Baird Hall @Churnkey. The importance of testing in SaaS

In this episode #27, we are talking with Baird Hall, Co-Founder and CRO of Churnkey (https://churnkey.co/ ), a customer service software that makes it easy to manage and connect with customers, and truly help them succeed. Baird talks about the way founder’s journey changes from building the first to building the fourth company and if it gets easier. How to switch from B2C to B2B business and how different they are. Why having a great team and a support system helps founders along the way. He shares the hacks for customer retention that works for Churnkey, and much much more.

(0:00:05) – Cutting Churn 

We chat with Baird Hall, a four-time SaaS founder and co-founder of Churnkey, a software company designed to help build a healthy subscription business. We hear about Baird’s journey from customer support rep to business co-founder and his experience with a few failed startups before Churnkey. We learn about the challenges they faced when trying to sell Wave, with churn being a major red flag. We discover the aha moment of understanding that customers who click cancel often don’t want to cancel, but instead, want a better arrangement. We also explore the successful strategies they implemented to address this issue. All in all, a great conversation about the importance of understanding customer needs and how to address them.

(0:09:11) – Customer Acquisition and Churn Hacks 

We discuss the challenges of transitioning from a B2C prosumer SaaS product to a B2B product and how to best systemize a sales process for B2B customers. Our marketing and sales strategies shifted from a focus on SEO and paid ad campaigns to a focus on content and inbound sales. We emphasize the importance of explaining the product to customers and how small changes in retention strategies can make a big difference in ARR. We also share some hacks for Churnkey and how to set up an effective customer referral program.

(0:23:38) – Building a Trusted Growth Team 

We explore how hidden plans can be used to offer customers tiers of pricing within the cancellation flow, and how this can help to increase customer retention. We also discuss the importance of building a team that can offer a trusted, friendly approach to customers, and the need to experiment with different growth and marketing strategies. Crafting a customer-centric culture is essential for creating a successful subscription business.

(0:33:48) – Profitability, Churn, and AI in Business 

We explore the importance of customer retention and the value of net positive churn. Baird Hall, co-founder of Churnkey, shares his experience transitioning from a B2C prosumer SaaS product to a B2B product, as well as the challenges and successes of the process. We also discuss the use of AI in churn prevention and the possibility of using hidden plans to help increase customer retention. Finally, Baird shares his thoughts on the AI craze and how AI is allowing us to do more faster.

(0:39:54) – Discussing Growth and Opportunities in Saas 

Baird explores how hidden plans can be used to offer customers tiers of pricing within the cancellation flow, and how this can help to increase customer retention.