why change, why stay?
TRANSCRIPT
#B2BMX
WhyChange?WhyStay?CustomerRenewalMessaging.MissinginAction– But,MissionCritical
#B2BMX
Co-Author:Customer Message ManagementConversations That Win the Complex SaleThe Three Value Conversations
TWEET @corpv for your chance to win a complimentary set of books!
TIM RIESTERERChief Strategy and Research OfficerCorporate Visions@TRiesterer
Why Change?
Customer Acquisition Customer Renewal
Why Stay?
Customer lifecycle
You
Them
Why Change?
74 26% %Buying Vision Bake-Off
Why Us?
Status Quo60%
Prospect Engages
YourSolution
Defeating the Status Quo Bias
PreferenceStability
De-stabilize their preferences
YourSolution
Defeating the Status Quo Bias
PreferenceStability
De-stabilize their preferences
Cost of Staying same
Cost of Action/ Change
YourSolution
Defeating the Status Quo Bias
Cost of Action/ Change
PreferenceStability
Selection Difficulty
De-stabilize their preferences
Cost of Staying same
Create enough Contrast
Defeating the Status Quo Bias
YourSolution
PreferenceStability Anticipated
Regret /Blame
Cost of Action/ Change
Selection Difficulty
Cost of Staying same
De-stabilize their preferences
Create enough Contrast
Before and after hero Story
Defeating the Status Quo Bias
YourSolution
Why Change Story Model
Unconsidered Need
Flawed Current Approach
Improved New Way
Story with Contrast
Why Change StoryUnconsidered Needs Test
Uniqueness
2
3
4
5
6
Standard Solution
Value Added Solution
Unconsidered Needs Last
Unconsidered Needs First
Statistically Significant Uniqueness Improvement 50%
Quality
5
6
7
8
9
Standard Solution
Value Added Solution
Unconsidered Needs Last
Unconsidered Needs First
Statistically Significant Quality Improvement 10+%
Persuasiveness
4
5
6
7
8
StandardSolution
ValueAddedSolution
UnconsideredNeedsLast
UnconsideredNeedsFirst
Statistically Significant Persuasion Improvement (10+%)
Why Change Story Model
Unconsidered Need
Flawed Current Approach
Improved New Way
Story with Contrast
You
Them
Why Change?
74 26% %Buying Vision Bake-Off
Why Us?
Status Quo60%
Prospect Engages
You
Them
Why Change?
Acquisition Renewal?
Why Stay?
$$$$$
PreferenceStability Anticipated
Regret /Blame
Cost of Action/ Change
Selection Difficulty
Cost of Staying same
De-stabilize their preferences
Create enough Contrast
Before and after hero Story
Defeating the Status Quo Bias
YourSolution
PreferenceStability Anticipated
Regret /Blame
Cost of Action/ Change
Selection Difficulty
Cost of Staying same
De-stabilize their preferences
Create enough Contrast
Before and after hero Story
Defeating the Status Quo Bias
Reinforce
Reinforce Reinforce
Reinforce
REINFORCING
YourSolution
Why Stay StoryMessaging Test
Situation BackgroundSmall business owner, hired firm to promote retirement planAfter two years the contract is up for renewal
Started at 20% participation, goal was 80%, achieved 50%Turnover down, but not sure if attributable to program
Reminded that they did a thorough investigation originally reviewing multiple competitors for the program
Tested messages to Provocative Why Change vs. Reinforcing Status Quo
Provocative Message
You have made great progress on your goals over these last two years. You’ve seen 401k participation grow from 20% to 50%. Your employee satisfaction scores are up, and you’ve said some employees have even taken the time to thank you for the changes you’ve made. In addition, your employee retention rates have started to improve, which you stated was the ultimate goal of making these changes.
This is great progress, but we’ve seen that for many companies it can be harder going from 50% to 80% than it was going from 20% to 50%. The latest research shows that it’s no longer just about improving communications of the benefits of contributing to the 401k. In fact, companies that achieve world class participation rates are actually “flipping” their approach to enrollment. Instead of the traditional “opt-in” approach to enrollment where people sign up for the plan, these companies are automatically enrolling their employees in the 401k plan, and requiring them to fill out a form to “opt-out” of participating.
