Most SaaS founders know their Net Revenue Retention should be above 100%. Far fewer can articulate exactly why theirs isn’t.
We’ve analysed recent research that spans 98 B2B SaaS companies and over 1,000 Customer Success teams to answer a fundamental question: what actually separates companies achieving 120%+ NRR from those stuck in the mid-90s?
The answer isn’t what most founders expect. It’s not always your product, your market, or your customers. It’s five specific, measurable practices that high-performing companies systematically implement – and that most early-stage SaaS companies either overlook entirely or execute poorly.
The performance gaps are substantial:
- Companies with proper value realisation programmes achieve NRR that’s 7 percentage points higher than peers who hope customers figure out ROI on their own.
- The right Customer Success platform creates an 11-point NRR advantage – same customers, same product, massively different outcomes.
- A properly designed onboarding programme can improve first-year retention by 25%.
But perhaps the most critical finding? You can’t build any of this without the right Customer Success team. It’s where hiring becomes critical to success.
We’ve compiled the research into a practical report with specific actions based on where your NRR currently sits..
