Contacting customers before they contact you.
WHAT IT MEANS
Noticing a problem and addressing it first.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
Failed payments Approaching expiry Errors in their account Usage patterns suggesting confusion Resources approaching limits
WHY IT WORKS
It converts a future complaint into an appreciated warning.
WHAT TO CONTACT ABOUT
Anything that will affect them if unaddressed.
WHAT EXAMPLES LOOK LIKE
A domain expiring A certificate about to lapse A backup that has been failing A mailbox nearly full
WHY THOSE ARE HIGH VALUE
They prevent outages the customer would blame you for.
WHAT TO INCLUDE
What you noticed What it means What they should do An offer to do it for them
WHAT TO AVOID
Contact that is actually a sales approach Alarming wording for minor matters
WHY THAT SECOND POINT
It trains people to ignore your warnings.
WHAT TO AUTOMATE
Detection.
WHAT TO KEEP HUMAN
Anything significant.
WHAT TO MEASURE
Whether proactive contact reduces tickets and cancellations.
WHAT TO EXPAND
Whatever demonstrably does.