We can switch your program over to this “opt-out” approach and waive any additional set-up and administrative costs in exchange for renewing our partnership for the next two years. We’re looking forward to working with you over the next two years to adopt this approach and reach the world-class goals you’ve set.
Prov
ocat
ive
Mes
sage
You have made great progress on your goals over these last two years. You’ve seen 401k participation grow from 20% to 50%. Your employee satisfaction scores are up, and you’ve said some employees have even taken the time to thank you for the changes you’ve made. In addition, your employee retention rates have started to improve, which you stated was the ultimate goal of making these changes.
This is great progress, but we’ve seen that for many companies it can be harder going from 50% to 80% than it was going from 20% to 50%. The latest research shows that it’s no longer just about improving communications of the benefits of contributing to the 401k. In fact, companies that achieve world class participation rates are actually “flipping” their approach to enrollment. Instead of the traditional “opt-in” approach to enrollment where people sign up for the plan, these companies are automatically enrolling their employees in the 401k plan, and requiring them to fill out a form to “opt-out” of participating.
We can switch your program over to this “opt-out” approach and waive any additional set-up and administrative costs in exchange for renewing our partnership for the next two years. We’re looking forward to working with you over the next two years to adopt this approach and reach the world-class goals you’ve set.
Open with reporting on progress toward goals
Prov
ocat
ive
Mes
sage
You have made great progress on your goals over these last two years. You’ve seen 401k participation grow from 20% to 50%. Your employee satisfaction scores are up, and you’ve said some employees have even taken the time to thank you for the changes you’ve made. In addition, your employee retention rates have started to improve, which you stated was the ultimate goal of making these changes.
This is great progress, but we’ve seen that for many companies it can be harder going from 50% to 80% than it was going from 20% to 50%. The latest research shows that it’s no longer just about improving communications of the benefits of contributing to the 401k. In fact, companies that achieve world class participation rates are actually “flipping” their approach to enrollment. Instead of the traditional “opt-in” approach to enrollment where people sign up for the plan, these companies are automatically enrolling their employees in the 401k plan, and requiring them to fill out a form to “opt-out” of participating.
We can switch your program over to this “opt-out” approach and waive any additional set-up and administrative costs in exchange for renewing our partnership for the next two years. We’re looking forward to working with you over the next two years to adopt this approach and reach the world-class goals you’ve set.
Introduce Unconsidered Need to Destabilize Preferences
Prov
ocat
ive
Mes
sage
You have made great progress on your goals over these last two years. You’ve seen 401k participation grow from 20% to 50%. Your employee satisfaction scores are up, and you’ve said some employees have even taken the time to thank you for the changes you’ve made. In addition, your employee retention rates have started to improve, which you stated was the ultimate goal of making these changes.
This is great progress, but we’ve seen that for many companies it can be harder going from 50% to 80% than it was going from 20% to 50%. The latest research shows that it’s no longer just about improving communications of the benefits of contributing to the 401k. In fact, companies that achieve world class participation rates are actually “flipping” their approach to enrollment. Instead of the traditional “opt-in” approach to enrollment where people sign up for the plan, these companies are automatically enrolling their employees in the 401k plan, and requiring them to fill out a form to “opt-out” of participating.
We can switch your program over to this “opt-out” approach and waive any additional set-up and administrative costs in exchange for renewing our partnership for the next two years. We’re looking forward to working with you over the next two years to adopt this approach and reach the world-class goals you’ve set.
Reduce Perceived Cost of Change
Prov
ocat
ive
Mes
sage
You have made great progress on your goals over these last two years. You’ve seen 401k participation grow from 20% to 50%. Your employee satisfaction scores are up, and you’ve said some employees have even taken the time to thank you for the changes you’ve made. In addition, your employee retention rates have started to improve, which you stated was the ultimate goal of making these changes.
