Churn hurts. Whether you’re running a SaaS product, a subscription-based business, or an app with in-app purchases, churn quietly eats away at your growth. The good news? Founders and operators now have access to a powerful set of tools to fight churn head-on. We’ve rounded up 30 of the most critical tools used by businesses, along with adoption statistics and deep tactical advice on how to use them right. Let’s dive in.
1. 68% of SaaS companies report using in-app messaging tools like Intercom or Drift to reduce churn
Why in-app messaging is a game-changer
When a user gets stuck or confused inside your product, there’s a small window to help. If they bounce, you may never get them back. In-app messaging tools like Intercom and Drift let you communicate right at the moment of friction. Instead of waiting for a support ticket, users get a prompt, a tip, or a direct message that helps them solve a problem fast.
That responsiveness builds trust. It shows users you’re listening and ready to help. Even more powerful? You can automate these nudges based on behavior. If someone hasn’t completed onboarding, the system nudges them with a friendly message. If someone seems lost, they can get a checklist or a walkthrough.
How to use in-app messaging effectively
First, identify key drop-off points in your user journey. Where do users typically stall out or disappear? That’s where you should place your in-app messages. Keep messages short and helpful. Avoid long blocks of text—users skim. If possible, use video or GIFs to demonstrate actions.
Second, use in-app messaging to guide—not sell. Don’t promote upgrades in the middle of a support experience. Instead, help users succeed with what they already have. That builds loyalty. Over time, as they gain value from your product, they’ll naturally be open to upsells later.
Watch out for message fatigue
Be careful not to overwhelm users with too many pop-ups or tooltips. Less is more. Prioritize based on urgency. One good message at the right time beats five scattered ones. Test different formats—chat bubbles, sidebars, inline cards—to see what works best for your product flow.
2. 74% of customer success teams rely on CRM integrations like Salesforce to manage churn risk signals
Why CRMs aren’t just sales tools anymore
Salesforce and similar tools used to be seen purely as lead trackers. Now, they’re essential for customer success. Why? Because churn prevention starts with understanding your customer history. A CRM brings together support conversations, product usage, deal history, and even NPS data into one place.
That 360-degree view lets customer success teams act before it’s too late. If usage is dropping and support tickets are piling up, your team can step in with a check-in call or a strategic offer. If you don’t have that data, you’re flying blind.
Setting up a churn watch inside your CRM
First, define what “at-risk” means for your business. Is it 14 days of no activity? Is it a support issue left unresolved for 3 days? Build fields and dashboards that track those signals.
Next, set up automations that alert your team. If a customer meets multiple churn risk criteria, have the system trigger a Slack message or assign a task. Don’t wait for quarterly check-ins—act within hours, not weeks.
Segment your outreach by value
Not every churn risk is equal. A high-paying enterprise customer deserves a phone call. A low-tier user may benefit more from an automated re-engagement email. Use your CRM data to prioritize effort where it matters most. This isn’t about favoring big clients—it’s about matching your resources to where they’ll have the most impact.
3. 62% of businesses use customer feedback tools like Delighted or SurveyMonkey to monitor satisfaction
Feedback is your early warning system
Churn doesn’t usually happen out of the blue. Most users show signs—they stop logging in, skip updates, or complain quietly. Tools like Delighted or SurveyMonkey help surface those signs. By collecting feedback regularly, you get insights into what’s working and what’s frustrating users before they walk away.
And it’s not just about collecting Net Promoter Scores. You can also use these tools to ask more focused questions—like “What’s the one thing that would make this product better for you?” or “What almost made you cancel?”
Timing is everything with feedback
Don’t wait until the user churns to ask why. Instead, build in feedback moments throughout the journey. After onboarding, after completing a task, or after a support chat—these are natural moments to ask, “How are we doing?”
Avoid long surveys. One or two questions at a time keep users engaged. Over time, those answers add up to a clearer picture of what needs fixing.
Act on what you hear
Here’s where many companies drop the ball. They collect feedback… and do nothing. Users can tell. When you make a change based on feedback, tell your users. A message like “You asked for better mobile performance—we delivered it in this update” builds goodwill and makes users feel heard. That’s the kind of thing that drives long-term loyalty.
4. 56% of churn-reducing strategies include onboarding software like Appcues or Userpilot
First impressions decide long-term value
If your users don’t succeed in the first 5 minutes, they probably won’t stick around for month two. Onboarding software like Appcues or Userpilot helps guide new users step-by-step through your product without needing engineering time for every update.
