Growth solves everything, until it doesn’t. When customer retention cracks appear, even the fastest-growing businesses stumble. In this episode of Churn Bites, Dan Wilson sits down with Deb Schleede and Eric Potter from OpMethods to unpack what happens when scaling companies realize they’re flying blind on renewals. Listen to the full episode here.
How do you currently track at-risk customers?
Do you have renewal playbooks in place, or are you still relying on reactive strategies?
How aligned are your sales and customer success teams when it comes to renewal processes?
Take a moment to reflect on these. Your answers could be the key to preventing future churn.
"Rapid growth can mask underlying retention issues. Businesses need to scale responsibly by aligning processes and people from day one." – Deb Schleede
Deb highlights that while growth is exciting, it can often cover up cracks in customer relationships. Companies that scale without a strong retention plan risk losing key accounts when the growth curve flattens.
Growth can be a beautiful distraction, like binge-watching a show to avoid your to-do list. But eventually, reality catches up. Our blog Mastering Customer Success in B2B SaaS: Strategies for Retention and Growth gives a deeper dive on what you need to do to make sure customer retention doesn’t become your overdue task when growth cools.
"Your tech stack should support customer success, not complicate it. The right tools create transparency and efficiency in managing renewals." – Eric Potter
Eric stresses the importance of integrating the right technology solutions that align with customer success goals. A fragmented tech stack can slow down responses and contribute to churn.
Let’s face it, a complicated tech stack is like trying to assemble IKEA furniture without instructions: frustrating and bound to collapse. The right tools simplify customer success. If this resonates, we suggest reading Reduce SaaS Churn with Churn Assassin. It breaks down how Churn Assassin’s predictive analytics and automation features help. Having one smart, integrated solution keeps renewals on track and your customer success team focused on what really matters, keeping customers happy.
"Generate renewal opportunities well before contract end. It reduces guesswork and provides visibility across leadership and analytics." – Eric Potter
The Op Methods team underscores that early customer conversations, ideally 90 days before renewal, give space for businesses to detect and address churn risks. This approach not only helps with renewals but also opens doors for upsell opportunities.
"If leadership isn't aligned on churn priorities, your customer success strategy will always fall short." – Deb Schleede
Deb points out that retention strategies must have leadership buy-in. Misalignment at the top often trickles down, leading to confusion and missed opportunities at the customer level.
When leadership isn’t aligned on churn priorities, it’s like rowing a boat with half the crew paddling in the wrong direction. Maximizing Customer Success Impact: Elevating Customer Churn Strategy to the C-Suite Level dives into why leadership buy-in is non-negotiable. It offers ideas to get executives involved in churn strategies, so the whole team rows in sync.
"Efficiency in customer success processes means fewer surprises. The best teams know how to do more with less while maintaining customer trust." – Eric Potter
Eric explains that customer success teams are often under-resourced, making efficiency key for maximal impact without burning out. Instead of wishing for more resources or time, the focus should be on working smarter. Early on, every problem may seem unique and demand a custom solution. However, as you gain experience with your product and customers, it becomes crucial to develop reusable tools and scalable processes.
Prioritizing time for this can be challenging, after all, you’re in the business of solving problems, and there’s never a shortage. Remember, even small improvements compound over time, making a big difference in the long run.
"Companies need predetermined playbooks for common churn scenarios. It makes your response reflexive rather than reactive." – Eric Potter
Eric emphasizes the need for operational playbooks that allow customer success teams to handle issues proactively. From dealing with product concerns to budget discussions, having a plan in place prevents the scramble that often happens 90 days before renewal. Building a playbook can seem like a big task, but your friends at Churn Assassin are here to help you with free customer success resources.
We've put together a set of free resources you can use to make progress on customer retention at your company.
As you build out playbooks specific to your company, it helps to start with templates and frameworks so you don't have to do it all from scratch.
The Ultimate Customer Success Stack is a collection of emails, metrics, plans, frameworks, and other materials to give you a jump start.
✅ Over 250+ resources
✅ 49 Frameworks used by the best CSMs
✅ 24 vital CS metrics to keep you focused
✅ Over 180+ email templates to save you time
✅ 1 Customer Success Plan to help you now
✅ Free 60-day Customer Health Audit
Browse the Ultimate Customer Success Stack resources here.
Tired of watching customers slip away? Modern Customer Retention Strategies is your ultimate playbook for turning things around. Designed for B2B SaaS companies, this e-book delivers proven, data-driven techniques to keep customers engaged, minimize churn, and maximize long-term growth.
✅ 23 Pages
✅ Simple, easy to follow instructions
✅ Best Practices
✅ Modern metrics to track
Get your copy of the Modern Customer Retention Strategies Playbook
Love what you heard? There’s plenty more where that came from! Check out additional episodes of Churn Bites, dive in and keep your growth on track!
Do you have an interesting churn story or strategy? Churn Bites wants to hear from you! Share your insights and pitch your topic for a chance to be featured in an upcoming episode. Submit your story here and join the conversation!