You’ve probably been searching for the latest statistics on B2B customer retention, and you’re in luck! We’ve gathered the most relevant data on this topic from all over the web.
But why? Why would you want to know about B2B customer retention? Because it’s essential for your business. A strong customer retention strategy is critical to success, especially in today’s competitive market. When you’re able to effectively retain your customers and turn them into repeat buyers, you’ll be able to build a customer base that will be loyal to you for years.
Whether you’re a marketer or a business owner, we can all agree that finding relevant data is no easy task. We know how frustrating it can be to spend hours searching for the right information—especially when there’s so much of it out there! That’s why we created this list: to save you time and energy by gathering all the best info into one place so that you can make more informed decisions about your business.
This list of statistics will give you everything you need to know about B2B customer retention, so make sure to bookmark this page and come back whenever you need a quick refresher or just want something new and exciting!
General B2B Customer Retention Statistics
1. Typical B2B customer retention rates range between 76% and 81%
(Forrester)
For B2B companies, the average retention rate is usually quite high. This is because B2B brands invest more time and effort into developing long-term relationships with buyers.
According to Forrester studies, the average B2B customer retention rate stands between 76% and 81%. However, the report also notes this number can differ drastically between industries.
Forrester also highlights that to increase customer retention, decision-makers need to gain broader insights into their businesses. 40% of decision-makers are already implementing centralized tools for building reports on revenue opportunities.
2. Customer acquisition costs for B2B brands have increased 60% in 5 years
(Profit Well)
A study by Profit Well into the rising cost of acquiring new customers over retained clients suggests “customer acquisition cost” is increasing. According to data taken from around 700 subscription companies in 2019, CAC costs for both B2B and B2C brands increased by approximately 60% within a period of 5 years.
Notably, the report also found that B2C acquisition costs are slightly higher than B2B prices. Yet, the cost per acquisition can vary depending on a company’s position in an industry. B2B brands with more experience in their market have seen an average increase of 70% for CAC.
3. Only 48% of B2B companies focus on customer retention, compared to 82% focused on customer acquisition
(Act-On Software)
A study conducted by Act-On software and Gleanster research examined customer relationship management strategies for 750 mid-sized firms. The report found around 82% of these companies had strategies in place for lead generation and retention, but only 48% were investing heavily in customer retention strategies.
The study also found only around half of the companies (51%) were taking advantage of customer loyalty strategies for up-sell revenue. Additionally, only 43% of companies said they were investing in customer satisfaction campaigns.
4. Around 50% of B2B companies stay with the same vendor for 5 years
(B2B International)
B2B International regularly conducts surveys into its client base to learn more about their purchasing habits. One common question asked by the company is, “how many brands or suppliers have you replaced within the last five years.”
According to the organization’s findings, between 40-50% of B2B companies do not introduce any new suppliers or B2B services within a period of five years. This indicates many of the top B2B brands can retain their customers for at least five years or more.
5. Referred B2B customers have a 37% higher retention rate than acquired clients
(Think Impact)
A report conducted by Think Impact on the power of B2B referral programs found that 83% of customers are open to referring a business after a positive experience.
What’s more, 78% of B2B referrals create viable leads for the business. Most importantly, referred customers for B2B companies have a 37% higher retention rate than consumers acquired in other ways.
These customers also have an 18% higher chance of becoming long-term clients compared to clients who were not referred. Despite this, the report also found only around 3 in 10 B2B companies have a formalized referral system in place.
6. 71% of B2B customers are “psychologically and emotionally” detached from their suppliers
(Gallup)
According to Gallup’s Guide to the Customer Centricity trend for B2B business leaders, over 7 out of 10 of all business customers are already emotionally and psychologically detached from their existing suppliers. They also define themselves as being ready to take their business elsewhere and willing to look for other suppliers.
The Gallup survey also found one in five customers for B2B brands have experienced issues with products or services and often run into problems when trying to solve the problem. Only 40% say the problem they had with a brand was ever resolved.