Think of onboarding like giving someone a tour of a house. You don’t just hand over the keys—you walk them through, point out the essentials, and make them feel at home. That’s what these tools do, but inside your app.
Use onboarding to reduce time-to-value
Your goal isn’t to show every feature. It’s to get users to their first success moment fast. What’s the core action they need to take? Guide them there. For example, if you run a scheduling tool, getting a user to connect their calendar and book their first meeting should be priority one.
Break the journey into small, rewarding steps. Celebrate wins with checkmarks or progress bars. Keep the tone friendly and confident. If onboarding feels like a chore, users will quit.
Measure and improve onboarding constantly
With tools like Appcues, you can run A/B tests to see which onboarding flows lead to better retention. Test different headlines, different sequences, or even different success milestones. Small tweaks—like changing button text or adding a checklist—can improve activation by double digits. Make it a monthly habit to review onboarding performance.
5. 59% of B2B SaaS firms deploy churn prediction models via analytics tools like Mixpanel or Amplitude
Predict churn before it happens
The best time to fight churn is before a user even thinks about canceling. Analytics platforms like Mixpanel and Amplitude give you the data to do just that. By studying product usage, login frequency, and behavior patterns, you can build models that flag when someone is likely to churn.
And you don’t need a data science degree to get started. These tools have templates and dashboards that make it easier to track drop-off points, user journeys, and product adoption curves.
What data to track for churn risk
Look at frequency first. Has a user gone from logging in daily to once a week? That’s a red flag. Look at depth, too. Are they using fewer features? Are they skipping updates? Stack these behaviors together and you can spot risk clusters.
Also track support signals—like tickets opened, unresolved bugs, or declined NPS. Churn doesn’t come from just one issue. It’s usually a combination of friction points. Your analytics stack should highlight those combinations.
Use predictive scores to guide your team
Once you’ve built a churn risk model, don’t just let it sit in a dashboard. Push it to your CRM or support tool. Create segments of users with high churn probability and build playbooks for how to engage them. That might mean a custom email, a quick call, or a targeted offer. The more proactive you are, the better your odds of saving the account.
6. 45% of companies use churn survey tools such as Typeform to collect exit feedback
Why exit surveys matter more than you think
When a customer cancels, most companies just let them go. But those moments can be full of gold—if you ask the right questions. Tools like Typeform allow you to create clean, user-friendly exit surveys that don’t feel like an interrogation.
You’ll often find that customers aren’t angry—they’re just confused, disappointed, or simply not seeing the value. That feedback helps you prevent future churn by fixing problems at the source. It’s cheaper to fix a broken feature than to replace a lost customer.
The right way to structure exit surveys
Don’t overload users with 10 questions. Instead, ask 2 to 3 questions max. Start with something like, “What was the main reason you canceled?” and offer multiple choice options. Include an open field so they can explain more if they want.
Next, ask what might have changed their mind. Sometimes they just needed better onboarding, or one key feature that was missing. That’s insight you can use immediately.
What to do with the answers
Once you’ve collected enough responses, look for patterns. Are 40% of churned users mentioning the same issue? That should move up your product roadmap. Are people canceling because they don’t understand pricing? That’s a job for your marketing or UX teams.
Don’t let the responses sit in a spreadsheet. Share them with your team weekly. Make it a habit to read them out loud. It builds a culture where churn isn’t a mystery—it’s something you actively fight together.
7. 70% of companies with low churn use product usage analytics tools like Pendo
Why tracking feature adoption matters
If your users don’t use your product, they’ll eventually leave. It sounds obvious, but many teams don’t actually know what features are being used, by whom, and how often. Tools like Pendo help you track this down to the click.
You can see which features are sticky, which are ignored, and what high-retention users do differently. This insight lets you double down on what works and improve or remove what doesn’t.
Focus on your power features
Every product has “power features”—the things that, when used, make customers stay longer. It might be analytics, collaboration, or automation. Pendo helps you identify those features by correlating usage with retention.
Once you know what those features are, guide new users toward them early. Highlight them in onboarding, create walkthroughs, and include them in product tours. The faster a user gets to a power feature, the more likely they are to stick.
Watch for silent users
Pendo also helps spot silent churn risks—people who are still paying but barely using the product. That’s a ticking time bomb. If you see a customer hasn’t touched the core product in weeks, trigger a re-engagement email or personal outreach.
Use these tools to drive action. Don’t just observe. A retention tool is only useful if it helps you take the right steps at the right time.