This is great progress, but we’ve seen that for many companies it can be harder going from 50% to 80% than it was going from 20% to 50%. The latest research shows that it’s no longer just about improving communications of the benefits of contributing to the 401k. In fact, companies that achieve world class participation rates are actually “flipping” their approach to enrollment. Instead of the traditional “opt-in” approach to enrollment where people sign up for the plan, these companies are automatically enrolling their employees in the 401k plan, and requiring them to fill out a form to “opt-out” of participating.
We can switch your program over to this “opt-out” approach and waive any additional set-up and administrative costs in exchange for renewing our partnership for the next two years. We’re looking forward to working with you over the next two years to adopt this approach and reach the world-class goals you’ve set.
Reduce Anticipated Regret/Blame
Prov
ocat
ive
Mes
sage
Reinforce the Status Quo
You have made great progress on your goals over these last two years. You’ve seen 401k participation grow from 20% to 50%. Your employee satisfaction scores are up, and you’ve said some employees have even taken the time to thank you for the changes you’ve made. In addition, your employee retention rates have started to improve, which you stated was the ultimate goal of making these changes.
When you signed up two years ago, you really did your homework and looked at a lot of options before getting your entire team to come to a consensus and choose us. As you look at making a renewal decision, it’s important to realize that you are at a critical point in this journey and that it’s important to maintain momentum to achieve your ultimate participation and retention goals.
Any change to the program at this point would create an unnecessary risk of losing the positive gains you’ve made. Not to mention that bringing in another company that does something similar to us would require you to invest time in their learning curve and money on implementation costs that you won’t have to spend if you continue working with us. You’re making great progress. Stick with it another two years, and I know you’ll get there.
Rei
nfor
ce th
e St
atus
Quo
You have made great progress on your goals over these last two years. You’ve seen 401k participation grow from 20% to 50%. Your employee satisfaction scores are up, and you’ve said some employees have even taken the time to thank you for the changes you’ve made. In addition, your employee retention rates have started to improve, which you stated was the ultimate goal of making these changes.
When you signed up two years ago, you really did your homework and looked at a lot of options before getting your entire team to come to a consensus and choose us. As you look at making a renewal decision, it’s important to realize that you are at a critical point in this journey and that it’s important to maintain momentum to achieve your ultimate participation and retention goals.
Any change to the program at this point would create an unnecessary risk of losing the positive gains you’ve made. Not to mention that bringing in another company that does something similar to us would require you to invest time in their learning curve and money on implementation costs that you won’t have to spend if you continue working with us. You’re making great progress. Stick with it another two years, and I know you’ll get there.
Open with reporting on progress toward goals
Rei
nfor
ce th
e St
atus
Quo
You have made great progress on your goals over these last two years. You’ve seen 401k participation grow from 20% to 50%. Your employee satisfaction scores are up, and you’ve said some employees have even taken the time to thank you for the changes you’ve made. In addition, your employee retention rates have started to improve, which you stated was the ultimate goal of making these changes.
When you signed up two years ago, you really did your homework and looked at a lot of options before getting your entire team to come to a consensus and choose us. As you look at making a renewal decision, it’s important to realize that you are at a critical point in this journey and that it’s important to maintain momentum to achieve your ultimate participation and retention goals.
Any change to the program at this point would create an unnecessary risk of losing the positive gains you’ve made. Not to mention that bringing in another company that does something similar to us would require you to invest time in their learning curve and money on implementation costs that you won’t have to spend if you continue working with us. You’re making great progress. Stick with it another two years, and I know you’ll get there.
Reinforce Preference Stability
Rei
nfor
ce th
e St
atus
Quo
You have made great progress on your goals over these last two years. You’ve seen 401k participation grow from 20% to 50%. Your employee satisfaction scores are up, and you’ve said some employees have even taken the time to thank you for the changes you’ve made. In addition, your employee retention rates have started to improve, which you stated was the ultimate goal of making these changes.
When you signed up two years ago, you really did your homework and looked at a lot of options before getting your entire team to come to a consensus and choose us. As you look at making a renewal decision, it’s important to realize that you are at a critical point in this journey and that it’s important to maintain momentum to achieve your ultimate participation and retention goals.
Any change to the program at this point would create an unnecessary risk of losing the positive gains you’ve made. Not to mention that bringing in another company that does something similar to us would require you to invest time in their learning curve and money on implementation costs that you won’t have to spend if you continue working with us. You’re making great progress. Stick with it another two years, and I know you’ll get there.
