9 Best Customer Retention Software to Reduce Churn

Medium-sized eCommerce businesses spend at least $274 on acquiring new customers. If I consider the construction industry, it costs $610.

This might make you think of investing in customer retention software solutions. 

But, as someone who has spent years in the industry, I can assure you that finding the right retention software is harder than it seems. It is influenced by several factors, including website experience, customer service quality, etc.

In this blog, I’ll introduce you to the 9 best customer retention software that have worked out well for me and my peers.  

Here’s a quick comparison to get started-

9 Best Customer Retention Software in 2024

This list has a detailed comparison of the 9 best tools I have first-hand experience with or have been recommended by close peers. I also checked review websites for client testimonials to get a better understanding of these tools. 

1. ProProfs Chat

Best for 24/7 delightful customer support with AI chatbots

The key to retention lies in promptly responding to customer queries. For that, you need a powerful tool to connect with website visitors in real time.

One such tool that I recommend using is ProProfs Chat. Using it, I’ve not only retained customers; I’ve gained their trust and loyalty. It is a live chat tool that you can use to capture leads, collect feedback, and increase conversions. 

I was amazed that the free plan packs all the features, including the AI chatbot! 

The chatbot can effortlessly handle common customer queries and automate repetitive tasks like greeting visitors, sending post-chat surveys, etc. It can also transfer the chat to human operators when complex issues arise. 

If you’re on the hunt for a live chat solution to boost retention rates, you must try ProProfs Chat. 

What you’ll like:

• AI chatbot can automate tasks and provide personalized answers.
• Canned responses help answer frequently asked questions promptly.
• The software lets you initiate proactive conversations based on user behavior and preferences.
• Reports and analytics give you insights into customer satisfaction.
• Real-time monitoring of website visitors to track on-site behavior and improve UX.

What you won’t like: 

• Some users have reported experiencing some glitches or delays while using the tool.
• The chatbot is in its developmental phase, so you may need to update it frequently.

Pricing: Forever free for a single operator. Live chat pricing for 2+ operators starts at $19.99/agent/month.

2. ProProfs Help Desk

Best for Shared Inbox & Automation

If you’re looking for more advanced customer support features, you can consider upgrading to help desk software. One such tool that has completely transformed how I manage customer interactions is ProProfs Help Desk.

The 15-day premium trial allowed me to dive into its full potential. One of the first features I loved was the shared inbox. 

I could seamlessly tackle complex issues, share insights, and collectively solve challenges using it. It also enabled me to assign and track tickets from different channels in one place.

Another feature that saved us a lot of time is the automation. I could create workflows to route tickets to the right agent, send automated responses, and follow up on unresolved issues. 

I could even create a knowledge base to share FAQs, guides, and tips with my customers. I highly recommend the software if you want to boost retention rates and keep your customers happy.

What you’ll like: 

• Automated ticket routing based on criteria like priority, subject, or keywords.
• Canned responses save time in answering common customer queries.
• FAQs, guides, and tips can be shared to empower customers with self-support.
• The ability to track the status of customer complaints and resolve them promptly.
• Easily create, prioritize, and resolve tickets from different channels.

What you won’t like: 

• The software covers a lot of features, which may not be suitable for everyone.
• The trial period may feel insufficient, considering the features you need to check.

Pricing: Starts from $20/user/month. A 15-day free trial is available.

3. Qualaroo

Best for AI-Powered Sentiment Analysis

Looking for a customer feedback tool that works beyond unengaging email surveys, I found Qualaroo.

It’s a tool that lets me create surveys that appear on my website or app at the right time and place based on the user’s behavior. It also offers segmentation options to target specific customers.

One of the things I love most about Qualaroo is its AI sentiment analysis feature. 

It allows me to understand how customers feel about my product. For example, I recently ran a survey using it. The results indicated many customers were unhappy with the checkout process on my website. As I made specific changes, the results changed in the following survey.

The icing on the cake? Qualaroo has an easy-to-use and clutter-free UI.

What you’ll like:

• In-context surveys appear at the right time and place based on user behavior.
• Various feedback forms – including surveys, polls, and NPS surveys, are available.
• Ask customers with nudges for feedback after they have made a purchase or abandoned their cart.
• Skip logic lets you dynamically change questions based on customers’ previous answers.
• A/B testing for comparing survey versions to see which performs better.

What you won’t like:

• Features like exit surveys or question branching are only available in the premium plans.
• You may need to pay separately to white-label the product.

Pricing: Starts from $19/month. A 15-day free trial is available.

4. Heap Analytics

Best for User Behavior Analysis

When it comes to understanding what makes your website work like magic, rely on Heap Analytics.

