Every business loses customers. The problem isn’t churn itself—it’s failing to recognize which churn is avoidable, which customers are at risk, and how to intervene before it’s too late. Many companies focus their efforts on acquiring new customers while neglecting the ones slipping away. This oversight results in lost revenue, wasted sales efforts, and a constantly leaking funnel.
Customer churn isn’t just a number in a quarterly report—it’s a direct hit to your company’s revenue and profitability, affecting sales efficiency, forecasting accuracy, and even investor confidence. A high churn rate means unpredictable revenue streams, making it difficult for a company to scale effectively.
And when companies do consider churn, they likely do so based solely on past data.
Toni Keskinen, co-founder and CPO at 180ps, explains:
"Most businesses measure churn reactively, looking at customers who have already left. But by then, the damage is done. The real opportunity lies in predicting churn before it happens and taking action to prevent it."
Churn doesn’t happen overnight. Customers disengage gradually, often leaving behind clear signals that they’re at risk that can be seen later. The challenge is that most businesses either don’t track these indicators in real time, or don’t have the ability to act on them immediately.
While customer complaints and cancellations are clear indicators, many warning signs appear long before customers actually leave. Companies that rely solely on lagging indicators like Net Promoter Score (NPS) or customer satisfaction surveys risk identifying churn too late.
Toni points out:
"One of the biggest mistakes companies make is assuming that churn happens at the moment of cancellation. In reality, churn starts much earlier—with declining engagement, reduced product usage, and a failure to deliver ongoing value."
Early indicators of churn include:
A major driver of churn is the misalignment between sales and customer success teams. In many organizations, sales teams aggressively acquire new customers without ensuring a proper handoff to customer success, leading to unmet expectations and eventual churn.
This issue is well highlighted by Mikko Huovinen, Chief of Sales at 180ops:
"Sales teams are often incentivized to close deals, but retention isn’t always factored into the equation. When the customer success team isn’t looped in early, customers feel abandoned post-sale, and that’s when the risk of churn skyrockets."
180ops solves this challenge by providing clear visibility into customer health and engagement, ensuring that sales and customer success teams collaborate seamlessly.
Furthermore, Toni adds:
"Sales and customer success need a unified view of account health. 180ops ensures that at-risk customers are flagged early, so sales teams know when to re-engage and customer success teams can proactively intervene."
Churn prevention requires a proactive, data-driven approach. Rather than reacting to cancellations, companies need to anticipate churn before it happens and take corrective action.
Mikko points out a major loss for those who aren't able to identify and take action on accounts who are close to churning:
"When you’re proactive, you serve better and sell more. But when churn happens, you lose all the chances for cross-selling and upselling.”
180ops helps businesses:
By shifting from reactive churn measurement to predictive churn management, companies can not only retain more customers but also drive higher expansion revenue from existing accounts.
Below, you will see a snapshot of the type of data that 180ops makes it simple to see, and even easier to act on thanks to written reports given to you and your team at regular intervals, so you don’t have to worry about selling AND being a data analyst:
Companies that reduce churn don’t just keep customers—they protect their bottom line. Proactive churn prevention strategies are not just about customer retention; they are about safeguarding growth and profitability. Leading research highlights the importance of proactive customer engagement:
The most successful companies understand that churn is not just a customer service issue—it’s a critical component of a sustainable growth strategy. By leveraging predictive analytics, aligning teams, and taking early action, businesses can reduce churn before it impacts their bottom line.
Churn isn’t an inevitable cost of doing business in most cases. It is a problem that can be identified, managed, and reduced thanks to 180ops. The key is having the right data, the right insights, and the right actions to stop revenue leakage before it happens.
180ops gives businesses the ability to see churn before it happens, act decisively, and keep customers engaged for the long haul. In today’s competitive landscape, that’s not just an advantage—it’s a necessity.