Reinforce Perceived Cost of Change
Rei
nfor
ce th
e St
atus
Quo
You have made great progress on your goals over these last two years. You’ve seen 401k participation grow from 20% to 50%. Your employee satisfaction scores are up, and you’ve said some employees have even taken the time to thank you for the changes you’ve made. In addition, your employee retention rates have started to improve, which you stated was the ultimate goal of making these changes.
When you signed up two years ago, you really did your homework and looked at a lot of options before getting your entire team to come to a consensus and choose us. As you look at making a renewal decision, it’s important to realize that you are at a critical point in this journey and that it’s important to maintain momentum to achieve your ultimate participation and retention goals.
Any change to the program at this point would create an unnecessary risk of losing the positive gains you’ve made. Not to mention that bringing in another company that does something similar to us would require you to invest time in their learning curve and money on implementation costs that you won’t have to spend if you continue working with us. You’re making great progress. Stick with it another two years, and I know you’ll get there.
Reinforce Selection Difficulty
Rei
nfor
ce th
e St
atus
Quo
You have made great progress on your goals over these last two years. You’ve seen 401k participation grow from 20% to 50%. Your employee satisfaction scores are up, and you’ve said some employees have even taken the time to thank you for the changes you’ve made. In addition, your employee retention rates have started to improve, which you stated was the ultimate goal of making these changes.
When you signed up two years ago, you really did your homework and looked at a lot of options before getting your entire team to come to a consensus and choose us. As you look at making a renewal decision, it’s important to realize that you are at a critical point in this journey and that it’s important to maintain momentum to achieve your ultimate participation and retention goals.
Any change to the program at this point would create an unnecessary risk of losing the positive gains you’ve made. Not to mention that bringing in another company that does something similar to us would require you to invest time in their learning curve and money on implementation costs that you won’t have to spend if you continue working with us. You’re making great progress. Stick with it another two years, and I know you’ll get there.
Reinforce Anticipated Regret/Blame
Rei
nfor
ce th
e St
atus
Quo
Attitudes
4
5
6
7
Status Quo Point of View Point of View + UpsellReinforce Status Quo
Provocative Message
Provocative Message w/Upsell
Statistically Significant Improvement 9.63%
4
5
6
7
8
Status Quo Point of View Point of View + Upsell
Intention to Renew
Reinforce Status Quo
Provocative Message
Provocative Message w/Upsell
Statistically Significant Improvement 13.27%
Switching Likelihood
4
5
6
7
Status Quo Point of View Point of View + UpsellReinforce Status Quo
Provocative Message
Provocative Message w/Upsell
Statistically Significant Decrease 10.61%
Across multiple dimensions, the status quo reinforcementmessages were more persuasive and effective than the provocative messages in the ‘why stay’ context.
Dr. Zakary TormalaStanford
PreferenceStability Anticipated
Regret /Blame
Cost of Action/ Change
Selection Difficulty
Cost of Staying same
De-stabilize their preferences
Create enough Contrast
Before and after hero Story
Defeating the Status Quo Bias
Reinforce
Reinforce Reinforce
Reinforce
REINFORCING
YourSolution
Why Stay Messaging Framework Test
You have made great progress on your goals over these last two years. You’ve seen 401k participation grow from 20% to 50%. Your employee satisfaction scores are up, and you’ve said some employees have even taken the time to thank you for the changes you’vemade. In addition, your employee retention rates have started to improve, which you said was the ultimate goal of making these changes. (Documented Results)
When you signed up two years ago, you really did your homework and looked at a lot of options before getting your entire team tocome to a consensus and choose our company. It was a long process that involved a lot of people, but you ultimately arrived at a big decision to bring this program on board. (Preference Stability)
As you look at making a renewal decision, it’s important to realize that you are at a critical point in this journey and that it’s important to maintain momentum to achieve your ultimate participation and retention goals. Any change to the program at this point could create an unnecessary risk of losing the positive gains you’ve made. (Anticipated Regret/Blame)
Not to mention that bringing in another vendor would require you to invest time in getting them up to speed and money on implementation costs and other changes that you won’t have to spend if you continue working with us. (Perceived Cost of Change)
We’ve continued to update and tweak your program over the last two years to make sure you are keeping pace with anything elseavailable in the market today. Specifically, you will get two new features designed to help improve your goals of employee participation and satisfaction. The first is a monthly report that shows how many tax dollars your 401k participants saved versus those who aren’t in the 401k. You can share this with your employees monthly to provide a gentle nudge to get into the program for the tax benefits. Second, we’ve also added a new smartphone app with retirement planning calculators and budgeting tools to help your employees make more informed decisions, and feel like they’re making progress on their goals. (Selection Difficulty).
