What Would They Do? The Customer Experience Podcast For Small Business

25. Why your best customers leave (and how to prevent it)

Join me as I answer the question: “How can I use the data I have available to me to keep my best customers?”

If you've ever been blindsided by a cancelled retainer, course dropout, or membership churn, this one’s for you. Join me as I walk through simple but powerful ways to identify early warning signs, set up automations, and take timely action before a client ghosts you or clicks "cancel."

Whether you’re a service provider, course creator, or membership site owner, these customer retention strategies can help you step away from gut feelings and toward data-driven action.

What we cover:

  • What "At-Risk" Really Means – How to define and spot customers at risk of churning, across service, course, and membership models.
  • The Most Telling Churn Signals by Business Type – What behaviour shifts to look for in clients, students, and members before they ghost you.
  • Why Guessing Isn’t a Strategy – How to move away from gut feelings and toward measurable data patterns.
  • Simple Automations That Help You Step In Early – How to trigger personal check-ins, nudges, and re-engagement workflows before it’s too late.
  • Real Examples From Retention Lab & 1:1 Client Projects – How I use behaviour-based data and ConvertBox pop-ups to catch disengagement before it becomes a cancellation.

View the episode transcript here.

Where to from here?

Check out the resources I mention (affiliate links):

Drip

Bonjoro (save 15% for the lifetime of your paid plan!)

Convertbox

Thrivecart

Airtable

Zapier

Find out how you can get my strategic customer experience brain on your brand here.

Grab the FREE State of the Customer online business industry report with first-hand findings, gaps & opportunities PLUS proven strategies to boost your customer experience. Download FREE here!

Join Retention Lab 🧪, the membership for savvy online business owners determined to grow their revenue, referrals and repeat business without more marketing. Join here!

Check out my favourite CX tools and resources here.

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