption, support interactions, NPS, and even billing history – into a single, actionable indicator. When built thoughtfully, these scores give CS teams a real-time pulse on which accounts are thriving and which are at risk of churn.

Why does this matter for renewals? The data is clear: customers with high health scores are significantly more likely to renew, while those with declining scores often signal upcoming churn. In fact, we've seen SaaS companies report that accounts flagged as "healthy" renew at rates exceeding 90%, compared to sub-60% for those marked "at risk." But you'd be mistaken for simply dismissing this as just theory; it's what plays out quarter after quarter in real CS orgs.

So, how do you move the needle on health scores to boost renewals? Start by ensuring your scorecard reflects the behaviors that truly drive value for your customers, not just activity for activity's sake.

For example, if deep feature adoption correlates with retention in your segment, weight it accordingly. Next, operationalize regular health review – don't let scores gather dust. Use them to trigger proactive outreach, tailored success plans, and executive check-ins. We've seen teams double their renewal rates for "at-risk" accounts simply by intervening early and aligning on measurable success outcomes.

Understanding customer acquisition

Customer acquisition involves attracting new customers to a business through various marketing and sales strategies.

Benefits of customer acquisition

I think this goes without saying: the key benefit of customer acquisition is business growth. New customers are absolutely essential for business expansion and reaching new customers.

Increased market share will assist in helping a business dominate its market and outperform competitors. You could also add that diverse revenue streams are a benefit of customer acquisition by driving a wider customer base which can lead to reduced dependency on a specific customer segment. However, this element is quite nuanced and depends on the appropriateness of the product or service being sold across all markets.

Challenges of customer acquisition

There are many overt challenges to customer acquisition, the first of which is the high costs associated with acquiring new customers. These costs typically relate to the expenses of sales teams and marketing. Depending on the sales and marketing strategies and tactics employed, new customers may require or be offered discounts or incentives.

Building brand awareness and trust among new customers can be very tough and expensive. That said, the process of building a brand certainly presents its challenges.

Strategies for balancing customer retention and customer acquisition

Deciding between focusing on customer retention or acquisition isn't always straightforward. The best strategy often involves an integrated approach that leverages both strengths.

One of the first items to look at when balancing retention and acquisition is to ensure your marketing efforts are segmented. Tailor marketing efforts to different segments, focusing on retaining existing customers and acquiring potential customers.

Ensuring that you have well-rounded customer feedback loops is so important. Use feedback from current customers to improve products and services, which can attract new customers.

Increase customer acquisition by leveraging your existing customer base through loyalty and referral programs. Establish these programs to reward repeat customers and provide incentives for new customers. Additionally, offer rewards to current customers for referring new customers to your brand.

Finally, to increase revenue from your current customer base and not entirely rely on sales to generate all the revenue, create an expansion strategy by either upselling or cross-selling products and services that your organization offers. Encouraging existing customers to purchase additional products or services, will enhance retention and increase revenue.

Customer retention and acquisition are both vital components of a successful business strategy. While retention offers cost efficiency and stable revenue, acquisition drives growth and market presence. The key is to find the right balance tailored to your organization's model and industry. By integrating retention and acquisition efforts, businesses can create a sustainable path to long-term success, ensuring they not only survive but thrive in a competitive marketplace.

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Customer retention vs. acquisition What's the best method?