8. 60% of growth-stage SaaS companies use email automation platforms like Customer.io to re-engage users
Automated email is your second chance
Users drop off for all kinds of reasons—distraction, confusion, or just bad timing. But that doesn’t mean they’re gone forever. Automated email tools like Customer.io let you bring them back with the right message at the right time.
When used well, email automation becomes your silent sales and support team. It nudges users back into the product, helps them rediscover value, and shows them you’re still thinking about their needs.
What makes a re-engagement email work
First, it has to feel personal. Use the customer’s name, their plan, and mention their recent actions (or lack of them). Instead of “We miss you,” say “You haven’t logged in since Tuesday—want to pick up where you left off?”
Second, offer value. Don’t just say “Come back.” Show them a new feature, a quick tip, or a success story from another user. Make them curious enough to click.
Third, time it right. If someone stops using the product for 3 days, send a helpful reminder. If it’s been 7 days, share a use case. At 14 days, consider a personal check-in or limited-time offer. These sequences work best when planned thoughtfully.
Avoid spamming your users
Nobody wants to be bombarded. A few well-placed emails are better than a constant stream. Always offer an easy way to opt out of reminders without canceling the whole product. Respect builds loyalty—and loyalty reduces churn.
9. 52% of customer success leaders use Gainsight for churn tracking and playbooks
Why Gainsight is a customer success staple
Customer success isn’t just about being friendly—it’s about being proactive. Gainsight is one of the most robust platforms for managing churn risk across the full customer lifecycle. It allows success teams to create playbooks, monitor health scores, and prioritize outreach with precision.
Instead of guessing who to call next, your team knows who’s at risk, what actions to take, and how to track progress. That kind of systemization turns your churn fight into a real strategy.
Building a churn playbook that works
Start with a few common scenarios: a power user going dark, a new customer with low onboarding completion, or an enterprise client who opens multiple support tickets. For each case, define what your team should do—who should reach out, what message to use, and how soon.
Playbooks don’t just save time—they create consistency. When one CSM leaves, another can pick up where they left off without starting over. That consistency builds a stronger user experience.
Make health scores actionable
Gainsight allows you to create custom health scores based on data you choose. Don’t rely only on NPS or support tickets. Include product usage, feature depth, and billing behavior. A user who stopped logging in but renewed their plan might look healthy, but they’re actually a churn risk.
Make sure the health score triggers specific actions. If a customer’s score drops below 60, assign them a follow-up task. If it drops below 40, escalate to a manager. The best tools don’t just measure—they move your team to act.
10. 65% of churn-aware companies track NPS with tools like Wootric to preempt retention drops
NPS is more than just a number
Net Promoter Score (NPS) asks one simple question: “How likely are you to recommend us to a friend?” But the score is only the beginning. What matters more is who is scoring you low and why. Tools like Wootric make it easy to collect, organize, and act on this data.
By regularly measuring NPS, you get a pulse on user sentiment. A sudden drop in NPS often signals deeper issues—bugs, bad onboarding, unclear pricing. Fixing those issues early can save dozens of accounts.
Timing your NPS surveys correctly
Don’t ask for feedback at random. Ideally, survey users after key milestones—completing onboarding, reaching feature milestones, or at the 30-day mark. You’ll get more meaningful insights.
Also, don’t wait too long. Ask soon enough that the experience is fresh in their mind. And always allow room for users to explain their rating in their own words. That’s where the real gold is.
Actively respond to detractors
If someone scores you 6 or lower, reach out within 24 hours. Ask for details, acknowledge their frustration, and offer help. You won’t always win them back—but just by responding, you show that their voice matters.
Meanwhile, treat promoters as an asset. Ask them for testimonials, reviews, or referrals. A strong NPS strategy reduces churn and boosts acquisition.
11. 49% of startups use live chat platforms to handle at-risk user concerns in real-time
Why real-time help changes the game
When a customer runs into trouble, they don’t want to email and wait. They want answers now. That’s why live chat platforms like Crisp, Tawk.to, or Zendesk Chat have become a must-have for churn-focused startups. It’s about catching frustration before it grows into cancellation.
Live chat works best because it’s low-effort for the customer and highly responsive. There’s a sense of care and urgency that static knowledge bases or ticket systems simply can’t match. When a user knows they can get fast help, they’re less likely to leave after a single bad moment.
Building a responsive live chat workflow
Make sure chat is available during your customer’s business hours—not just your own. If you’re global, consider using bots during off-hours to collect context and set expectations.
Train your agents to do more than answer questions. They should be equipped to identify churn signals like repeated confusion, aggressive tone, or mentions of switching tools. When that happens, tag the conversation as “churn risk” so it can be reviewed later or escalated.
Also, integrate your chat with your CRM so agents can see plan type, recent activity, and past tickets. The more context you have, the better your support—and the more likely you are to keep that user.
12. 44% of companies apply cohort analysis tools from platforms like Looker to spot churn trends
Cohorts tell you where churn really starts
Not all users behave the same. A cohort analysis tool like Looker lets you group users by signup month, onboarding completion, industry, or plan type—then track how long they stick around. This gives you clarity on when and why different users churn.
Without cohort analysis, you’re stuck with averages. And averages lie. They hide the fact that users who joined last quarter might be dropping out twice as fast as those from last year. Once you see the patterns, you can fix the root cause.
What to track in your churn cohorts
The most common cohort is by signup date—but don’t stop there. Group users by:
- The onboarding flow they experienced
- The sales rep they spoke with
- The features they used (or didn’t)
- The customer segment or industry they belong to
Once you see which cohorts churn fast, dig deeper. Did they fail to complete a core action? Did they skip onboarding? Did they contact support more often?
That’s your cue to take action—revise that flow, add tooltips, or improve onboarding for that specific group.
Make cohort reviews a monthly habit
Set a recurring meeting where your product, support, and growth teams review churn by cohort. Choose one high-churn cohort each month and launch a small fix—maybe a new welcome sequence or onboarding step. Test and repeat. Over time, your baseline retention will improve.
13. 53% of teams automate cancellation flows with custom scripts or tools like Churnkey
A cancellation is not the end—it’s an opportunity
When someone clicks “cancel,” most companies show a confirmation screen and move on. But smart teams use tools like Churnkey to turn that moment into a last chance to win the user back.
Cancellation flows can include dynamic offers, save prompts, pause options, or feedback collection. These small steps make users pause—and sometimes reconsider.
Build friction, not frustration
The goal isn’t to block users from canceling. That’s a terrible experience. Instead, offer them meaningful alternatives:
- A 50% discount for one month
- The option to pause the account for 60 days
- A quick feedback survey followed by personalized support
Sometimes users just need time. A pause feature buys you that time without losing the account entirely. Others may feel like the product is too expensive—so offering a short-term discount can change their mind.
Collect feedback even if they still cancel
Even if they go through with cancellation, ask one key question: “What’s the main reason you’re leaving?” With tools like Churnkey, you can tag responses and track trends. If 30% say pricing, it’s time to rethink your tiers. If 40% say onboarding, that’s a red flag.
The insights from a strong cancellation flow can fuel your product roadmap, pricing strategy, and marketing copy—all while saving accounts along the way.
14. 40% of SaaS firms use Slack integrations for real-time churn alerts to customer teams
Don’t wait for reports—push churn risks to Slack
It’s easy to lose track of at-risk users in a dashboard. But when alerts show up in Slack, your team sees them immediately—and can act. That’s why Slack has become a nerve center for churn-aware companies.
By integrating tools like Segment, Mixpanel, or Customer.io, you can set up real-time alerts in Slack whenever a user shows signs of churn. Maybe they skipped onboarding. Maybe they haven’t logged in for 7 days. Maybe they triggered a support ticket with frustration words.
Whatever the trigger, your team sees it in-channel and can jump in fast.
Setting up high-signal alerts
You don’t want noise—just the important stuff. Start with these key triggers:
- Enterprise customer hasn’t logged in for 10+ days
- User completes cancellation survey citing pricing
- Onboarding completion drops below 40% for a cohort
- Customer health score dips below 60
For each alert, assign ownership. Don’t just notify a general channel. Ping a specific CSM or success lead so someone feels accountable.
Also, link the alert to the CRM or user profile. That way, your team can jump into context immediately, without hunting for info.
Use alerts for wins, not just risks
Slack isn’t just for bad news. Set up positive alerts too—like when a customer hits a usage milestone, or upgrades their plan. This creates a culture of visibility and celebration, not just crisis management.
15. 41% of enterprise SaaS providers rely on Tableau for advanced churn visualization
Turning churn into a visual story
Sometimes raw data doesn’t tell the full story. Tableau helps you visualize churn trends across time, segments, and regions. For enterprise SaaS, where data complexity is high, this turns overwhelming spreadsheets into clear dashboards that drive action.
You can build visualizations for retention curves, churn heat maps, or cohort waterfall charts. These aren’t just pretty—they help you spot problems faster and communicate clearly with exec teams or investors.
