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How to strategically expand your existing customer base
In B2B SaaS, sustainable growth starts with delivering real value to your existing customers. Therefore, we asked Attensi to share how they work to expand their existing customer base at a recent Viking Growth best practice session. Tess Russell, Global Account Director at Attensi, unpacked how her team focuses on ensuring customers unlock the full potential of the solutions and how that fuels meaningful account expansion with high-value accounts. This article outlines the core strategies, frameworks, and key takeaways from that conversation, providing a practical lens on scaling through customer success.
The importance of account growth
Expanding existing accounts is the holy grail of SaaS growth. At Attensi, over 50% of annual recurring revenue (ARR) comes from upsell within the current customer base, making expansion a core growth strategy. By leveraging strategic segmentation and targeted initiatives, Attensi not only accelerates its growth but also delivers increased value for its customers.
Defining hypergrowth accounts
A core theme of the session was the strategic identification of hypergrowth accounts, which are accounts with high expansion potential. At Attensi, these accounts are measured by the total number of employees the company could ultimately train. In general, it requires segmenting the customer base beyond current revenue on factors such as total headcount, the number of sites, and global footprint. Data on adoption patterns and product usage also plays a critical role in surfacing accounts with the highest long-term value.
Key account segments
Attensi segments its accounts into four categories: Renewal, Strategic Renewal, Growth, and Hypergrowth. While the first two focus on retention, growth and hypergrowth accounts are expected to deliver 10-50% growth.
- Renewal: Maintain satisfaction and ensure continuity by delivering consistent value and addressing issues before they escalate.
- Strategic Renewal: Identify upsell and cross-sell opportunities. Understand evolving needs and proactively offer solutions that align with their goals.
- Growth: Expand the organization’s footprint. Engage new departments or regions and demonstrate how your product can solve broader challenges.
- Hypergrowth: Go all-in. These accounts require dedicated teams, executive sponsorship, and a long-term strategic plan to unlock their full potential.
Typically, a hypergrowth account would represent a smaller portion of the total account base but contribute a significantly higher percentage of the total ARR. In Attensi, these accounts represent just over 10% of Attensi’s customer base but contribute roughly 30% of ARR.
Growth levers for hypergrowth accounts
Attensi employs four primary growth levers to unlock hypergrowth potential:
1. Expanding existing footprints:
Expansion begins with leveraging existing stakeholder relationships and selling additional solutions within the current account framework. For example, transitioning from a single pilot covering company-operated stores to encompass franchise operations, eventually scaling solutions globally.
2. New market expansion:
Expanding into new geographies or verticals is essential to scaling. Ensure that you create buzz across global regions to attract interest from influential stakeholders. Attensi leverages its existing success with specific accounts to penetrate new markets, creating a compelling narrative that engages new audiences.
3. Brand portfolio expansion:
Leverage the customer’s brand equity to unlock growth across a broader portfolio. Successful deployment in one brand or business unit can act as a powerful springboard into others, especially within multi-brand enterprises. Identify internal advocates who can help open doors and replicate success across the organization.
4. Logo ownership:
Utilize success stories to become the default partner across all regions and brands under a single logo. A well-documented success story builds credibility, increases trust and lowers the perceived risk.
Building the right teams for success
Unlocking the full potential of hypergrowth accounts requires dedicated resources and tailored account teams. Moreover, these teams are structured to drive value for the customers and revenue expansion. A high-value account team might include:
- Account managers and directors
- Customer success managers
- Dedicated project managers to ensure smooth execution
- Technical account managers for seamless complex integrations
The Technical Account Manager often plays a crucial role in bridging the gap between product and customer IT teams. Their ability to resolve integration challenges quickly can be the difference between stalled adoption and scalable growth.
About Attensi
Attensi help people and organizations grow to become exceptional through Attensi Simulation game-based training and next generation AI powered solutions. They are the global leader in 3D gamified simulation training and award winning AI powered solutions for organizations and corporations, creating a ‘learning by doing’ environment. Attensi have offices in Norway, UK, US, Germany and Sweden and their simulation training solutions are used by global brands in more than 150 countries and in over 50 different languages.