A tiny 5% of the respondents for the study said their experiences with B2B sellers was “highly satisfactory.”
7. 71% of high-grown B2B brands have a clearly-defined strategy for customer experience
(Forrester)
According to Forrester, the majority of high-growth brands in the B2B space are successful because they have a clear end-to-end strategy for customer experience, which includes guidelines for improving retention and satisfaction rates.
71% of the high-growth B2B businesses in the study said they had a comprehensive vision of customer experience in place and a roadmap for CX.
How Retention Influences B2B Success
8. The average B2B company generates up to 30% of its revenue from retained customers
(Act-On)
Exploring the benefits of customer service on sales revenue, software company Act-On found that the average B2B company obtains around 30% of its total revenue from its existing customers. However, the same report also found only around 18% of any company’s time is committed to finding ways of retaining B2B clients.
9. 65% of B2B companies can successfully upsell to retained customers
(ThinkJar)
Research by ThinkJar CEO Esteban Kolsky found there are significant benefits to a successful B2B customer retention strategy.
According to his insights, around 91% of unhappy customers say they’d stop buying from a company entirely without stopping to make a complaint. He also discovered attracting new clients to replace lost customers was 6/7 times more expensive than retention.
Kolsky also found that 65% of businesses can easily cross-sell or up-sell when they’re appealing to existing customers. Alternatively, only around 12% of companies are successful in increasing average order value when interacting with new clients.
10. 80% of a B2B customer purchasing decision is based on buyer experiences
(Sirius Decisions)
According to a report from Sirius Decisions, companies in the B2B landscape can’t hope to retain customers based on features and pricing alone. The report discovered up to 80% of all B2B buying decisions are based on a purchaser’s direct or indirect buyer experience.
Unfortunately, less than half of all B2B customers feel their providers offer them the necessary post-sale support they need, leading to rapid churn and turnover. Only around half of the respondents in the study said they plan to buy again from their current B2B providers.
11. High-performing B2B brands are twice as likely to invest in retention and experience strategies
(Econsultancy)
A report by Econsultancy into the evolving B2B buying experience found that the most effective B2B brands are investing more heavily in customer experience to improve brand loyalty, retention, and profitability.
High-performing brands in the study were twice as likely to invest in experienced-based buying activities built to improve retention.
12. Investing in customer experience reduces churn by 10-15% for B2B companies
(McKinsey)
Research from McKinsey into the benefits of B2B retention strategies found that investing in customer experience and satisfaction scores significantly improves retention. According to the report, improving customer satisfaction scores can reduce customer churn by 10-15% for B2B brands.
What’s more, investing in customer experience also helps to improve the win rate of sales pitches by between 20 and 40% and lowers costs per acquisition by around 50%.
13. 51% of B2B companies avoid vendors after a poor customer service
(Zendesk)
A report by Zendesk found B2B customer service and retention rates often go hand in hand.
According to the study, 51% of B2B companies deliberately avoid and stop buying from businesses after one bad customer service experience.
The report also revealed that 62% of B2B buyers purchased more products from the same brand going forward after a good customer experience, while 66% of companies stopped purchasing from companies entirely based on the experience they offered.
B2B Retention and Brand Loyalty Statistics
14. 57% of B2B loyalty programs have been running for less than 2 years
(Comarch)
While loyalty programs are commonly associated with B2C companies in most industries, they’re growing more popular with B2B brands too.
According to Comarch, as of 2022, around 57% of B2B loyalty programs have been in place for less than 2 years. However, the report also found that B2B loyalty programs are up to twice as likely as B2C programs to run for over 2 years.
For B2B companies investing in loyalty programs, the biggest challenges have been a lower than expected adoption of the program (17%) and an inability to integrate the solution with existing tools.
15. 39% of B2B brands offer cashback as a retention strategy
(Comarch)
In Comarch’s study of B2B loyalty programs, the company found that B2B organizations are most likely to use types of cashback as a retention bonus. Around 39% of respondents said they offer cashback redeemable specifically with their brand as a loyalty bonus, while 32% offer general cashback.