You’re making great progress. Stick with our program for another two years, and I know you’ll get to your 80% participation goal and further increase your employee retention rates.
Why Stay Story Model
Document Results
Review Prior Decision Process
Mention Risk of Change
Highlight Cost of Change
Detail Competitive Advances
Why Stay Story Model
Document Results
Review Prior Decision Process
Mention Risk of Change
Highlight Cost of Change
Detail Competitive Advances
You have made great progress on your goals over these last two years. You’ve seen 401k participation grow from 20% to 50%. Your employee satisfaction scores are up, and you’ve said some employees have even taken the time to thank you for the changes you’vemade. In addition, your employee retention rates have started to improve, which you said was the ultimate goal of making these changes. (Documented Results)
When you signed up two years ago, you really did your homework and looked at a lot of options before getting your entire team tocome to a consensus and choose our company. It was a long process that involved a lot of people, but you ultimately arrived at a big decision to bring this program on board. (Preference Stability)
As you look at making a renewal decision, it’s important to realize that you are at a critical point in this journey and that it’s important to maintain momentum to achieve your ultimate participation and retention goals. Any change to the program at this point could create an unnecessary risk of losing the positive gains you’ve made. (Anticipated Regret/Blame)
Not to mention that bringing in another vendor would require you to invest time in getting them up to speed and money on implementation costs and other changes that you won’t have to spend if you continue working with us. (Perceived Cost of Change)
We’ve continued to update and tweak your program over the last two years to make sure you are keeping pace with anything elseavailable in the market today. Specifically, you will get two new features designed to help improve your goals of employee participation and satisfaction. The first is a monthly report that shows how many tax dollars your 401k participants saved versus those who aren’t in the 401k. You can share this with your employees monthly to provide a gentle nudge to get into the program for the tax benefits. Second, we’ve also added a new smartphone app with retirement planning calculators and budgeting tools to help your employees make more informed decisions, and feel like they’re making progress on their goals. (Selection Difficulty).
You’re making great progress. Stick with our program for another two years, and I know you’ll get to your 80% participation goal and further increase your employee retention rates.
Why Stay Story Model
Document Results
Review Prior Decision Process
Mention Risk of Change
Highlight Cost of Change
Detail Competitive Advances
Why Stay Story Model
Document Results
Review Prior Decision Process
Mention Risk of Change
Highlight Cost of Change
Detail Competitive Advances
You have made great progress on your goals over these last two years. You’ve seen 401k participation grow from 20% to 50%. Your employee satisfaction scores are up, and you’ve said some employees have even taken the time to thank you for the changes you’vemade. In addition, your employee retention rates have started to improve, which you said was the ultimate goal of making these changes. (Documented Results)
When you signed up two years ago, you really did your homework and looked at a lot of options before getting your entire team tocome to a consensus and choose our company. It was a long process that involved a lot of people, but you ultimately arrived at a big decision to bring this program on board. (Preference Stability)
As you look at making a renewal decision, it’s important to realize that you are at a critical point in this journey and that it’s important to maintain momentum to achieve your ultimate participation and retention goals. Any change to the program at this point could create an unnecessary risk of losing the positive gains you’ve made. (Anticipated Regret/Blame)
Not to mention that bringing in another vendor would require you to invest time in getting them up to speed and money on implementation costs and other changes that you won’t have to spend if you continue working with us. (Perceived Cost of Change)
We’ve continued to update and tweak your program over the last two years to make sure you are keeping pace with anything elseavailable in the market today. Specifically, you will get two new features designed to help improve your goals of employee participation and satisfaction. The first is a monthly report that shows how many tax dollars your 401k participants saved versus those who aren’t in the 401k. You can share this with your employees monthly to provide a gentle nudge to get into the program for the tax benefits. Second, we’ve also added a new smartphone app with retirement planning calculators and budgeting tools to help your employees make more informed decisions, and feel like they’re making progress on their goals. (Selection Difficulty).
