How to Maximize SaaS Growth by Implementing a Flywheel Strategy – Encharge

This strategy, borrowed from the mechanical flywheel concept, describes how small but consistent customer interaction activities can gather momentum and drive continuous business growth. 

Once set in motion, a mechanical flywheel needs little energy to maintain its rotation. Just like that, applying a growth flywheel strategy on your business snowballs over time, creating self-reinforcing cycles that lead to more growth with less effort. 

Traditional funnel models are mostly aimed at static product positioning and objectives. However, it isn’t sustainable since changes in SaaS market needs and competition are not linear anymore. 

Unlike traditional strategies, the flywheel concept focuses on delivering value to customers consistently to nurture relationships. As the flywheel gains momentum, it:

• Streamlines organic customer acquisition through loyal brand advocates
• Increases CLV through repeat customers
• Creates a positive and sustainable brand image

That’s why we’re sharing 10 strategies to grow your SaaS business using the growth flywheel strategy: 

10 ways to maximize SaaS growth with a flywheel strategy

1. Focus on customer retention to build momentum

In a SaaS business model, long-term customer relationships convince users to stay longer, spend more, and recommend your product. This creates a self-reinforcing cycle, driving growth with less incremental effort. 

Reports note that 80% of a company’s profits can be generated from 20% of its retained customers since customer retention is cost-effective. That’s why focusing on retention should be the foundation of your growth flywheel strategy. 

Here’s how you can do it: 

• Ensure your customers understand the features clearly. It reduces the learning curve, helping users start using your products efficiently and not drop off in the middle. 
• You can add in-app tutorials and demonstrations to lower the chances of customers losing their way and maximize retention. 
• Personalize communication to show you understand customer needs. It cultivates trust, improving the likelihood of retention. 
• Tap into your user data and segment customers based on industry and usage patterns. 
• Set up regular email flows to check in and examine their satisfaction, usage patterns, and potential challenges. Address their specific challenges and highlight features and actions accordingly.
• Such proactive actions will prove your commitment to utmost user satisfaction, enhancing your brand impression and boosting retention. 

2. Streamline onboarding to accelerate time-to-value

Time-to-value (TTV) measures customer success in terms of how long it takes a user to realize a product’s value after they start using it. 

Reports show that 63% of customers account for the onboarding experience while choosing a tool. 80% of users also note that they’ve deleted an app because they didn’t know how to use it.  

It’s clear that a lengthy and complicated onboarding frustrates users and causes churn. However, a smooth, fuss-free, and educational onboarding accelerates TTV and creates a flywheel effect that continues to delight new users. 

Here are some tips to streamline onboarding for optimal time-to-value: 

• Limit the number of fields in the sign-up form. Only ask for the essential information. Offer one-tap signup and automatic one-time password (OTP) detection for better convenience.
• Share clear instructions and progress indicators during the sign-up flow.
• Once they sign up, present a simple step-by-step tutorial or checklist to guide them through your product’s core functions.
• Engage them with a “quick win”. For example, a small and basic task they can complete on your platform, like setting up their first project or integrating it with their CRM, can help.
• Implement user behavior tracking so the onboarding flow adapts as the users interact with your product.
• Send onboarding emails immediately after signing up. Optimize them with a step-by-step guide and tips and tricks for using your tools. 
• Run a quick survey while onboarding to personalize experiences. 

For example, Insense, an influencer marketing platform, asks survey questions after onboarding a user. 



After onboarding, the platform introduces the features and guides users with prompts to help navigate the space. Such streamlined onboarding communicates the product’s value early on. 

3. Leverage user feedback to refine your product

No matter how well-designed your product is, there is always room for improvement. Creating a customer satisfaction flywheel needs a mechanism that registers customer feedback. That way, you can update your platform according to changing customer needs, keeping them happy with your product. 

