Rethinking Messaging to Reduce Churn with Laura Lewis on Churn Bites

A Common Messaging Mistake

Imagine: A SaaS company rolls out an exciting new feature. They announce it with a technical blog post, send an email packed with jargon, and hold a webinar covering high-level industry trends.

The result? Crickets. Customers don’t engage. Sales don’t increase. Retention stays flat.

This is exactly the kind of messaging disconnect that Laura Lewis, a seasoned marketing leader, has seen across multiple companies. In this episode of Churn Bites, she sits down with Dan Wilson to discuss how better messaging can drive customer retention and revenue growth, without resorting to pushy sales tactics.

Episode Highlights & Takeaways

The “Buy Now” Trap – Why Messaging Shouldn’t Always Push a Hard Sell

Too many companies fall into the “Buy Now” trap—constantly pushing upgrades or new features without considering how customers perceive these messages. According to Laura, people don’t like to feel sold to. If every interaction feels like a sales pitch, customers lose trust in the brand and stop engaging.

Key Insight:

Instead of bombarding customers with "buy now" messaging, companies should focus on providing value first.

You want a trusted advisor who’s going to help you make the right decision and give you the information you need. If you do that well, customers will naturally see the value in your product."  – Laura Lewis

Teaching, Not Selling – The Importance of Value-Driven Customer Communication

Laura emphasizes the importance of educating customers rather than just promoting features. Many companies assume their customers understand industry nuances.  Realistically, most users are overwhelmed with information and distractions. To paraphrase Jim Gaffigan, "It's like drowning, and someone hands you a baby."

To improve retention, SaaS companies need to shift their messaging:

• Think like your customer: They don’t care about your product’s specs; they care about how it helps them.
• Focus on value, not features: Show how your product solves real problems instead of just listing what it does.
• Be indirect but effective: Guide customers toward solutions without making them feel pressured.
  

"If we don't say 'Buy today,' people will still buy—if we provide real, honest value. Customers are smart; they’ll recognize when a product truly helps them." – Laura Lewis

Real-World Impact – How a Simple Webinar Shift Led to 2X Growth

Laura’s team tested this value-driven approach in a simple but powerful way:

Before: The company’s customer webinars focused on broad industry topics. Customers weren’t engaged because the content wasn’t directly useful to them.

After: Laura revamped the webinars to focus on product functionality, solutions, and roadmap previews—things that customers actually cared about.

The result? IN a few months, attendance jumped from 350 to 800+ participants, and feature adoption doubled.

By simply focusing on what customers wanted to hear and how they  needed to hear it, they increased retention, drove expansion, and built stronger relationships with their users.

Reflection Questions for Your Team

1. Is your messaging truly customer-centric, or is it just about your product?
2. Are you making it easy for customers to see value, or do they have to piece it together on their own?
3. What’s one change you can make today to better educate and engage your customers?

Think about it, then start testing small shifts in your messaging today.

Got a Story to Tell?

Have an interesting churn story or unique insights on customer retention? We’d love to feature you on an upcoming Churn Bites episode.

Reach out to us and share your story!