What makes a churn dashboard effective
Focus on clarity. A good dashboard should show:
- Overall churn rate (monthly and quarterly)
- Churn by plan type
- Churn by signup cohort
- Churn after specific feature usage (or lack of it)
Use filters so your team can drill down into specific customer groups. And always add a notes section so team members can explain changes—like a product bug that caused a spike.
Review visually, act immediately
Set up a monthly churn review meeting where you walk through Tableau dashboards as a team. Highlight wins (improved retention in one cohort) and risks (a region with high churn). Then assign one fix per team to test that month.
When your data tells a story, people listen—and act.
- 61% of firms use Zapier to integrate churn data workflows across tools
Zapier turns your tools into a churn-fighting system
You might be using Intercom for chat, Stripe for billing, and Pendo for analytics. But if those tools don’t talk to each other, things fall through the cracks. That’s where Zapier comes in. It helps you connect tools so churn signals can trigger real-time workflows without manual steps.
For example, when a user cancels in Stripe, Zapier can automatically:
Add them to a churn feedback survey
Update their CRM record with a “Canceled” tag
Notify your success team in Slack
Trigger a retention email sequence in Customer.io
All without writing a single line of code.
Churn workflows you should automate today
Start simple. If a user stops logging in for 14 days, use Zapier to:
Tag them in your CRM
Send a re-engagement email
Notify a CSM
Or when a support ticket includes words like “cancel” or “leaving,” create a Zap that:
Adds them to a churn risk list
Sends a Slack alert
Assigns the ticket to your retention specialist
These micro-automations ensure that churn signals don’t go unnoticed.
Why automation saves accounts
Manual follow-ups are hard to scale. People forget. Tasks get buried. But when your system responds instantly and consistently, you increase your odds of keeping that user. Zapier doesn’t replace your team—it supports them with speed and reliability.
Set aside time each month to review your top churn reasons and ask: “Can we automate a response to this?” Over time, you’ll build a churn reduction engine that runs 24/7.
17. 37% of retention-focused orgs use referral tools like ReferralCandy to offset churn with acquisition
Retention and acquisition work better together
No matter how good your churn strategy is, you’ll still lose some users. The key is replacing them fast—and with high-quality leads. Referral tools like ReferralCandy or Rewardful help turn your happiest users into your best acquisition channel.
When users refer friends, they’re often more loyal and engaged. And the new users they bring in tend to be better fits—because someone they trust recommended the product.
Making referrals part of your churn plan
Instead of waiting until users churn, activate them early. Right after they experience value (like finishing onboarding or hitting a milestone), prompt them to refer a friend. Use simple language like: “Know someone who needs this too? Share and earn a reward.”
Even canceled users can refer. If they liked your product but didn’t need it anymore, they may know someone who does. Give them a personalized referral link in your exit email. It’s a soft way to turn lost revenue into future growth.
Track referral-driven retention
Use your referral tool’s dashboard to see which customers refer the most and whether those referrals stick. You’ll often find that referrers stay longer themselves. That’s a sign of real product love.
If you can identify your top 5% referrers, offer them early access to features or invite them to a private feedback group. The more involved they feel, the less likely they are to leave.
18. 58% of firms personalize retention offers using billing systems like Stripe or Chargebee
Not every customer churns for the same reason
Some leave because of cost. Others leave due to timing, confusion, or poor fit. That’s why a single discount or retention tactic won’t work for everyone. With tools like Stripe or Chargebee, you can personalize retention offers based on plan, behavior, or churn history.
For example, you can offer:
- A downgrade option to a lower plan before canceling
- A one-month free extension for annual users showing risk
- A short-term discount for seasonal customers
The right offer, at the right time, can save the account.
Build retention offers into your billing flows
Use dunning emails as an opportunity to offer value, not just ask for payment. “Your card failed—need a few extra days or a smaller plan? Click here.” That little flexibility can make all the difference.
When someone clicks “cancel,” redirect them to a page where billing data is used to tailor offers. For example, “You’ve been with us for 9 months—how about 50% off your 10th month?”
You’re not begging. You’re matching value to loyalty.
Measure and optimize retention saves
Track which offers convert best by segment. You might find small startups respond better to discounts, while larger clients just want extended onboarding support. Use Stripe or Chargebee’s A/B tools to test which saves work.
Over time, you’ll create a system where churn doesn’t just mean loss—it becomes a point of conversion.
19. 47% of companies use API monitoring tools like Postman to detect usage drop-off in integrations
Integration usage is a hidden churn signal
For many SaaS tools, value comes from integrations—connecting to a CRM, calendar, payment platform, or analytics stack. But what happens when those integrations break? Usage drops, frustration grows, and churn follows.
