Keap Reveals Test That Increased NRR & Revenue to $105M

Keap Hit $105M in Revenue

Keap, the email marketing SaaS company led by CEO and co-founder Clate Mask, is known in the SaaS industry with its innovative strategies for boosting revenue and customer engagement.

At the recent SaaS Open Conference held by Nathan Latka, Keap’s CPO, Ammon Curtis, shared insights from his presentation reguarding how Keap uses onboardinf coaches to boost revenue and engagement.

2002: Keap launched with $0 revenue.
2010: Keap hit $15M in revenue.
2012: Keap hit $40M in revenue.
2014: Keap hit $80M in revenue.
2017: Keap hit $105M in revenue.
2020: Keap hit $96M in revenue.
2024: Keap hit $99M in revenue.

This article is a detailed look at Keap’s approach, structured in numbered steps to provide a clear roadmap for other people in the space of SaaS. First, let’s take a look at Keap’s revenue.

1. Is Integrative Product Led Growth (PLG) For You?

Curtis began by outlining the shift in Keap’s approach from 2017 to 2022, focusing on adopting an Integrative PLG strategy. This approach combines human-assisted onboarding with automated processes to enhance customer engagement and retention.

Here are 3 aspects that break down the engagement:

Customer Ability

“Smaller businesses often lack the resources and skills needed to effectively implement a one-size-fits-all approach”
Ammon Curtis, CPO of Keap

This realization led Keap to customize its onboarding processes to meet the specific needs of smaller enterprises, making sure they receive the necessary support to utilize the platform effectively, which ultimately wants the customer to stay on board.

Universal Reality

Curtis highlighted that complex problems frequently exceed the understanding of customers and often outstrip the benefits of a super simple SaaS UI.

Keap’s strategy addresses this by combining a straightforward user interface with robust support mechanisms, helping customers navigate and solve complex issues.

Need for Humans

“We found that human assistance can make a big difference.”
Ammon Curtis

This perspective shows Keap’s commitment to blending human touch with technology, recognizing that while automated processes can handle many tasks, the nuanced understanding and support from a human coach are irreplaceable for certain complex problems.

With integrating human coaches into the onboarding process, Keap makes sure that customers receive the tailored guidance they need to succeed, which in turn boosts engagement and retention.

2. Keap’s Decision Factors

Keap’s decision to adopt an integrative PLG approach was driven by the need to enhance customer retention and engagement.

This strategic shift was meticulously planned and executed through these 3 targeted experiments and strategic initiatives.

1. Onboarding Experiment

The hypothesis was straightforward: “By helping customers define and reach a specific measurable goal, our M4 retention rate will increase.” Keap tested this hypothesis with 705 customers over six months.

The results were telling:

Baseline Retention: 74%
Goal Not Achieved: 63%
Goal Achieved: 86%

This experiment underscored the effectiveness of goal-oriented onboarding in boosting customer retention. “We needed to support customers during onboarding more,” Curtis emphasized.

2. Unified Strategy

Keap’s unified strategy for engagement involved company-wide enrollment in human-assisted automation. This approach ensured that customers were guided through their onboarding journey, from setting up their goals to achieving them.

The strategy included:

Sales: Services at the point of sale, ensuring customers understood the value proposition.
Marketing: Business automation assessments to streamline operations.
Customer Service: Goal orientation with coaches, providing personalized support.
Product: Onboarding checklist widgets to track progress and tasks.

3. Integrated Experience

Keap’s integrated experience blended human-led onboarding with a personalized in-app experience. This approach significantly reduced the time to value for customers, making their initial interactions with the platform more productive and satisfying. By enabling coaches to see what customers were trying to accomplish, Keap created tailored checklists that guided users through their onboarding journey.

3. Checklist: Will Keap’s Approach Will Work for Your Business?

With integrating human coaches into the onboarding process, Keap ensures that customers receive the tailored guidance they need to succeed. This, in turn, boosts engagement and retention.

For businesses considering a similar approach, Keap’s framework provides a comprehensive evaluation strategy to assess the suitability and potential impact of integrative PLG. Here’s a checklist to help determine if this approach is right for you:

1. Evaluate Your Onboarding Needs

Human Support Necessity: Does your onboarding process require handling uniquely complex problems?
- Example: Keap found that human assistance can significantly enhance customer success and retention.

2. Assess the Impact on Net Revenue Retention (NRR)

Compare Onboarding Approaches: How do different onboarding methods impact your NRR?
- Data Insights: Keap’s data revealed the following NRR rates:
  - DIY Onboarding: 41% NRR
  - Guided Onboarding: 52% NRR
  - Done-for-You Onboarding: 73% NRR
- Combined Approach: When combining onboarding with additional initiatives, NRR soared to 106%, highlighting the effectiveness of a comprehensive support strategy.

3. Follow The Data

Data-Driven Decisions: Are your onboarding decisions backed by concrete evidence?
- Continuous Improvement: Keap’s data-driven approach allowed them to continually refine their onboarding processes, adding services that demonstrably improved retention and customer satisfaction.

4. Bridging Your Gaps

Human Intervention: Do you use human support to solve complex problems during onboarding?
- Personalized Support: Keap intentionally used humans to support the onboarding process when solving uniquely complex problems. “We added expert coaches for each customer and set individual goals to increase NRR and customer success,” Curtis noted.

Comparing Business to Life

Curtis shared an analogy from his personal life to illustrate the importance of foundational support.

“I went skiing with my family, and it was rough the first day. On the second day, my son said, ‘I love it now.’ I think it was because we spent the time to get some foundational pieces in place with a professional instructor and then later got tips from friends,” Curtis recounted.

“In business, laying the foundation and investing sufficient time can make customers successful.”
Ammon Curtis