Industry overview
What is shaping software
Software and SaaS companies live and die by product-market fit, pricing and retention. Users' real workflows matter more than feature lists.
- Product-led growth relies on fast time to value
- Pricing and packaging strongly affect conversion
- Churn often starts with onboarding
Client background
A marketing software company, working in United States & Canada. Client identity is withheld to protect confidentiality.
- Organisation
- A marketing software company
- Sector
- Software
- Team engaged
- Market Research
- Services
- Qualitative research, Quantitative research, Data analytics & dashboards
Client challenge
Monthly churn was eroding growth, and cancellation forms only offered generic reasons such as “too expensive.” The company’s growth targets depended on reducing churn, but teams disagreed about whether price, product gaps or onboarding was the real cause.
Research objectives
- Deliver on the brief: finding out why customers cancel a subscription.
- Measure how widespread each pattern is, and explain the reasons behind it.
- Give the client evidence it can act on within 8 weeks.
Target audience
Scope: 40 interviews, 600 survey responses.
Audiences we typically reach in software
Trial and paying usersAdmins and buyersChurned customersProspectsPartners and integrators
Geographic coverage
Coverage: United States & Canada. Markets: United States and Canada.
- United States
- Canada
Research methodology
A mixed-method design: structured research measured how widespread each pattern was, and qualitative conversations explained why.
- 1Brief
- 2Exit interviews
- 3Churn survey
- 4Usage data analysis
- 5Insight
We interviewed recently cancelled customers, surveyed a larger group and combined the findings with product usage data to see which behaviours predicted cancellation. Interviews were held within a few weeks of cancellation, while experiences were fresh, and the survey reached a broader group of customers who had left in the past year. We then compared the behaviour of customers who stayed with those who left during their first ninety days.
Qualitative researchQuantitative researchData analytics & dashboards
Sampling strategy
- Respondents were selected across United States & Canada using quotas set in advance for each location and respondent type, so no single area or group dominated.
- Qualitative participants were recruited purposively to cover the full range of experiences that mattered, rather than for statistical representation.
Data collection
- interviews
- 40
- survey responses
- 600
- Trained local-language interviewers conducted interviews in person, supervised in the field.
- Interviews and discussions were led by experienced moderators using a guide agreed with the client.
Data quality & validation
- Back-checks on a share of completed interviews
- Time and location checks on field interviews
- Supervisor accompaniment in the field
- Recordings and transcripts for every session
- Re-screening of qualitative recruits
- Logic and range checks on the final data
- Work carried out under our ISO 20252 quality procedures
Data analysis
- Cross-tabulation by key groups and locations
- Significance testing on the differences that mattered
- Thematic coding of interviews and discussions
- Journey and decision mapping
- Interactive dashboard for ongoing tracking
Key findings
- Customers who never connected their email platform in the first month were far more likely to cancel.
- Customer success teams also used the early warning signals to contact at-risk accounts before they cancelled.
Usage patterns explained churn better than cancellation forms.
Recommendations
- Build on the core insight: usage patterns explained churn better than cancellation forms.
- Focus effort where the evidence was strongest: customers who never connected their email platform in the first month were far more likely to cancel.
- Re-measure after the changes to confirm the effect.
Business impact
- The company added guided integration help and proactive outreach, and churn among new customers declined.
What changed in the business as a result of the work. Impact is described qualitatively.
Deliverables & next steps
- Insight report and management presentation
- Cleaned data file and data tables
- Interview summaries and key verbatims
- Interactive dashboard
- Repeat the measure after changes are in place to track progress.
- A natural follow-on question: where does the UX get in the way?
Client identity is withheld to protect confidentiality.