Software-as-a-Service company Chargebee has released a bunch of products aimed at helping companies mine more revenue from their subscribers, amid signs of pricing pressure faced by high-growth companies and demand softening in the US economy.
Brightback, numberz, and RevLock were three purchases Chargebee acquired in the past 18 months that it turned around for its customer retention suite. These acquisitions were made in the subscription and cash flow management arena.
In response to concerns about the US economy slowing down and venture investors frowning at valuations previously agreed upon and startups agreeing to raise capital at lower valuations, businesses have started settling down on their client acquisition costs. The product helps businesses focus on keeping the customers they already have, at a time when both businesses and consumers are being forced to evaluate everything in their portfolios and make difficult decisions, cofounder and COO Rajaraman Santhanam said.
“We all know it’s very difficult now to acquire new customers as opposed to keeping existing customers. Our new products help companies retain their customer base and keep the cash flow going,” he said.
Business-to-business SaaS companies, according to entrepreneurs, are in a stronger position than consumer-facing Internet companies, which have had to spend a lot more money on customer acquisition. However, all companies may need to take a fresh look at their fundamentals shortly, according to Siva Rajamani, CEO of sales automation platform Everstage.
“Companies will have to re-look at their marketing spends closely in the near term as they wait and watch how American businesses decide on their spending.” However, Indian SaaS entrepreneurs say the bet is still strong on the country’s SaaS ecosystem on its robust fundamentals — high margins and software products that are sold through Internet-based marketing channels.
