Jul 7, 2023 · 33m · saastr
How To Boost Your Net Retention Revenue (NRR) to Over 140% with Insider's CEO and CMO
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gold bands on the timeline = statements, start to end. Hover to read, click to jump. CC turns on captions
Insider's CEO Hande and CMO Merve present ten battle-tested, actionable customer marketing strategies designed to scale B2B SaaS Net Revenue Retention (NRR) past 140%.
How this conversation actually went
Every chapter scored 0–10 on four independent dynamics. Hover any point for the reasoning behind the score. How this is scored →
Jason as informed peer 0.0 Guest teaching 0.0 Guest disagreement 0.0 Jason pushing back 0.0
speaking balance: gold is Jason, purple is the guest (3 minute bins)
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 19:40 Contrarian stance against remote and online communication
Hande takes an assertive, contrarian stance against remote work and purely digital customer communication, acknowledging it may provoke pushback from listeners.
Hardest push from Jason ▶ 8:32 Playful sparring over AI video creditIn a friendly stage interaction, Hande interrupts Merve to emphasize that AI and automation made their personalized video frame campaign feasible at scale.
Biggest teaching moment ▶ 14:40 Educating the audience on active upsells vs. passive convincingMerve breaks down why relying on repeated emails and QBRs fails compared to actively unlocking product features to prove immediate ROI before purchase.
Jason holds their own ▶ 20:05 Quoting Jason Lemkin on face-to-face customer visitsHande cites host and board member Jason Lemkin's core thesis that founders must physically get on planes and meet customers in person.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
| Chapter | Topic | Jason as informed peer | Guest teaching | Guest disagreement | Jason pushing back | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tactic 1: Granular Segmentation for Executive Decision-Makers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | In this keynote co-presentation segment, Hande outlines granular segmentation tactics for executive decision-makers. There is no host participation or pushback. | |
| Tactic 2: Elevating Gifting and Onboarding into Unforgettable Experiences | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Merve and Hande share anecdotes about personalized onboarding gifts, digital photo frames with AI video, and high-touch relationship building. The exchange is collaborative and humorous between the co-presenters. | |
| Tactic 3: Reinventing the Upsell Flow Through Community and Leadership | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Hande presents tactic three on reinventing traditional upsell flows using personal video walkthroughs and community belonging. Host is absent during this presentation. | |
| Tactic 4: Accelerating Product-Led Revenue with Active Upsells | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Merve defines active upsells and product-led value demonstration within the software interface. The format is a structured stage presentation without external host intervention. | |
| Tactic 5: Fostering Local Communities and High-Touch In-Person Engagement | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Hande discusses local Reshape events and strongly advocates for face-to-face customer engagement over online-only communication, referencing advice from Jason Lemkin. | |
| Tactic 6: Gamifying Loyalty Programs with Purpose-Driven Point Systems | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Merve and Hande explain gamified point systems for customer advocacy and tiered referral program structures. The delivery is informative and educational for the conference audience. | |
| Tactic 8: Building Scalable and Enduring Review Programs | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Merve covers building enduring review programs without mass-blasting customers, while Hande emphasizes reciprocal value before asking for reviews. There is no host questioning. | |
| Tactic 10: Establishing a Company-Wide Culture of Customer Marketing | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Merve and Hande conclude by emphasizing company-wide customer marketing culture and leveraging word-of-mouth for scale, wrapping up with audience engagement. |
Statements from this episode (12)
Insider mailed customers physical digital frames with personalized CEO video greetings
“You know, maybe just sending a digital frame in a box, which we did at Insider, so real tactic here. And the digital frame was personalized to the person who's receiving it. So you tap on the digital frame, which is a photo frame, which we all have, you know, …”
Nazlioglu: Shared experiences outperform physical corporate gifts in B2B customer marketing
“So I think, ah, the outside of the, taking the gifts outside of the box and creating those experiences is really gonna be the future of customer marketing. It's all about relationships. Even if you send them a frickin' scooter, it's not gonna buy you that rela…”
CEO Hande Cilingir personally records custom product demo videos for customer upsells
“This year, I started to, for example, shoot videos for our new products, where I'm using those new features by myself, and start to share them with the customers. I use the, like, you know, control panel. I create the scenarios myself. We are shooting those vi…”
Nazlioglu: In-product trials drive upsells faster than outbound sales and QBRs
“So you don't spend your time or waste your time on actually convincing days, emails, calls, presentations, QBRs, and then you actually show them the value before they actually make the investment. So we call this active upsell. We started experimenting with it…”
Insider's global Reshape event drew over 20,000 digital marketing attendees
“I remember that in last year's Reshape, we have more than 20,000 people joining us, digital marketers. By the way, we have an event, global event called Reshape. Every year we define the digital events in the world with the participation of the you know, the t…”
Cilingir: Localized community events drive better customer engagement than global conferences
“We decided to have also local reshapes during the year, where we only run this for the local community in our locations, inside those locations like Japan, in Seoul, in Tokyo, in London, and those community events, local community events, which was much more s…”
Insider established country-level customer advisory boards specifically to generate referral leads
“For example, we have established a customer advisory board in each country, not just to understand, you know, their needs, not just to understand the dynamics of this market, not just to understand their ideas, also for the referrals. We are trying to also und…”
Cilingir: Remote work and online communication have destroyed essential human interaction
“I'm a big enemy of the Online. I mean, online communication. I believe that world has lost a lot of things due to like, you know, work, working from home concept, the human interaction, and many things. It's not about only business.”
Nazlioglu: B2B SaaS should reward customer advocacy with gamified point systems
“Thinking about what we ask from them we can reward them with a point system. So, 50 points for your G to review, 200 points for your lovely speaking opportunity at Reshape, with Hyundai maybe, or with some other panelists, and that way they're accumulating poi…”
Nazlioglu: Offering upfront review incentives leads to mediocre customer ratings
“If you really want to send them an Amazon, Amazon voucher or some sort of present and recognize them, do it after, not before. Don't say, here's a 20 dollar Amazon voucher for you. Can you please give me a review? You will end up getting maybe two star, three …”