Interview with Brand-Strategy Expert Carla Mendes on Trade Agreement Utilization and Customer Retention

Q: Carla, you’ve worked closely with corporate training companies that sell project-management tools. For a mid-level brand manager aiming to reduce churn, how should trade agreements factor into customer-retention strategies?

Great starting point. Trade agreements often get treated like legal or procurement issues, but they have a direct impact on retention when handled strategically. At their core, trade agreements dictate pricing, discounts, service levels, and renewal terms—these influence how customers perceive value.

The first thing I tell brand managers is: don’t just hand over trade agreements to sales or finance and forget about them. Instead, actively manage the utilization of these agreements as a retention lever. For example, if your agreement offers preferential pricing for multi-year training subscriptions, make sure the marketing and customer success teams clearly communicate this benefit early in the customer journey.

I’ve seen cases where a corporate client’s trade agreement gave them a 15% discount on advanced project management modules if they signed up for a two-year plan. Because that wasn’t well communicated, the client stayed on a 12-month plan, paying full price, and eventually churned when budget cuts hit. Had the brand team engaged earlier and mapped this into the renewal conversation, churn could’ve dropped significantly.

Pro tip: Set up internal dashboards that track who qualifies for which trade agreements and whether the customers are actually using those benefits. That’s where you get real intel on retention risk.

How do you recommend brand managers track trade agreement utilization effectively?

Good tracking is challenging but crucial. Many mid-level brand folks I meet rely only on billing or CRM data, which tells if discounts were applied but not if customers used their contractual benefits meaningfully.

I suggest combining three data sources:

1. Usage Metrics: For a PM tool, track training session attendance, feature activation, or module usage tied to the agreement.
2. Contract Data: Extract trade agreement specifics from your contract management system, like discount tiers or service credits.
3. Customer Feedback: Use pulse surveys via tools like Zigpoll or Qualtrics to ask if customers understand and use their trade agreement benefits.

Here’s a practical setup:

• Sync contract terms with CRM to flag eligible customers.
• Link usage analytics to that CRM record.
• Schedule quarterly Zigpoll surveys asking simple questions: “Do you know about your volume discount? Have you accessed training modules covered by your agreement?”

The gotcha—and I’ve seen this trip up many—is inconsistency in contract data formatting. Some agreements are PDFs, others in document management systems. You may need manual data entry or a contract intelligence tool to standardize terms before linking to usage data.

What’s a common edge case or pitfall when relying on trade agreements to boost retention?

One tricky situation is when trade agreements include “use it or lose it” clauses on training credits or seats. Customers might get a fixed number of training hours, but if they don’t use them, those credits expire.

I worked with a PM-tool provider whose corporate clients had this in their agreements. One client used only 20% of their annual training credits, so when renewal time came, they didn’t see value and didn’t renew.

The lesson here is to build reminders and proactive outreach into your retention playbook. Make it a collaborative effort with customer success and training teams to nudge clients to use training credits throughout the year. This could be monthly emails or quarterly account reviews.

Also, consider redesigning the agreement language if you find this is a widespread issue. Flexible rollover credits or partial refunds can prevent frustration.

How can mid-level brand managers align trade agreement utilization with engagement campaigns?

Great question. Engagement campaigns are your frontline retention tool, and trade agreements provide an underleveraged content angle.

For example, say your trade agreement offers early access to new project management modules or certifications if the client renews their training subscription. Use this in campaigns as a value proposition rather than just a discount.

You can experiment with segmented email marketing:

The implementation challenge is integrating contract data with your marketing automation system. You might need middleware or API work to sync these in real-time.

Can you share a data or case example illustrating the impact of trade agreement utilization?

Absolutely. A 2024 Forrester report highlighted that companies using contract-based customer benefits as engagement tools saw a 12% lower churn rate than those treating agreements as mere paperwork.

In practice, one project-management tool vendor I advised went from 2% to 11% conversion on annual renewals by creating a “Trade Agreement Benefits” campaign. They combined usage data, segmented emails, and quarterly training webinars tailored to the agreement terms. The key was making the agreement’s value tangible rather than abstract.

What are some challenges around communicating trade agreement benefits internally?

Here’s a real hurdle often overlooked. Brand managers, sales, and customer success teams sometimes work in silos. Sales teams might know the discounts but not how customers should use the associated training modules to get ahead. Meanwhile, customer success focuses on daily support without full visibility into trade terms.

A practical fix is holding cross-functional “Trade Agreement Utilization” workshops quarterly. This brings everyone on the same page about:

• What each agreement includes
• How to educate customers
• Renewal risks tied to underutilization

Also, create internal cheat sheets or playbooks summarizing trade agreement highlights for quick reference.

What feedback tools or techniques work best to understand customer perspectives on these agreements?

I recommend combining quantitative and qualitative feedback:

• Use Zigpoll for quick, targeted pulse surveys during key milestones—like post-renewal or after training sessions. Ask questions such as, “Did you find the training benefits you’re entitled to useful?”
• Supplement with Net Promoter Score (NPS) surveys but include custom trade-agreement-specific items.
• Qualitative interviews or focus groups with top clients can unearth nuanced perceptions about trade agreements and their training offerings.

One caveat: customers may not always differentiate pricing agreements from product value. So, questions must be clear and linked to actual usage, not just feelings about cost.

What about customizing trade agreements to improve long-term loyalty?

Customizing agreements based on customer profiles can increase perceived value and stickiness.

For example:

• High-growth clients might prefer flexible training credits that increase as their teams expand.
• Enterprise clients could benefit from bundled consulting hours tied to training modules.

One brand manager I worked with segmented their corporate customers into three tiers, each with tailored trade agreements. This helped increase renewal rates by 8% for the middle tier, which previously had average churn.

The trade-off is that customized agreements add complexity to contract management and require clear internal processes to avoid errors or miscommunication.

Last, what actionable advice would you give mid-level brand managers starting to optimize trade agreement utilization for retention?

Focus on three concrete areas:

1. Visibility: Build internal dashboards combining contract terms, usage data, and customer feedback. This makes underutilized agreements visible before renewal season.

2. Education: Collaborate with customer success and marketing to educate customers on their benefits through segmented campaigns and regular nudges.

3. Cross-Team Alignment: Break down silos with recurring alignment meetings or workshops focusing on trade agreement goals and customer outcomes.

Before scaling any initiative, pilot with a small customer segment. For instance, test targeted emails promoting unused training credits for a specific industry vertical. Measure lift in engagement and renewal before broader rollout.

One final reminder: this approach doesn’t replace product or pricing improvements—it complements them by making sure existing agreements deliver on their promise, which builds trust and reduces churn.

If you start small, track carefully, and persist on communication, trade agreements can become a quiet but powerful retention tool in your brand toolkit.