Most Effective Customer Churn Strategies in 2020 

For many CSMs, the list of ‘best things about working with clients’ probably doesn’t include dealing with churn. Most of us who love working in customer success do so because we love working with people and want to help customers see maximum value with the products they’ve invested in. Unfortunately, customer churn is a very real part of the job that all CSMs will have to deal with, regardless of how attentive you may be with your customers.

In 2020, customer churn has occupied the minds of CSMs even more than in previous years, as the global economic uncertainty of the past few months has forced many SaaS organizations to re-evaluate and reassess their vendor contracts. If you feel like you’ve been dealing with more customer churn than normal, you’re not alone. That’s why we’ve pulled together this list of effective strategies for dealing with and mitigating potential customer churn in 2020 and beyond:

1. Make sure you’ve exhausted all solution possibilities. In 2020 especially, customers are being forced to end vendor relationships in order to focus on other areas of value. Instead of accepting this customer churn without a fight, savvy CSMs should use this opportunity to pivot your product to address new goals the customer may have.

2. Leverage detailed insights to help predict customer churn where possible. While many CSMs are dealing with unexpected customer churn in 2020, there can be some prediction with the right data. By keeping track of key metrics like usage rates, customer sentiment, and revenue opportunity, CSMs can flag any accounts at risk for churn and focus more time and effort on these specific accounts.

3. Set up an executive check-in. If a customer comes to you with the news they are potentially going to be forced to churn, it’s time to get the big guns involved. Set up a meeting with both team executives to see what, if anything, can be done to prevent the situation. Bringing in your department leader or the CEO of your organization can allow for more flexibility in contract terms that you as a CSM might not be authorized to provide.

4. Go above and beyond for customers, even those who are in the process of terming. Closing out a customer account due to churn is always hard, but this isn’t an excuse to let things slip through the cracks. Your customers deserve the same high levels of service and attention until the very last day of their contract. This is especially important for customers who are churning due to something unexpected, like financial issues, as they could still recommend your services to other businesses.

 You can learn more about customer churn with these additional resources from ClientSuccess:

 

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