Tools like Postman or Runscope help you monitor APIs. If an integration call starts failing—or just stops being used—you’ll know immediately. That lets your team step in before the user disappears.
What to monitor with APIs
Focus on:
- Failed authentication or expired tokens
- Decrease in call volume over time
- Error spikes during specific actions
- Drop in event-based triggers (e.g., new leads, payments, exports)
Set alerts so your team is notified when any of these fall below a threshold. That gives you a window to fix the issue or contact the user before they assume the product is broken.
Treat API issues like customer support
If an integration fails silently, the customer might never reach out—they’ll just leave. Instead, treat it like a live issue. Proactively email affected users. Offer help re-authenticating. Show that you’re watching their back.
You can even set up email flows tied to API inactivity. “We noticed your Salesforce integration hasn’t synced in a week—need help?” That one email might save the account.
20. 50% of PLG companies use walkthrough tools like WalkMe to improve product adoption and reduce churn
Walkthroughs make self-serve feel human
Product-led growth works when users find value quickly—on their own. But without help, self-serve can feel like wandering through a new city with no map. Tools like WalkMe, Whatfix, or Usetiful provide in-app walkthroughs that guide users step-by-step to their first success.
That hand-holding isn’t annoying—it’s essential. It lowers the cognitive load, builds confidence, and ensures users don’t miss key features. When users feel capable, they stick around.
Design walkthroughs with purpose
Don’t create a tutorial just for the sake of it. Focus on actions that predict retention. If your data says users who upload a file and invite a teammate stick around longer, build a walkthrough that leads them to those two actions first.
Use plain language and avoid technical jargon. Add progress markers so users know how many steps are left. Make the experience feel smooth and rewarding—not like work.
Keep improving walkthroughs over time
Check your walkthrough completion rates monthly. If users are dropping off halfway through, something’s wrong. Maybe a step is confusing, or too long. Use session recordings or feedback widgets to gather insight and test new flows.
Your walkthrough isn’t set-and-forget. It’s a living system that should evolve with your product. Done right, it becomes one of your most powerful churn prevention tools.
21. 32% of churn-mitigation plans include AI-based tools for behavior prediction
AI helps you act before users leave
AI-based tools don’t just react to churn—they predict it. By analyzing patterns in usage, support tickets, payment history, and more, AI can give you a churn score before the user even says a word.
These tools work quietly in the background. They flag users who haven’t logged in recently, who seem disengaged, or who are asking negative questions in chat. Then your team can step in before it’s too late.
What makes AI churn models effective
The best models look at a combination of signals. Logging in less? Support tickets rising? Using fewer features? A user who checks all these boxes is highly likely to leave. AI tools help identify these patterns quickly across thousands of accounts.
You can then segment your users: low risk, medium risk, and high risk. For high-risk users, trigger a retention play—maybe a personal email, a special offer, or a call from customer success.
Use AI to prioritize your resources
You can’t follow up with everyone. But AI helps you focus your team’s time on users who need it most. That’s how small teams can fight churn at scale—by letting machines handle the early detection and humans handle the care.
The real power isn’t the prediction—it’s what you do after the alert. That’s where churn turns into retention.
22. 36% of SaaS companies use video onboarding tools like Loom to increase stickiness
A short video beats a long email every time
When a user signs up, they’re looking for direction. Long documents don’t help. But a short, friendly video from your team? That builds trust fast. Tools like Loom or Vidyard make it easy to create personalized walkthroughs that feel human and helpful.
Even better, video helps users retain what they learn. If they see your face explaining the product, they’ll feel more connected—and more likely to stay.
How to use video for onboarding and retention
Start with a 60–90 second welcome video. Say their name, thank them for joining, and walk them through what to do first. You can record one for each major segment or role.
Next, create videos for key actions: setting up integrations, inviting teammates, upgrading features. Embed these in-app or send them by email during the first week.
Keep videos light and warm. Don’t over-polish. A casual tone often works better than something that feels too produced.
Review completion and engagement
Use video tools’ analytics to see who watched, who clicked, and who finished. If someone didn’t watch their onboarding video, consider following up with a different format—a checklist, for example.
Over time, build a video library you can reuse across users, making your onboarding faster and more effective.
23. 43% of teams use community platforms like Circle or Discord to increase user engagement
Churn drops when users feel they belong
People don’t just buy software—they buy connection, learning, and support. Community platforms like Circle or Discord help users engage not just with your product, but with each other.
