Case study · 05

Rebuilding Retention Economics at a B2B Software Company

How a B2B software company lifted net revenue retention from below 90 percent to above 105 percent within four quarters.

Sector: B2B software
Engagement: Customer retention advisory

Below 90%Starting net revenue retention

Above 105%Net revenue retention after four quarters

Different multiple bracketNext fundraise valuation conversation

01 The Problem

The operating constraint behind the numbers

A regional business software company acquired customers well and kept them poorly. Net revenue retention sat below 90 percent, churn and downgrades were consuming new growth, and the metric had become the single obstacle in every valuation conversation.

02 The Evidence

The evidence leadership could act on

Net Revenue Retention Recovery

Start

Below 90%

Above 105%

4 Quarters Later

Source: Net revenue retention sat below 90 percent... Retention moved above 105 percent within four quarters.

03 The Kingswell Response

What changed in the management system

Diagnose churn by cohort

Churn was diagnosed by cohort, which showed onboarding failure rather than product weakness driving the largest share of losses.

Rebuild the first 90 days

The first 90 days were rebuilt around defined success milestones.

Build an early warning view

Usage data was wired into an early warning view that flagged at risk accounts weeks before renewal.

Reduce friction and repackage pricing

An in product assistant reduced support friction for common tasks, and pricing tiers were repackaged to create a natural expansion path.

04 What Remained

The management system installed

Early warning view for at-risk accounts

In product assistant

Repackaged pricing tiers

First 90 days success milestone framework

05 The Result

What the organisation could do next

Churn was diagnosed by cohort, which showed onboarding failure rather than product weakness driving the largest share of losses. The first 90 days were rebuilt around defined success milestones, usage data was wired into an early warning view that flagged at risk accounts weeks before renewal, an in product assistant reduced support friction for common tasks, and pricing tiers were repackaged to create a natural expansion path. Retention moved above 105 percent within four quarters and the next fundraise conversation started from a different multiple bracket.