It uses data science to interpret digital datasets and display events that impact your business the most. This lets you understand user behavior in detail and make informed decisions about your website.

With Heap Analytics, you don’t need to call in experts. You can observe which pages are most popular, which actions lead to conversions, and where users are getting stuck.

The software also has easy data visualization tools that make generating insights simpler. These tools, called ‘Journey Maps,’ can give you detailed insights like Google Analytics.

What you’ll like:

• Various key metrics can be tracked – such as conversion rates, retention rates, etc.
• Real-time data helps in identifying user problems and opportunities as they happen.
• The ability to track clicks, scrolls, and form submissions to understand what users are interested in.
• User segmentation based on demographics, interests, and behavior.
• Heap Analytics is a code-free tool, so you don’t need to be a developer to use it.

What you won’t like:

• Sometimes, it is slow to load data, especially for large websites or apps.
• Its pricing plans are costly for most businesses with a limited budget.

Pricing: Starts from $3600/year. 

5. Optimizely

Best for Web Experimentation

If you are specifically looking for a web A/B testing tool to understand which version of your website performs better, try Optimizely.

With Optimizely, you can test landing pages, email campaigns, and even individual website pages. This ensures that all your assets are optimized enough to engage and retain customers.

Tracking the results is also a breeze. You can see how many people have visited each website version, how long they stayed, and what actions they took. 

Setting up Optimizely is a piece of cake. Simply drag and drop elements onto your website, and the software will handle the rest. It’s quick, easy, and works like a charm.

What you’ll like:

• Visual editor makes to create website experiments without writing any code.
• Content Management System (CMS) helps deliver exceptional digital experiences across channels.
• A/B testing to improve marketing efforts.
• Personalized messages can be sent to users based on their website behavior.
• Integration support with Google Analytics, Salesforce, etc., gives a holistic view of data across platforms.

What you won’t like:

• Multivariate testing (MVT) feature is absent in the starting plan.
• To know about pricing details, you have to submit a request, which can be time-consuming.

Pricing: Custom pricing.

6. Mambo.io

Best for Enterprise Gamification

Based on my experience with gamification software, I recommend Mambo.io. It’s a great tool to boost your app engagement rates.

With Mambo.io at your fingertips, you can craft loyalty programs that deliver captivating gamified experiences. These experiences allure customers and motivate them to come back for more.

The software makes it super easy to guide and train customers. It uses smart metrics to track their progress and completion of goals. 

But here’s where it gets really interesting – you can set success criteria and key metrics to tailor the gamification solution specifically to your needs. It’s like having a custom-made toolkit to supercharge your customer retention strategies.

What you’ll like: 

• Gamified experiences help promote new products and keep customers entertained.
• You can view a breakdown of user activities to identify opportunities to improve loyalty programs.
• Actionable insights let you track and reward customer actions that matter to your business.
• A RAG (Red Amber Green) system to guide users on their progress.
• The tool is scalable – so you can grow your gamification programs with your business.

What you won’t like: 

• You need to submit a request to know about pricing.
• The UI can be clunky and difficult to navigate, especially for beginners.

Pricing: Custom pricing.

7. BIGContacts

Best for Contact Management & Email Marketing

For over a year, I’ve relied on BIGContacts as my ultimate CRM companion. 

This powerful CRM tool transforms customer information into a neat, single dashboard – a gateway to crafting tailor-made experiences. 

When it comes to keeping tabs on the sales journey, BIGContacts is like my personal assistant. I can seamlessly construct my sales pipeline and fire off targeted emails to prospects.

But that’s not all. The software lets me create drip email campaigns that work like magic nets – capturing leads and boosting conversions. 

Apart from these, it also churns out insightful reports, giving a bird’s-eye view of my performance. I can track my leads, count my closed deals, and even tally up the revenue I’ve reeled in.

What you’ll like: 

• Contact management lets you see what customers have purchased or how they interact with your business.
• Pipeline management helps to track your sales process.
• Automated workflows, tasks, and follow-ups increase sales conversion rates.
• Easy remote access with mobile-optimized CRM solutions.
• Drip email marketing campaigns with pre-designed templates.

What you won’t like: 

• Storage options in the basic plans are limited.
• You may face occasional lags and glitches while working on the software.

Pricing: Starts at $5/user/month. A 15-day free trial is available.

8. Yotpo

Best for eCommerce Retention Marketing

For eCommerce business owners, retaining customers is a top priority. One way to do this is by creating a loyalty program. 

Recommended by my colleagues, Yotpo can be a trusty sidekick for customer retention – a tool that handles loyalty, referrals, and rewards.

