Dear SaaStr: What Are Some Signs of Potential Churn Even if Usage is Strong?
Even with strong engagement, there are subtle signs that a customer might churn.
Here are a few key ones:
#1. Champion Turnover
If your main point of contact or internal champion leaves the company or gets promoted, it’s a red flag. Without them advocating for your product, the relationship can weaken quickly. At Adobe Sign / EchoSign, we saw this happen often—when the champion left, renewals became much harder. It’s even true today at SaaStr. When a CMO leaves at a sponsor, there’s more than a 50% chance they don’t renew. Jump. on it! More here.
#2. Budget Cuts or Organizational Changes
If you hear about budget tightening, restructuring, or new leadership, it’s a warning sign. These shifts can lead to reevaluations of tools and vendors, even if engagement is high. If you can, get on a plane and go visit them IRL. Many times, in the end, it comes down to choosing which of 2 vendors to cut. The ones that show up in person … are less likely to be cut.
#3. Usage Plateauing
Even if engagement is good, if usage isn’t growing or expanding into new teams, it can signal that the customer isn’t seeing enough incremental value. This is especially true in SaaS, where expansion within accounts is critical for long-term retention. Too many CS teams don’t see flat usage as a flag.
#4. Competitor Activity:
If a competitor starts engaging with your customer—whether through marketing, sales outreach, or even just attending the same events—it’s a sign they might be shopping around. You might not see this directly, but subtle comments from the customer can hint at it. Watch if they go to any of your competitor’s events, dinners, etc.
#5. Silent Satisfaction:
Sometimes, the quietest customers are the ones at risk. They might not complain or raise issues, but they also aren’t deeply tied to your product. At Adobe Sign, we learned that even happy customers could churn if they weren’t fully embedded in the workflow or if a competitor sold over our heads.
More here:
