Understanding Why Some Customers Leave
Understanding why some customers leave is something that many businesses struggle with. Companies small and large have been looking for answers on what they can do to reduce their churn quickly to unlock significant revenue potential. As Benjamin Franklin once noted, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” This idea is the foundation of what reducing churn is all about— preventing small issues from turning into reasons for cancellation.
For the sake of this article when we refer to churn, we will be referencing customer churn rate or the pace in which customers are leaving your book of business. This likely effects your company but if you are a SaaS provider, then this should hit especially close to home. So how can you reduce your customer churn rate now? For starters, you must understand the customer experience from start to finish.
It’s time to get tuned into your customer lifecycle. If your lucky enough to have customer success managers within your organization, speak with them about the signs of a customer who is about to cancel your service. These are the people you should be learning from to better your chances of keeping customers paying for longer. Signs of churn can range from being late on payments, browsing the terms of service page on the application, calling a help number, or even the age of the account. Learn which signs of churn are most important in your business and address them as soon as possible. If a CSM is not readily available for you, use your data to determine common traits of customers who have canceled your service. By monitoring the symptoms of churn, you can better address customer needs before it’s too late.
Consider this, according to SuperOffice.com 68% of customers leave a service because they feel as if the company does not care about them or their needs. One thing you can be doing right now is reaching out to your customers to understand what they expect from your service. By doing this, they will know that you care about their needs being met and will likely stick around.
We live in a data-driven world, and responsible decision makers understand the power of decisions backed by data. By following and tracking your customer experience from start to finish, you better understand common trends and better address concerns. Here at VisualCue, we offer the tools to see in real-time which customers need attention. With limited training, you and your team can find the patterns in the data necessary to meet your customers’ expectations. Happier customers lead to less churn which leads to more monthly recurring revenue in the case of a SaaS company.
No matter the industry you are in if you are running a business than it is safe to say that you are concerned with keeping customers happier for longer. Reduce your churn rate by understanding the customer experience and look for patterns in the data. As you analyze the data, you will begin to recognize commonalities between the unhappy customers. Find these trends and address them because in the end, if you don’t take care of your customers, then I am sure someone else will.