After introducing new products and expanding its client base, Clarabridge reported its subscription revenue grew by 45 percent in 2013.
The company is a provider of customer experience management (CEM) solutions — a rapidly growing software industry that helps companies better understand the needs and desires of their users. The goal of CEM solutions is to take data about customer experiences and transform it into actionable business intelligence.
“2013 was a year of significant investment for Clarabridge — investment in new products, marketing, sales coverage and, most significantly, talent,” said Sid Banerjee, CEO of Clarabridge. “We grew our headcount by over 65 percent, and significantly expanded the executive leadership team, bringing on individuals with the experience, passion and vision to take Clarabridge to even further success in 2014 and beyond.”
Demand for CEM solutions is growing as more companies seek help with measuring and analyzing an increasing amount of data on the customer experience. As such, another factor in Clarabridge’s growth is the number of new customers in 2013, including some well-known companies in their industries such as Pella, Lenovo, DuPont, Orbitz, WestJet, CarMax and The Hartford Corporation.
The company also credits a customer retention rate of more than 95 percent and dollar retention rates well above 100 percent as part of the increased growth. Clarabridge customer list includes includes Walmart, Dell Inc., E.ON Energy, Intuit, L’Oréal Group USA, QVC, Inc., Sage Software and United Airlines.
“In the age of the customer, Clarabridge has been vital in helping us create an ‘outside in’ perspective from multiple customer listening channels,” said Matt Hadfield, senior manager, customer insights, United Airlines. “The team has enabled us to better listen to, analyze and act on customer needs, wants and suggestions.”
Clarabridge also secured $80 million in new funding from General Catalyst Partners, Summit Partners and Unica-founder Yuchun Lee. The company reports that proceeds from the investment are being used to aggressively invest in attracting key talent, increase sales and marketing programs and global reach, and enable strategic transactions to accelerate further growth.
In addition, the company began operations in Latin America in 2013 as well as expanded its offices in London and San Francisco. Key personnel changes included Bas Brukx as chief financial officer, Nithi Vivatrat as chief product officer, Karl Knoll as general counsel, Gabby Wong as senior vice president of services and Michael McDonald as vice president of sales, western region.