What is churn prevention?
How does churn prevention work?
Churn prevention starts with signals. Some lie in the contract: a tariff that ends in 60 days, a fixed-interest period, an expiring lease. Others arise from behaviour: a customer who has not responded for weeks, or a member who has not visited a gym for 60 days. These signals become occasions for a journey.
Churn prevention is effective when it comes early enough, on a permitted channel and with genuine added value: a suitable follow-on offer, a pointer to a service the customer is not yet using, or a personal contact. Standard “We miss you” letters, by contrast, come across as interchangeable. A personal sender also helps: a message from a familiar adviser or the local customer centre is more likely to be read than an anonymous advertising mailing.
Because churn prevention often competes with other campaigns, it needs a clear priority: someone who is close to the end of their contract should not receive a general newsletter and a cross-selling offer at the same time. Only a clean comparison shows whether the measures work – for example with a control group that receives no communication.
The electricity tariff of Jonas Weber, 34, ends in 60 days. He automatically enters the “Tariff end” journey. Because email consent is in place, he receives an email with his personal renewal offer; without consent, a letter would be sent to him. If he does not respond after ten days, a reminder follows.
Distinction
| Term | Difference |
|---|---|
| Win-back (customer recovery) | starts after cancellation |
| Reactivation | addresses inactive customers who are not at risk of cancelling |
| Customer loyalty programme | designed for the long term, not tied to risk signals |
How the PBM Campaign Platform supports it
Dynamic, rolling segments start customers on their key date; the channel fallback chooses a letter if there is no email consent; prioritisation lets the more important campaign win.
Related pages
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Use case
Churn prevention -
Industry
Energy suppliers & municipal utilities -
Blog In preparation
[BLOG: Churn prevention at municipal utilities and energy suppliers]