Here is how you can collect and act on user feedback for product improvements: 

• To get honest feedback, you must know when to ask for it. Some ideal touchpoints for asking for feedback are:
  • After onboarding  
  • After their first quick win
  • Every 30, 60, or 90 days, depending on the user’s activity level
  • Immediately after resolving a support request
  • A week or two after launching a new feature
• Add in-app feedback pop-ups at critical moments of the user journey for real-time insights. 
• Use email marketing to send feedback forms at crucial touchpoints
• Incorporate a feedback widget on your homepage
• Whether the feedback is positive or negative, acknowledge and thank the user
• Run root cause analysis for the problems they reported and resolve promptly 
• You can also have a dedicated feature request page where users can submit their inputs



For example, Asana has a feature request forum, letting users submit feedback and the required functions. The brand engages with these submissions, updating how they act on the feedback. 



Asana also acknowledges the top contributors to encourage more submissions. 

4. Invest in customer success to deepen relationships

Improve your growth flywheel strategy and nurture relationships further by proactively investing in customer success. 

While customer service is reactive, customer success is proactive. That means the business makes a conscious effort to:

• Make customer journey smoother
• Address gaps and remove friction before they become complaints
• Help customers yield their product’s maximum value

Here are some strategies to enhance your customer success approach: 

• Form a dedicated customer success team with professionals specializing in relationship building, product expertise, and proactive customer engagement.
• Train your existing teams to understand customers better. Create an employee training template to align their efforts with ultimate customer satisfaction. 
• Invest in a customer success platform with net promoter score, engagement, and support ticket tracking to identify and resolve recurring issues. 
• Create a customer health benchmark and track the metrics regularly to identify users at churn risk. You can offer relevant support on time to retain the user. 
• Assign dedicated customer success representatives to your most high-value customers. 
• Small-scale users must have chatbots and dedicated support channels to contact. 

5. Implement a referral program to encourage organic growth

Customers trust peer recommendations more than scripted ads. 

Referral marketing taps into that by using your loyal users’ credibility to create a self-sustaining lead generation cycle. Plus, incentivizing a referrer for brand advocacy values their contribution and motivates them to keep at it. 

Try these SaaS referral program tips: 

• Create tiered rewards for more engagement. Referrers will be more motivated to promote and reach higher levels to unlock high-value perks.
• Outline the actions and rewards associated with each tier.
• Reports note that “single-sided referral programs” are the most common format in the B2B software industry. Create differentiation by awarding the referred person as well.
• Free upgrades and add-ons are good incentives for lower and middle tiers. For higher tiers, offer VIP badges, exclusive invites to brand events, and QR codes offering early access as rewards.
• Create a dedicated referral program page and detail the steps clearly.



For example, Dropbox outlines its referral process and reward in easy-to-understand steps. 



The program is two-sided, where they encourage existing loyalty and nurture new users with equal rewards. 

6. Use content marketing to educate and attract new users

A well-executed content marketing strategy acts as a flywheel that drives traffic, generates leads, builds trust, and converts visitors into users. It delivers value without inauthentic sales pitches, builds credibility, and creates an inbound lead generation flywheel. 

The key is to make interesting and relevant content to become a trusted voice. For that, you must understand: 

• What topics and content formats appeal to your audience?
• Where is your audience consuming content?
• What kind of content are your competitors creating?

For example, HubSpot’s phenomenal content marketing targets audiences according to their preferred channels and demographics. Their high-ranking evergreen blogs generate constant traffic and leads. 



HubSpot releases engaging YouTube videos, social media content, and podcasts for younger audiences. This approach accommodates new industry trends, preferences, and challenges.

Optimize your content marketing by: 

• Creating evergreen content like how-to blogs, guides, case studies, and checklists. Their long-term relevance generates leads without added intervention.
• We recommend identifying your audience’s favorite platforms and sharing content there. 
• Create and share videos and vibrant infographics with industry experts on social media. Post interactive content like quizzes and polls to engage users.
• You should set up email marketing for drip campaigns. Timely communication and regular resource sharing will build their trust in your expertise. 
• Use content marketing tools and SEO best practices to ensure high ranking.
• Update your blogs regularly to stay relevant and visible. 
• Repurpose existing content into snippets and reels for social media.
• Retarget relevant bits from evergreen blogs with new offers. 