You’re making great progress. Stick with our program for another two years, and I know you’ll get to your 80% participation goal and further increase your employee retention rates.
Why Stay Story Model
Document Results
Review Prior Decision Process
Mention Risk of Change
Highlight Cost of Change
Detail Competitive Advances
Why Stay Story Model
Document Results
Review Prior Decision Process
Mention Risk of Change
Highlight Cost of Change
Detail Competitive Advances
You have made great progress on your goals over these last two years. You’ve seen 401k participation grow from 20% to 50%. Your employee satisfaction scores are up, and you’ve said some employees have even taken the time to thank you for the changes you’vemade. In addition, your employee retention rates have started to improve, which you said was the ultimate goal of making these changes. (Documented Results)
When you signed up two years ago, you really did your homework and looked at a lot of options before getting your entire team tocome to a consensus and choose our company. It was a long process that involved a lot of people, but you ultimately arrived at a big decision to bring this program on board. (Preference Stability)
As you look at making a renewal decision, it’s important to realize that you are at a critical point in this journey and that it’s important to maintain momentum to achieve your ultimate participation and retention goals. Any change to the program at this point could create an unnecessary risk of losing the positive gains you’ve made. (Anticipated Regret/Blame)
Not to mention that bringing in another vendor would require you to invest time in getting them up to speed and money on implementation costs and other changes that you won’t have to spend if you continue working with us. (Perceived Cost of Change)
We’ve continued to update and tweak your program over the last two years to make sure you are keeping pace with anything elseavailable in the market today. Specifically, you will get two new features designed to help improve your goals of employee participation and satisfaction. The first is a monthly report that shows how many tax dollars your 401k participants saved versus those who aren’t in the 401k. You can share this with your employees monthly to provide a gentle nudge to get into the program for the tax benefits. Second, we’ve also added a new smartphone app with retirement planning calculators and budgeting tools to help your employees make more informed decisions, and feel like they’re making progress on their goals. (Selection Difficulty).
You’re making great progress. Stick with our program for another two years, and I know you’ll get to your 80% participation goal and further increase your employee retention rates.
Why Stay Story Model
Document Results
Review Prior Decision Process
Mention Risk of Change
Highlight Cost of Change
Detail Competitive Advances
Why Stay Story Model
Document Results
Review Prior Decision Process
Mention Risk of Change
Highlight Cost of Change
Detail Competitive Advances
You have made great progress on your goals over these last two years. You’ve seen 401k participation grow from 20% to 50%. Your employee satisfaction scores are up, and you’ve said some employees have even taken the time to thank you for the changes you’vemade. In addition, your employee retention rates have started to improve, which you said was the ultimate goal of making these changes. (Documented Results)
When you signed up two years ago, you really did your homework and looked at a lot of options before getting your entire team tocome to a consensus and choose our company. It was a long process that involved a lot of people, but you ultimately arrived at a big decision to bring this program on board. (Preference Stability)
As you look at making a renewal decision, it’s important to realize that you are at a critical point in this journey and that it’s important to maintain momentum to achieve your ultimate participation and retention goals. Any change to the program at this point could create an unnecessary risk of losing the positive gains you’ve made. (Anticipated Regret/Blame)
Not to mention that bringing in another vendor would require you to invest time in getting them up to speed and money on implementation costs and other changes that you won’t have to spend if you continue working with us. (Perceived Cost of Change)
We’ve continued to update and tweak your program over the last two years to make sure you are keeping pace with anything elseavailable in the market today. Specifically, you will get two new features designed to help improve your goals of employee participation and satisfaction. The first is a monthly report that shows how many tax dollars your 401k participants saved versus those who aren’t in the 401k. You can share this with your employees monthly to provide a gentle nudge to get into the program for the tax benefits. Second, we’ve also added a new smartphone app with retirement planning calculators and budgeting tools to help your employees make more informed decisions, and feel like they’re making progress on their goals. (Selection Difficulty).
