Reduce churn 15-30% with root-cause intelligence
Teams that run AI-moderated churn interviews achieve 15-30% higher retention because they surface the real reasons customers leave — emotional narratives, trust breaks, value erosion — that NPS scores and exit surveys systematically miss. 72 hours. Intelligence that compounds.
Early-stage churn driven primarily by onboarding friction, not feature gaps...
Churn intelligence that compounds means deeply understanding why customers leave through 30+ minute AI-moderated conversations that uncover emotional drivers, trust breaks, and value perception shifts — not just surface reasons like 'price' or 'features.' You identify patterns across cohorts, track drivers quarterly, and build institutional retention knowledge that prevents the same churn reasons from recurring. The 10th study is dramatically more valuable than the first because the Intelligence Hub surfaces cross-study patterns automatically.
Exit surveys capture symptoms,
not the emotional narrative
You have NPS, exit surveys, and churn prediction tools. Yet you still don't know why customers are actually leaving — and you keep losing them for the same reasons.
Exit Surveys Miss the Real Story
5–15% response rates. Customers pick 'price' or 'features' but those are symptoms. The real reason: they felt unheard 6 months ago, their champion left, or your product stopped fitting their evolving workflow.
NPS Doesn't Prevent Churn
Your NPS might be 45 (healthy) while you lose 8% annually. Satisfaction ≠ retention. Medallia and Qualtrics measure sentiment but can't probe into the 'why behind the why.'
Prediction Tells You WHO, Not WHY
ChurnZero and Gainsight flag at-risk customers but can't explain why engagement is declining. You're guessing at what intervention will work.
Internal CS Teams Lack Scale and Objectivity
Your CSMs might call 10 churned customers. But they're biased (defending their work), inconsistent (different questions), and lack time to interview 50+ customers per quarter.
Traditional Research Firms Take 6-8 Weeks
By the time you get insights, 50 more customers have churned for the same reason. You need answers in 72 hours, not 2 months.
Insights Don't Compound
Even one good churn study becomes a static PDF. You can't see if 'onboarding friction' is trending up, whether your fix worked, or which segments are most affected.
Real-world applications
for churn & retention research
Post-Cancellation Deep Dive
Interview 30 churned customers to understand the trajectory from satisfied to departure. Identify tipping points, trust breaks, and what intervention could have saved them.
Proactive At-Risk Cohort Research
Your prediction tool flags 200 at-risk accounts. Interview 50 to understand what's driving hesitation. Test retention offers to see what would make them stay.
Annual Contract Renewal Intelligence
90 days before renewals, interview customers considering alternatives. Understand what would make them renew vs. switch. Build targeted retention campaigns.
Competitive Defection Analysis
If customers are switching to competitors, understand why. Identify which competitors are winning, what they offer, and what gaps you need to close.
Longitudinal Churn Driver Tracking
Run quarterly 30-customer studies. Track if 'onboarding friction' is decreasing post-fix. Prove ROI of retention investments. Spot emerging drivers before they scale.
Segment-Specific Churn Diagnosis
Enterprise customers churn for different reasons than SMB. Product-led signups differ from sales-led. Segment studies reveal which interventions work where.
User Intuition vs.
traditional churn & retention research
| Dimension | User Intuition | NPS Tools / Exit Surveys / Manual Interviews |
|---|---|---|
| Response Rate | 90%+ scientifically recruited | 5–15% (exit surveys) or 10-20 (manual) |
| Interview Depth | 30+ min · 5–7 layers of why | 5-min survey or variable (interviewer-dependent) |
| Emotional Drivers | Naturally surface through laddering | Rarely captured (NPS) or inconsistent (manual) |
| Turnaround | 72 hours | Instant (NPS) or 6-8 weeks (research firms) |
| Cost per Interview | From $13 per deep conversation | $50–200 (manual) or free but shallow (surveys) |
| Actionability | Specific interventions with customer quotes | Generic categories (Price, Features, Support) |
| Cross-Study Patterns | Intelligence Hub surfaces automatically | Manual synthesis or none |
| Scalability | Interview 200+ customers in 72 hours | CS teams cap at 10-20/quarter; surveys lack depth |
| Bias | Low · consistent AI methodology | High (CS defending work) or variable (interviewers) |
| Key Output | WHY customers leave + what would keep them | Satisfaction scores (NPS) or surface reasons (surveys) |
From question to brand intelligence
Scope Study
Define cohort (churned, at-risk, retained) and key questions
Recruit
Fast recruitment from 4M+ B2C/B2B panel or your customer list
AI Interviews
Laddering questions surface emotional narratives and root causes
Synthesize
Theme identification, segment comparison, driver ranking
Report
Themed findings, customer quotes, retention playbook
Compound
Track driver trends, validate intervention impact, build knowledge base
"We thought price was our churn problem. User Intuition found it was actually onboarding — customers felt abandoned after signing. We rebuilt onboarding, and churn dropped 18% in 6 months. That's $720K in retained ARR from a $2,000 study. Now we run quarterly research to track progress."
Joel M., CEO — Abacus Wealth Partners
When AI Helps and When a Human Should Lead Churn Research
AI-moderated interviews deliver honest churn feedback at scale — but some retention conversations need human sensitivity.
AI-Moderated Interviews Excel At
- Structured exit and at-risk customer interviews at scale
- Consistent methodology for quarterly churn driver tracking
- Segment-level churn comparison (enterprise vs. SMB, vertical, etc.)
- Competitive switching trigger analysis across 50+ customers
- Reducing social desirability bias — customers are more honest with AI
- 24/7 availability matching churned customer schedules
Consider Human Moderation For
- High-value enterprise account save conversations requiring personal rapport
- Emotionally charged service failure debriefs needing empathy
- Relationship recovery conversations where diplomacy matters
- Complex multi-stakeholder interviews (CFO + CTO + Ops)
- Sensitive topics where customers need to vent to a person
- Strategic executive churn interviews requiring executive presence
Methodology refined through Fortune 500 consulting engagements.
Churn intelligence that
compounds quarterly
In 72 hours, understand why customers really leave. Every quarter, track whether your interventions are working. Build retention knowledge that prevents the same churn reasons from recurring.
See how AI-moderated churn interviews surface root causes exit surveys miss. Real customer quotes, themed findings, retention playbook.
We'll help you design a pilot with your at-risk accounts. Prove value before committing to a continuous program.
No contract · No retainers · Studies from $200