Short Term Metrics VS. Long Term Health

Rob Kagan

Hello CX Professionals -

One place I struggle, especially in a funded start-up, is how much to push at renewal time for more money - or sometimes just equal value.

I am constantly pressured to keep renewals whole, increase license prices and push to keep timelines in order to make metrics look good to investors and spur growth in general. The problem is that sometimes this is at the detriment to a customer's long-term health. 

Reasons you might ask?
1. Onboarding and timeline of going live did not go as planned - Still not live at time of renewal (licenses bought never used). 
2. The customer bought more licenses than they needed the first year and need to ramp down the renewal so that the rest of their company can get the resources they need
3. The customer has not upgraded versions of our software in years and is now paying for a Cadillac but using a Volkswagon. And frankly, they only need the Volkswagon version of our app. If we push to increase prices then they will renew but will look for a new - cheaper solution in the future. 
4. The customer needs our product but is having financial problems at the moment.

So how do you balance the two priorities for your company? How do you convince leadership to look more longterm when they too have pressures from others? 

Love to hear your insights,

Rob