7. Optimize pricing strategies to increase conversions

The flywheel strategy involves satisfying your customers to brew long-term loyalty, retention, and advocacy. A generic pricing approach may not be suitable for some user segments as different customers have different needs and budgets. 

So, adopt dynamic pricing strategies for your SaaS. Here’s how: 

• Consider implementing value-based pricing. Here, charges will be based on the outcome and ROI customers expect from your solution.
• Create pricing tiers to cater to different customer segments with varying needs. This will reduce gaps and friction, maximizing conversions across different user categories.
• Design three to four pricing tiers and outline the exact features for each price point.
• Offer add-ons to let users choose certain features without crossing the budget. 
• Design a tier where prospects can book a call and customize their package according to their needs.



For example, Zoho offers three pricing models to target different customer categories. The standard and premium plans have specific features, while the custom package lets users get a quote on a subscription tailored to their needs. Users can also compare the plans for informed decision-making.

8. Automate key processes to enhance scalability

Teams lose significant time on necessary but repetitive tasks like feedback collection, personalized emails, renewal reminders, check-ins, and post-purchase follow-ups. Manually handling them is time-consuming, error-prone, and especially troublesome when scaling operations as the task load grows significantly. 

So, to ensure your flywheel moves smoothly and grows your business, opt for reliable tools to automate these tasks. That way, these key processes move without any intervention, continuing to drive results while you focus on more strategy-oriented tasks. 

You must choose a marketing automation platform to create tailored user journeys that nurture, convert, and retain users.



For example, our platform Encharge offers a marketing automation solution to: 

• Set up email flows, in-app messages, and reminders with action-based triggers
• Score and qualify leads
• Sync with CRM and streamline repetitive sales tasks
• Analyze and produce reports in real-time

Create a strong emotional connection with your users by providing them with a branded community. Here they can: 

• Discuss their opinions on relevant topics and experiences with your product among like-minded people
• Feel a sense of belongingness with your brand
• Spread their love for your brand and generate leads in the process.



For example, Canva has separate communities to accommodate their extensive user segments. 

While designing your user community, remember to: 

• Promote your community through social media, in-app notifications, and email flows with invite links.
• Communicate the benefits of joining your community, like learning best practices, access to exclusive resources, and connecting with like-minded peers.
• Consider creating discord channels and Facebook groups. They are cost-effective and can drive significant engagement and advocacy.
• Award badges for engagement to encourage continuous participation

Once your user community gets traction, it will be an autonomous system of positive word-of-mouth, and organic lead generation. 

10. Focus on data-driven decision-making for continuous improvement

Instead of relying on intuition alone, use real-time analytics and reporting to track your flywheel’s effectiveness over time. It helps identify and address issues, ‘oil’ the flywheel, and maintain a smooth momentum. 

For that, you must monitor the following KPIs: 

• Customer acquisition cost (CAC)
• Customer lifetime value (CLV)
• Customer satisfaction score (CSAT)
• Time-to-value
• Successful referral rate
• Net promoter score (NPS)
• Traffic and bounce rate
• Retention rate 
• Churn rate
• Conversion rate

You must compare the results against the industry benchmark and tweak the approach regularly for continuous improvement. 

Start using a growth flywheel strategy today

The growth flywheel strategy sounds like a mouthful. However, all it takes is small but diligent customer satisfaction efforts over time — and you will have a system that withstands market uncertainties and drives growth.

So, provide resources and guides to help users get the most out of your tools, improving retention. For a good first impression, your onboarding must be quick and fuss-free. Save time and streamline with task automation. You must also set up action-based email flows and notification triggers for timely communication. 

Finally, create a community, roll out a two-sided referral system, and track relevant metrics to make data-driven decisions. Are you looking to automate your SaaS growth? Try Encharge.