How do you deal with account churn and attrition and what are the best practices for retention and recovery?

1 Identify the causes and signs of churn and attrition

The first step to deal with account churn and attrition is to understand why and how they happen. There are many possible factors that can lead to customer dissatisfaction, such as poor product fit, lack of value, high price, technical issues, or unresponsive support. You need to track and analyze your account data, such as usage, feedback, NPS, and renewal rates, to identify the patterns and trends that indicate churn and attrition risk. You also need to communicate regularly with your customers, especially the key decision-makers and influencers, to understand their goals, expectations, challenges, and satisfaction levels.

2 Prevent churn and attrition with proactive account management

The best way to prevent churn and attrition is to provide consistent value and support to your customers throughout their lifecycle. You need to establish a clear account plan and strategy, based on your customer's needs, objectives, and desired outcomes. You also need to align your product or service offerings with your customer's value proposition, and demonstrate how you can help them achieve their goals and solve their problems. Moreover, you need to build strong relationships with your customers, based on trust, transparency, and empathy. You can do this by delivering on your promises, providing regular updates, sharing best practices, offering training and guidance, and soliciting feedback.

3 Detect and address churn and attrition risks early

Even with proactive account management, you may still encounter customers who are at risk of churning or attriting. You need to be alert and responsive to any signs of dissatisfaction, frustration, or disengagement from your customers. You can use tools and metrics, such as churn score, health score, or risk score, to monitor and prioritize your at-risk accounts. You also need to reach out to your customers as soon as possible, and listen to their concerns and complaints. You need to empathize with their situation, acknowledge their issues, and propose solutions. You also need to follow up and follow through on your actions, and measure the impact of your interventions.

4 Recover lost or churned customers with win-back campaigns

Sometimes, despite your best efforts, you may lose some customers to churn or attrition. However, this does not mean that you should give up on them. You can still try to recover them with win-back campaigns, which are targeted and personalized outreach strategies to re-engage and re-convert your lost or churned customers. You need to segment your lost or churned customers based on their reasons for leaving, their likelihood of returning, and their potential value. You also need to craft compelling win-back offers, such as discounts, free trials, upgrades, or new features, that address their pain points and motivate them to come back. Moreover, you need to track and optimize your win-back campaigns, and test different messages, channels, and timings.

5 Learn and improve from churn and attrition feedback

One of the most important steps to deal with churn and attrition is to learn from your customer feedback and improve your account management practices. You need to collect and analyze your customer feedback, both from your retained and lost customers, and identify the strengths and weaknesses of your product or service, your support, and your communication. You also need to share and act on your customer feedback, and implement changes and improvements that can enhance your customer experience, value, and loyalty. Furthermore, you need to measure and evaluate your account management performance, and set goals and KPIs that can help you reduce churn and attrition, and increase retention and recovery.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?