That sense of community boosts retention. Users see others solving problems, asking questions, and getting wins—and they want to be part of it too. Plus, peer support can take pressure off your support team.
Building a community with retention in mind
Create spaces for different customer types—new users, advanced users, power users. Start small. Host weekly discussions, answer questions, and highlight member wins.
Encourage users to share how they use your product. These real-world examples often teach better than any tutorial.
As you grow, you can create events—live Q&As, product feedback sessions, and member-only webinars. These increase stickiness by making your customers feel heard and valued.
Track who participates
Use community activity as a retention signal. If someone goes from active to silent, it might mean disengagement. If they’re helpful to others, they may be open to becoming a brand advocate.
Your community isn’t just a support channel—it’s a retention engine that grows stronger as more users participate.
24. 55% of companies track feature adoption metrics to prevent churn using Heap or FullStory
Knowing what’s used (and what’s not) helps reduce churn
Your product may have 30 features—but most users only need 3 to stick. The problem is, many users never find them. Tools like Heap and FullStory help you see what users click, where they pause, and what they ignore.
If your sticky features aren’t being used, that’s not a user problem—it’s a design or discovery problem.
What to monitor and why
Track which features are used by long-term users vs short-term ones. If your most loyal users always set up reports, but new users never get there, that’s your gap.
Build dashboards that show:
- Most adopted features
- Features correlated with retention
- Drop-off rates before key milestones
These insights help you redesign onboarding, adjust tooltips, and even rethink feature placement.
Feature adoption isn’t just product—it’s retention
When users get value, they stay. Adoption tools give you the map to deliver that value faster. Make it a monthly habit to review your feature usage data and ask: “What’s not getting used that should be?”
That simple practice can reduce churn in ways no marketing email ever will.
25. 39% of B2C apps use push notification platforms like OneSignal to boost retention
Reminders that bring users back—without annoying them
In the mobile world, push notifications are your direct line to users. Used well, they gently nudge users back into your app. Used poorly, they drive users to uninstall.
Tools like OneSignal make it easy to send behavior-based notifications that feel helpful, not spammy. Done right, they turn silent users into returning customers.
Crafting push notifications that work
Timing is key. Don’t send notifications at random. Instead, trigger them based on events: user didn’t open the app in 3 days, user didn’t complete setup, or user hasn’t hit a milestone.
Keep messages short. Focus on benefits, not actions. Instead of “Complete your profile,” try “Get more matches by finishing your profile.”
Use personalization. Include the user’s name, activity, or achievement. The more it feels tailored, the more likely they’ll respond.
Segment and test
Not all users want the same message. Create different flows for new users, long-time users, and high-risk users. Run A/B tests to see which messages get results.
Push notifications aren’t magic—but with careful timing and clear messaging, they can be one of your lowest-cost, highest-return retention tools.
26. 48% of churn-aware teams use satisfaction-based segmentation to tailor retention tactics
Not every user wants the same experience
Your happiest users don’t need the same outreach as your frustrated ones. Satisfaction-based segmentation helps you customize your approach based on user sentiment, which is one of the best ways to drive down churn.
You can collect sentiment through surveys, support tone, NPS, or even emoji reactions. Then you segment users into groups—promoters, neutrals, detractors—and adjust your retention playbook for each.
What to do with each segment
Promoters are your advocates. Give them early access to features, invite them to beta tests, and ask for referrals. Keep them engaged and involved.
Neutrals are your opportunity. They’re on the fence—one great experience could turn them loyal. Focus on onboarding, quick wins, and small upgrades that deliver fast value.
Detractors are urgent. Prioritize 1-on-1 outreach, listen closely, and offer support. Show them you care. Even if you can’t fix every issue, your effort will often earn back trust.
Track sentiment over time
Use tools that let you watch how sentiment changes. If a user moves from neutral to promoter, celebrate. If they go the other way, take action fast.
Segmented retention isn’t just more effective—it also respects your users’ experience. And that respect keeps people coming back.
27. 42% of firms track support ticket deflection via tools like Zendesk to reduce frustration-led churn
Frustration is a quiet churn driver
When users run into problems and can’t find help, frustration builds—and eventually, they leave. Tools like Zendesk let you track support tickets, but more importantly, they help you monitor deflection. That means how many users solve problems through help articles or bots before needing a human.
When deflection works, users get faster answers. When it fails, you see rising tickets—and rising churn.
Why deflection data matters
Let’s say 80% of users with a certain problem need to open a ticket. That’s a red flag. Maybe the issue isn’t documented well, or maybe your product is creating confusion. That insight tells you where to improve.
