Instant Insights: Decreasing Churn, Increasing Cheddar

In our last instant insights post, we discussed the value of comparing different types of data to draw new, insightful conclusions that were hidden behind stagnant points of data before. Now that you’re expertly comparing data, you can get into the grit of customer behavior and ways to increase revenue and retention.

Churn is a term that gets thrown around a lot in relation to customer behavior. The short definition is the number of customers who cease doing business with an organization over a specific time period. Here are some ways to identify your churn rate and tips to keep it low:

• The difficulty in figuring out your churn is distinguishing between a customer and a former customer. This largely depends on the business type (i.e. subscription versus retail business).

• If your business is subscription based, it’s immediately apparent when a customer stops subscribing. With retail, customers may make purchases during the holidays only or purchase durable goods without being considered churned despite the lack of purchases.

• Churn could be an indication of a number of things. Customer dissatisfaction, high prices, poor marketing, or just a natural part of the customer life cycle are all factors that could result in churning.

• Engaging with customers through e-mail marketing is a good way to keep them up to date with your latest offerings as well as build brand loyalty. Ad retargeting is also effective in winning back former customers by reminding them of your products.

Finding out your churn rate is a crucial first step in identifying any leaks in your ship. With this knowledge you can begin to patch up any cracks, retain more of your customers, and increase your revenue in the process.