Why someone pours water when a subscriber leaves
by•
In Turkey, when someone you love leaves on a journey, you pour a cup of water behind them. "Su gibi git, su gibi gel": go smoothly like water, come back just as easily.
When a subscriber churns in ShipHQ, nobody gets angry and the office doesn't go dark. Someone just steps out and pours water after them. Churn hurts, but I wanted it to feel like "see you again" instead of a loss.
How do you handle the days when someone cancels? Do you look at churn, or avoid it?
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Thank you for sharing your culture. I like the idea that a departure doesn't have to feel like a loss.
To answer your question: I look at it, the same day. I open the account, I check what the person did last, and if there's an obvious reason I write to them. Not to win them back, just to understand.
Because I believe there are different kinds of churn.
If someone leaves because you've delivered the value they needed, that's good churn. I run a training program for students targeting internships: when they stop, it's usually because they got the offer. I'd be worried if they didn't leave.
If customers churn because you failed to deliver the value you promised, you should understand why. That feedback is priceless.
From a very optimistic perspective, churn is data. It's valuable data if you can understand the reasons behind it. That's how I try to approach it.
@ilyasb This is such a good way to put it, thank you. "I'd be worried if they didn't leave" really stuck with me. Your students walking out because they got the offer is the best kind of goodbye there is.
It also made me realize the water fits good churn even better: you pour it for someone heading off to something good, not just for someone you're losing. I love the idea that some departures are a sign it worked.
Reaching out the same day just to understand, without trying to win them back, feels like the honest version of churn analysis. Do people usually answer when you write to them? I've always wondered whether that message feels caring or awkward on the other side.