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How to Use Surveys to Reduce SaaS Churn

Churn is a huge problem for SaaS businesses, this guide will show you how to use surveys to reduce your SaaS churn rate.

User Research
Photo de Clément Gauthier
Clément Gauthier
How to Use Surveys to Reduce SaaS Churn

Churn is a huge problem for SaaS businesses. In fact, it’s one of the main reasons why SaaS businesses fail. But good news: surveys, and especially in-app surveys, can help to reduce SaaS churn!

Churn is defined as the percentage of customers who cancel their subscription or don’t renew it.

The average churn rate for SaaS businesses is 5-7%. This means that for every 100 customers you have, 5-7 of them will cancel their subscription each month.

This might not seem like a lot, but it can quickly add up.

If you have a monthly churn rate of 5%, that means you’re losing 60 customers each year. And if your monthly churn rate is 7%, you’re losing 84 customers each year.

Losing customers is expensive. It costs 5-10 times more to acquire a new customer than it does to keep an existing one. This is why it’s so important to reduce your churn rate.

There are a number of different ways to do this, but one of the most effective is to use surveys. Surveys can help you understand why your customers are cancelling their subscription. They can also help you identify at-risk customers who are likely to cancel in the future.

This guide will show you how to use surveys to reduce your SaaS churn rate.

Why Use Surveys to Reduce Churn?

There are a number of different ways to reduce churn.

You can offer discounts or free trials. You can improve your customer support. You can build better relationships with your customers. All of these things are important, but surveys can be especially effective.

This is because surveys give you direct feedback from your customers. They can tell you why they’re cancelling their subscription, what they don’t like about your product, and what you could do to improve.

This feedback is invaluable. It can help you make changes that will reduce your churn rate and improve your product.

How to Use Surveys to Reduce Churn

There are a number of different ways to use surveys to reduce churn.

1. Use an Exit Survey

The first way to use surveys to reduce churn is to use an exit survey. An exit survey is a survey that you send to customers who cancel their subscription. It’s important to send an exit survey as soon as possible after the customer cancels.

This is because the customer’s memory will be fresh and they’ll be more likely to remember why they cancelled. Your exit survey should be short and to the point. It should only take a few minutes to complete.

The exit survey should include questions about:

  • The customer’s experience with your product
  • The customer’s experience with your customer support
  • The customer’s experience with your billing
  • The customer’s experience with your website
  • The customer’s experience with your onboarding
  • The customer’s experience with your marketing
  • The customer’s experience with your sales
  • The customer’s experience with your company overall

The exit survey should also include an open-ended question about why the customer is cancelling their subscription. This question is important because it will give you valuable feedback that you can use to improve your product and reduce your churn rate.

2. Use a Churn Survey

The second way to use surveys to reduce churn is to use a churn survey. A churn survey is a survey that you send to customers who are at risk of cancelling their subscription.

This could be customers who haven’t logged into your product in a while, customers who have downgraded their subscription, or customers who have made a customer support request.

The churn survey should be short and to the point. It should only take a few minutes to complete. The churn survey should include questions about:

  • The customer’s experience with your product
  • The customer’s experience with your customer support
  • The customer’s experience with your billing
  • The customer’s experience with your website
  • The customer’s experience with your onboarding
  • The customer’s experience with your marketing
  • The customer’s experience with your sales
  • The customer’s experience with your company overall

The churn survey should also include an open-ended question about why the customer is at risk of cancelling their subscription. This question is important because it will give you valuable feedback that you can use to improve your product and reduce your churn rate.

3. Use an Engagement Survey

The third way to use surveys to reduce churn is to use an engagement survey. An engagement survey is a survey that you send to all of your customers on a regular basis.

This could be monthly, quarterly, or annually. It’s up to you. The engagement survey should be short and to the point. It should only take a few minutes to complete.

The engagement survey should include questions about:

  • The customer’s experience with your product
  • The customer’s experience with your customer support
  • The customer’s experience with your billing
  • The customer’s experience with your website
  • The customer’s experience with your onboarding
  • The customer’s experience with your marketing
  • The customer’s experience with your sales
  • The customer’s experience with your company overall

The engagement survey should also include an open-ended question about what the customer likes and dislikes about your product. This question is important because it will give you valuable feedback that you can use to improve your product and reduce your churn rate.

4. Use a Net Promoter Score (NPS) Survey

The fourth way to use surveys to reduce churn is to use a Net Promoter Score (NPS) survey. An NPS survey is a survey that asks customers how likely they are to recommend your product to a friend or colleague. It’s a simple question, but it can be very effective.

The NPS survey should be short and to the point. It should only take a few minutes to complete. The NPS survey should include an open-ended question about why the customer gave the score they did. This question is important because it will give you valuable feedback that you can use to improve your product and reduce your churn rate.

5. Use a Customer Satisfaction (CSAT)

Survey The fifth way to use surveys to reduce churn is to use a Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) survey. A CSAT survey is a survey that asks customers how satisfied they are with your product. It’s a simple question, but it can be very effective.

The CSAT survey should be short and to the point. It should only take a few minutes to complete. The CSAT survey should include an open-ended question about why the customer gave the score they did.

This question is important because it will give you valuable feedback that you can use to improve your product and reduce your churn rate.

In conclusion, SaaS churn is a huge problem for businesses. In fact, it’s one of the main reasons why SaaS businesses fail. Losing customers is expensive. It costs 5-10 times more to acquire a new customer than it does to keep an existing one. This is why it’s so important to reduce your churn rate. There are a number of different ways to do this, but one of the most effective is to use surveys. Surveys can help you understand why your customers are cancelling their subscription. They can also help you identify at-risk customers who are likely to cancel in the future.

So don't wait anymore and use in-app surveys to reduce your churn today!

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