Why "Time to Renewal" Is the Most Important Metric for Cloud Marketplace Success

Let’s get straight to the point: if you’re selling through cloud marketplaces your north star metric should be Time to Renewal (TTR). This is true whether you are an ISV, SI, VAR, VAD, or any other type of partner that is building and selling solutions through cloud marketplaces.

I’ve updated my own partner success metrics to reflect this, and here’s why you should too.

Getting to Revenue Is Not Enough - Predictability and Repeatability Matter

It’s easy to celebrate when a partner lands their first marketplace deal. But if we stop there, we’re missing the bigger picture. Revenue is great, but unless it’s predictable and repeatable, we’re setting ourselves, our partners, and our customers up for failure.

Time to Renewal measures how quickly and efficiently you can move a customer from their initial purchase through to their first renewal - and to every renewal after that. If you can’t make this process smooth and reliable, you risk churn, lost upsell opportunities, and a breakdown in customer trust.

Why Time to Renewal Is Critical

• Customer Experience: A shorter TTR means a frictionless renewal process, which directly impacts customer satisfaction. If your renewal process drags on, customers get frustrated and may start looking elsewhere.
• Operational Efficiency: Streamlining renewals reduces internal overhead. Automation tools and clear workflows can cut renewal times from weeks to days, freeing up your team for higher-value activities.
• Revenue Predictability: Fast, consistent renewals create a steady revenue stream. This predictability is essential for forecasting, planning, and scaling your business.
• Marketplace Advantage: Marketplace customers often renew at higher rates due to streamlined procurement and committed budgets. If you can reduce TTR, you’re doubling down on this advantage and maximizing marketplace ROI
  

How TTR Stacks Up Against Other Metrics

Let’s compare TTR with another popular metric: Customer Lifetime Value (CLV).

CLV is important. It tells you how valuable a customer is over time. But here’s the catch: You can’t maximize CLV without nailing renewals. This is especially true when selling through a marketplace.

If your TTR is slow or inconsistent, your CLV projections are just wishful thinking. TTR is the engine that drives CLV upward by ensuring customers keep coming back, renewing, and expanding their spend.

What Happens When You Ignore Time to Renewal?

• Churn creeps in: Customers who experience delays or confusion during renewal are more likely to leave.
• Lost upsell opportunities: Every renewal is a chance to expand the relationship. A clunky process means missed revenue.
• Eroded trust: Transparency and speed build trust. Delays do the opposite
• Barriers to Exit: They've never been lower. The customer is in charge when it comes to how and what they spend their budgets.

Bottom Line

If you want your marketplace business to thrive, focus on Time to Renewal. Make renewals fast, seamless, and predictable. This isn’t just a metric - It is the foundation for partner success, customer satisfaction, and long-term growth.

“Getting partners to revenue is fine, but if we can’t make it predictable and repeatable we all fail (ourselves and the customer).” 

Let’s stop celebrating one-time wins. Start measuring what matters.

Time to Renewal is the metric that tells you if your marketplace engine is built for the long haul.

This idea and this post was sparked at the recent Ultimate Partner event that Vince Menzione and his team created and hosted on the Microsoft campus.