Customers staying and leaving.
WHAT RETENTION IS
The proportion of customers who continue buying.
WHAT CHURN IS
The proportion who stop.
HOW TO MEASURE IT SIMPLY
Of customers who bought last year, how many bought this year?
That single figure tells you a great deal.
WHY IT MATTERS
Keeping customers costs far less than finding them.
And churn is invisible: customers who leave do not complain.
WHAT TO DEFINE
What counts as a lapsed customer for your business.
For a monthly service, one missed payment. For an annual purchase, eighteen months.
WHAT TO TRACK
Lapsed customers, by month Whether the rate is rising Which segments lose most
WHAT TO DO WITH IT
Contact lapsed customers and ask why.
THAT ANSWER
Is usually fixable and applies to others.
WHAT TO COMPARE
Retention against acquisition.
A business acquiring well and retaining poorly is running to stand still.