When it comes to future plans for loyalty programs, 19% of B2B brands say they plan on including early access offers in future. Another 16% said they’re planning on adding subscription-based loyalty bonuses, and 14% are looking into the benefits of gamification for loyalty.
16. SaaS companies average around a 3-5% monthly B2B customer churn
(BareMetrics)
Churn rate in a B2B business refers to the number of customers a company naturally loses over time. These are the clients who aren’t preserved by the company’s efforts for customer retention. The average churn rate can vary for each brand, depending on industry and customer base.
For SaaS businesses focusing specifically on smaller companies as customers, BareMetrics notes the average churn rate is around 3-5% per month. However, early-stage SaaS companies can often have a churn rate of up to 15% for the years when they’re still developing.
17. 75% of business buyers are now influenced by ethics
(Salesforce)
According to Salesforce’s report looking at buyer behaviors in the post-pandemic landscape, business buyer retention rates are now more dependent on a company’s ethics and values. 75% of business buyers said they make decisions on whether to purchase or continue purchasing from a company based on their ethics.
61% of consumers in the report also said they have stopped purchasing from a company whose values didn’t align with their own. A further 59% said they have switched brands based on the ethics or values displayed by a company.
B2B Retention and Customer Experience Statistics
18. 85% of B2B buyers value customer experience as much as the features of a product
(Salesforce)
According to Salesforce research from 2020, approximately 85% of business buyers consider the experience they get from a brand to be just as important as their services or product features when it comes to ensuring retention. A further 53% of these customers also say they feel a strong emotional connection with the brands they buy from most.
84% of business buyers in the report also said they’re more likely to trust and stick with a company that understands their business goals and expectations. However, 57% of business buyers say sales reps generally have less than adequate knowledge of their business.
19. 91% of B2B buyers say a positive service experience makes them more likely to make another purchase in future
(Salesforce)
Salesforce’s report on the “State of the Connected Customer” found customer experience is the most important factor in ensuring customer retention. 91% of respondents in the survey said a positive customer experience means they’re more likely to make another purchase in the future.
The report also found that 78% of respondents said they would forgive a company for making a mistake if they offered amazing service. Furthermore, 71% said they have made purchase decisions explicitly based on customer service standards.
20. Lack of speed in interactions reduces B2B retention rates
(McKinsey)
According to a McKinsey survey looking at 1000 decision-makers from the B2B landscape, speed was a critical factor in determining retention. Retention levels for B2B brands were twice as likely to drop when the speed of interactions was low compared to when prices were high.
The demand for more speed in B2B interactions has also led to around 86% of respondents saying they usually prefer to avoid sales reps entirely and use self-service solutions instead.
21. 42% of B2B companies invest in customer experience to improve retention
(Genesys)
As customer experience and retention become more connected in the B2B landscape, Genesys found approximately 42% of B2B brands are investing in experience specifically to enhance customer retention.
Customer retention was characterized as the number one reason to invest in CX, followed by improving customer satisfaction (33%) and increasing opportunities for upselling and cross-selling strategies.
Conclusion
We hope you’ve found this list of B2B customer retention stats useful. We know that the search for relevant, up-to-date stats is never easy, but we’ve made it a little easier for you by compiling all of these into one place.
So now that you’ve gone through the list of statistics, what can you do with it?
- Identify key areas in which your business is lacking and focus your efforts there
- Understand the reasons why customers are leaving your business and implement strategies to retain them
- Make sure that you’re following industry standards when it comes to customer retention
- Ensure that your employees have the tools and knowledge they need to best serve customers by communicating clearly and effectively. (You’ll be surprised by how much this will improve their performance!)
We want to remind you that there’s no magic bullet when it comes to improving your customer retention rate—it takes time and effort from everyone involved, from the CEO down to the newest hire on the team. But if there’s one thing we’ve learned from our experience with other companies just like yours, it’s this: you can do it!
So keep an eye on those retention rates, and remember: as long as they’re going up instead of down, you’re doing something right!
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