Zendesk and similar tools let you measure:
- Article views before ticket creation
- Bot interactions that led to success
- Common topics that require escalation
Once you see the weak points, you can fix them before they lead to cancellations.
Turn deflection into retention
Update articles regularly. Add video snippets or gifs to explain tricky steps. Monitor which articles users bounce from without solving their issue—those are gaps.
Also, train your support team to tag reasons for escalation. Over time, this gives you a list of features or UX problems that consistently cause churn-worthy frustration.
Every solved question is a saved user. Support isn’t a cost—it’s a growth tool.
28. 46% of companies use incentive platforms like Tango Card to encourage continued usage
Sometimes, a little reward goes a long way
Users don’t always stay for the product. Sometimes they stay for the experience. And incentives, even small ones, can tip the balance. Tools like Tango Card help you send digital rewards—gift cards, points, or perks—based on behavior.
When tied to meaningful moments, these rewards boost retention. Think of them as thank-you notes that come with a bonus.
Smart ways to use incentives
Use rewards to celebrate milestones: “You completed onboarding—here’s $10 for your time.” Or to recover at-risk users: “Come back and try the new version—we’ll send you a thank-you gift.”
You can also tie rewards to actions that improve retention—like completing a tutorial, giving feedback, or referring a friend.
Make sure the reward fits your brand. Don’t overdo it. The point is not to bribe—it’s to show appreciation and create a small moment of delight.
Measure ROI carefully
Track which incentives lead to longer-term retention. You’ll find some rewards work better than others. For example, free access to premium features may beat out a generic gift card. The right incentive feels like added value—not a sales trick.
Used sparingly and thoughtfully, rewards can turn a quiet user into an engaged advocate.
29. 35% of tech companies run churn A/B tests via Optimizely or VWO
Assumptions won’t save churn—testing will
You may think changing a headline, rewording your cancellation prompt, or tweaking your onboarding flow will reduce churn. But unless you test it, you won’t know. A/B testing tools like Optimizely and VWO let you experiment with real users—and find what actually works.
Churn is too important to leave to guesswork. Testing helps you move from ideas to data-driven improvements.
What to test in your churn strategy
Test onboarding flows. Which sequence gets more users to finish? Try different welcome messages, call-to-action buttons, or tutorial formats.
Test cancellation pages. Does offering a pause option reduce cancellations more than offering a discount? You won’t know until you try.
Test email sequences. Which subject lines get more re-engagement? Does a plain-text email outperform a design-heavy one?
Even small tweaks—like button placement or message tone—can have a surprising impact on churn metrics.
Make testing a monthly ritual
Every month, choose one churn-related flow and run a small test. Don’t wait for big redesigns. Continuous testing adds up over time and creates a culture of learning.
And when you find a winner—roll it out, measure the result, and then move to the next experiment.
Test-driven retention is how the best teams get better, one step at a time.
30. 51% of top-performing SaaS companies use a multi-tool churn stack rather than relying on one solution
No single tool solves churn
Churn is complex. It’s caused by onboarding friction, poor fit, bad timing, lack of support, pricing confusion, and more. That’s why top companies don’t rely on just one solution—they build a churn stack.
A churn stack is a collection of tools working together: onboarding flows, feedback surveys, in-app messaging, cancellation intercepts, predictive analytics, and more. Each plays a part. Together, they form a system that protects your revenue and helps users succeed.
Building your own churn stack
Start with the basics:
- Onboarding: Appcues, WalkMe
- Analytics: Mixpanel, Pendo
- Messaging: Intercom, Customer.io
- Feedback: Typeform, Wootric
- Support: Zendesk, Drift
- Prediction: Gainsight, AI tools
- Billing/Retention Offers: Stripe, Chargebee
- Workflow Integration: Zapier
You don’t need them all at once. But as your product grows, your stack should evolve. Each layer adds a safety net.
Align your stack with your user journey
Map your user journey from sign-up to renewal. At each step, ask: “What tool supports this?” If there’s a gap, fill it.
For example, if you notice drop-off after trial ends, plug in an email campaign with a save offer. If onboarding is weak, strengthen it with walkthroughs and checklists.
A good churn stack doesn’t overwhelm. It flows quietly in the background—catching risk, guiding users, and supporting your team.
Conclusion
Churn is never just a metric—it’s the pulse of your business. Every user who leaves tells you something. The question is whether you’re listening. With the 30 tools and tactics covered above, you now have a blueprint to reduce churn, improve user experience, and increase lifetime value.