With Yotpo, you can create pre-built campaigns to deliver personalized rewards to customers. These personalized rewards are like little thank-you notes for completing actions that boost your business.

Additionally, Yotpo enables you to create a tier-based program. This means you can reward customers more for their repeat business.

What you’ll like: 

• Marketing performance can be monitored with detailed reports.
• The ability to understand how customers feel about your products with sentiment analysis.
• Data points related to online reputation can be viewed on a single dashboard.
• Tier-based programs help reward customers who make repeat purchases.
• The user-friendly UI makes it easy to manage loyalty programs, email marketing campaigns, etc.

What you won’t like:

• The limited number of monthly users in the free plan makes it impractical even for small businesses.
• The company’s support team is sometimes slow to respond, which can be frustrating if you require urgent help.

Pricing: Starts from $15/month. A free plan is available with limited monthly users. 

9. MailChimp

Best for Email Marketing

MailChimp is an excellent tool if you need advanced email marketing features. It has plenty of tools that can boost your customer retention game. 

You can use the email builder to create professional-looking emails without having any prior experience. There are a variety of templates that you can check out and customize to match your brand. 

Mailchimp’s automation features let you send emails to subscribers based on customer behavior – such as when they sign up for my email list, make a purchase, or refer a friend. This can help you save time and reach customers at the right time.

What you’ll like:

• Mailchimp can deliver high volumes of unique, personalized emails to each subscriber.
• The ability to preview your email in different inboxes to understand how it will look to your subscribers.
• Detailed reports show the performance of email campaigns.
• Content optimizer to write more effective email copies with personalized suggestions.
• A/B test your emails to see what works best for your audience.

What you won’t like: 

• Segmentation features are limited compared to some other email marketing platforms. 
• The free plan of Mailchimp does not offer any automation features.

Pricing: Starts from $13/month (billed annually). A free plan is available with certain limitations.

Which Customer Retention Software Should You Try?

Having read so far, you now know that the best customer retention software does more than just boost brand loyalty. These tools can help you increase engagement, deliver a seamless user experience, and understand how customers use your website. 

So, instead of moving into the fatigue of not knowing which of these are a must, I’ll help you narrow down your options based on my experience.

Option A: ProProfs Chat

The live chat software from ProProfs is a complete powerhouse for customer support. The forever-free plan for single operators comes loaded with its AI chatbot, which makes it an absolute steal. You can effortlessly chat with customers, solve their problems proactively, and render assistance 24×7.

Option B: Qualaroo

I prefer Qualaroo over other customer feedback tools because of its unorthodox approach. You can do more than just send email surveys to customers. The AI sentiment analysis feature lets you understand what pain points users have so that you can work on them to boost satisfaction. 

Option C: MailChimp

MailChimp offers powerful email marketing tools. You can enhance customer retention with ease by crafting professional email sequences with the user-friendly email builder. It also lets you automate emails based on customer actions like sign-ups, purchases, and referrals.

Overall, I’d choose ProProfs Chat as one of the most effective solutions to reduce customer churn. With its AI chatbot, and plenty of other useful features, it has all the right ingredients needed to ensure customers are always satisfied with you. 

Learn More About Customer Retention Software

1. What is customer retention software?

Customer retention software helps you keep customers happy, engaged, and coming back for more. It tracks customer behavior and preferences, identifies at-risk customers, and automates outreach campaigns to keep customers engaged and prevent churn. With retention software, you can build stronger relationships with customers and maximize the lifetime value of each customer.

2. What are the top features of customer retention software?

Customer retention tools offer a plethora of solutions to boost retention rates. Here are the top five of them –

• Customer Segmentation: Divide customers into small groups based on their purchase history, demographics, etc., to send personalized marketing campaigns.
• Automated Outreach: Automate emails, SMS messages, or other notifications to customers to stay top-of-mind with customers and keep them engaged.
• Customer Support: Retention software helps you deliver better customer support by providing agents with the information they need to resolve issues quickly. 
• Data Analysis: Track customer behavior and identify trends to improve customer retention strategies.

3. Why does your SaaS business need customer retention software?

If you are looking for retention software, then chances are you might be looking for a solution to these problems –

• Reduce Churn: Retention software can help you identify at-risk customers and take steps to prevent them from churning.
• Increase Customer Lifetime Value (CLV): With the help of retention software, you can keep customers engaged and coming back for more.
• Improve Customer Satisfaction: Retention software tracks customer data and satisfaction metrics to help you identify areas for improvement and take steps to improve them.

Here’s a video to help you understand how you can measure customer satisfaction: How to Measure Customer Satisfaction.