You’re making great progress. Stick with our program for another two years, and I know you’ll get to your 80% participation goal and further increase your employee retention rates.
Why Stay Story Model
Document Results
Review Prior Decision Process
Mention Risk of Change
Highlight Cost of Change
Detail Competitive Advances
Why Stay Story Model
Document Results
Review Prior Decision Process
Mention Risk of Change
Highlight Cost of Change
Detail Competitive Advances
You have made great progress on your goals over these last two years. You’ve seen 401k participation grow from 20% to 50%. Your employee satisfaction scores are up, and you’ve said some employees have even taken the time to thank you for the changes you’vemade. In addition, your employee retention rates have started to improve, which you said was the ultimate goal of making these changes. (Documented Results)
When you signed up two years ago, you really did your homework and looked at a lot of options before getting your entire team tocome to a consensus and choose our company. It was a long process that involved a lot of people, but you ultimately arrived at a big decision to bring this program on board. (Preference Stability)
As you look at making a renewal decision, it’s important to realize that you are at a critical point in this journey and that it’s important to maintain momentum to achieve your ultimate participation and retention goals. Any change to the program at this point could create an unnecessary risk of losing the positive gains you’ve made. (Anticipated Regret/Blame)
Not to mention that bringing in another vendor would require you to invest time in getting them up to speed and money on implementation costs and other changes that you won’t have to spend if you continue working with us. (Perceived Cost of Change)
We’ve continued to update and tweak your program over the last two years to make sure you are keeping pace with anything elseavailable in the market today. Specifically, you have two new features designed to help improve your goals of employee participation and satisfaction. The first is a monthly report that shows how many tax dollars your 401k participants saved versus those who aren’t in the 401k. You can share this with your employees monthly to provide a gentle nudge to get into the program for the tax benefits. Second, we’ve also added a new smartphone app with retirement planning calculators and budgeting tools to help your employees make more informed decisions, and feel like they’re making progress on their goals. (Selection Difficulty).
You’re making great progress. Stick with our program for another two years, and I know you’ll get to your 80% participation goal and further increase your employee retention rates.
Why Stay Story Model
Document Results
Review Prior Decision Process
Mention Risk of Change
Highlight Cost of Change
Detail Competitive Advances
Customer Renewal MessagingMissing in Action?
42%
24%
13%
21%
How much of your budget is attributed to customer retention and related content activities?
0%-9% 10%-20% 20%-30% 30% or more
Only 1/5of companies spend 30% or more of their budget on retention related content
Nearly halfof companies spend less than 10% of their budget on retention related content
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45% 50%
Marketing
Marketing shares with other departments
Sales / Business Development or Enablement
Account Management / Customer Service
Who Owns Message & Content Development?
Renewal / Retention Demand Gen / Acquisition
Roughly half of all companies don’t involve marketing in creating renewal messaging
But marketing plays a role in creating
75% of demand generation
messagingOnly 19%Where marketing is primary owner of renewal messaging
42%58%
Do you think your messaging and content for demand generation / customer acquisition strategies should differ
from your messaging for retention / renewal business?
YesThese messages should differ significantlyNo / Only
SomewhatA provocative demand
generation message should still be applicable
in a renewal scenario
36%
31%
33%
How would you describe the focus of your messaging and content to existing customers, whom you'd like to convince
to renew with you?
We regularly challenge our customers with provocative industry insights and show them how their world is changing
We lean heavily on product-oriented cross-sell / upsell-focused messaging to expand our existing relationship
We reinforce our value and emphasize the time, costs, risks and difficulties of changing to a different solution
Only 1/3Of companies are using the messaging approach validated by the study
Defeat the Status Quo
Why Change?
Acquisition Renewal
Why Stay?
Reinforce the Status Quo
Lifecycle messaging framework
#B2BMX
FreeReport
http://cvi.to/B2BMX2017