How To Turn One-Time Clients Into Recurring Revenue

Ioana Grigorescu
PayPro Global
Published in
5 min readJan 16, 2024

Originally posted here.

When was the last time you felt valued as a customer so much that you even threw in a positive review? Chances are it happened when using a subscription service.

Knowing that the positive customer experience you underwent provoked you to stay loyal to that service, we’re certain you’ve considered switching to the recurring business model to generate revenue.

From revenue forecasting to brand loyalty or financial stability, the benefits of this business model compared to one-time purchases are well known. So maybe what’s holding you back from transitioning is the thought that it might not fit your business.

Well, just look at the many successful SaaS companies.

As a SaaS owner, remember that in order to effectively switch to the recurring fee business model is very much a question of applying the right SaaS monetization strategy.

And by partnering with a Merchant of Record, the transition will, without a doubt, run smoothly. But more on that later.

Let’s consider what you would need to do to take your SaaS product from a one-time option and discuss the key to long-term user base relationships:

The 5 Steps To Winning Recurring Revenue
How Can A Merchant of Record Help?

The 5 Steps To Winning Recurring Revenue

Employ A Strong Pricing Strategy

Value, competitiveness, and clarity. These are the three components that make up a strong SaaS pricing strategy. Whether it’s value or usage based pricing, you need to create a monetization model that allows your target audience to see value in your offer and stick with you over a very long time.

If you choose tiered pricing, make sure to be specific about your pricing tiers and thoroughly explain the premium features in your subscription plans. You don’t want customers to get lost in your pricing tiers.

Also, remember that the right pricing strategy should break the ice through highly competitive price points. It’s no surprise that penetration pricing is among the most popular pricing strategies among fresh SaaS companies.

Implement The Right Technological Infrastructure

Choosing the right pricing model doesn’t happen overnight. On the contrary, finding the right pricing model is the result of a complex process that involves a significant amount of testing, data collection, and interpretation.

Effectively completing this process takes more time than you imagine, sinceyou will also need to have the right monetization infrastructure in place to properly conduct your testing.

In short, it’s necessary to embrace a robust technological platform that can successfully manage subscriptions, support customized pricing plans and monetization methods, free trials, add-ons, or in-app purchases offer SaaS analytics tools to track key subscription metrics and improve business operations.

And switching to the recurring revenue model has a significant impact on your billing process. You will need a payment solution ready to provide you with multiple payment options and billing model flexibility.

Provide An Excellent Customer Experience

Customer satisfaction is the heart of subscriptions. Offering exceptional support that promptly addresses your client’s needs leads to improved customer satisfaction and retention. Top-notch service has the ability to reduce customer churn, making it a top priority for all subscription businesses. Everyone wants a low customer churn rate, right?

Another way to increase your retention rates is by performing regular updates and product improvements based on feedback. Clients are more likely to stick around if they notice how committed you are to enhancing your product.

Keep The Old and Win the New

It’s important to understand that the subscription customer lifecycle is far more complex than you might think. And winning a new client will put you in the never-ending phase of customer renewal and retention.

So, when making the switch to the recurring revenue model, you need to come up with a completely new game plan for winning and keeping subscribers.

In terms of customer acquisition, sending engaging emails to one-time clients, highlighting new features, helping them discover the product, and even offering special deals to incentivize them to subscribe are all good business practices to put into place.

Also, even though winning new customers is a top priority, you shouldn’t disregard your pre-transition, existing customers. Make sure to offer retention discounts to reward them for their loyalty to keep them happy and coming back around.

Onboard Customers The Right Way

Developing the right monetization strategy for your SaaS business takes more than identifying the correct price tag for different market audiences. It’s also about helping your potential users uncover the value of your products and services.

Only by providing a streamlined onboarding process that helps the user achieve that A-HA moment as quickly as possible can this goal be achieved. So, make sure you offer clear onboarding resources, keep in close contact with the customer during the trial phase, assist them in quickly discovering the perceived value of your SaaS application, and collect usage analytics to improve their experience.

How Can A Merchant of Record Help?

What is a Merchant of Record if not a complex, innovative payment infrastructure that simplifies operational processes and sustains revenue growth?

This solution has the payment capabilities your SaaS business requires to effectively employ different monetization strategies and complete the transition from one-time sales to the subscription model on a global scale.

  • Fast and secure payment processing: The MOR solution helps in generating revenue by quickly and safely processing payments in multiple currencies and payment methods. Plus, providing complete compliance and tax management, selling internationally becomes a breeze.
  • Complex subscription management service: Maximize revenue by employing different monthly subscriptions for your target market, establishing additional revenue streams, implementing automatic payments, and testing various pricing models.
  • Integrated reporting and analytics: With the help of a fitting Merchant of Record solution, SaaS businesses can secure different revenue streams, maximize profitability, quickly spot market trends, and increase customer satisfaction by collecting actual usage data and acting upon the insights received.
  • Dedicated customer support: Since customer satisfaction is one of your most important business goals, know that a Merchant of record solution has the expertise to tackle different payment-related queries in a professional and prompt manner.

Joining forces with an MOR makes all the difference in the world as long as it is the right Merchant of Record for your SaaS.

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