Guide
The better way to drive software renewals
How SaaS companies use human-insight testing to reduce churn and lift ARR
Executive summary
Renewals are the profit engine of subscription software. Because customer acquisition costs are often greater than first-year revenue, every incremental improvement in renewal rates compounds into higher margins and faster growth. Most software teams use product analytics and A/B testing to optimize renewals. But analytics often can’t identify the attitudinal and longitudinal drivers of loyalty—things like perceived value, clarity, trust, and effort—and experiments can be impractical or too slow in parts of the journey that influence renewal.
Leading software companies are improving their renewal rates by pairing their analytics stack with human-insight testing: fast, structured user tests that reveal the why behind behavior and let teams quickly validate changes before they reach code or customers. This whitepaper explains why the combination works, where it affects renewal outcomes, and how to implement it across a SaaS organization. It draws on best practices from software leaders, and UserTesting’s own experiences as a SaaS company.
