Why customers leave
Value are changing.
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I’ve seen teams do everything right to stop customers from leaving. They improve the product, reply to issues faster, fix the bugs, and adjust prices. On paper, it all looks good. Yet the churn rate barely moves.
When I look closer, the problem often isn’t about product quality at all. It’s about a shift in what people value. Over the past decade, expectations have evolved. People care more about flexibility, meaning, and alignment with what they choose. These values shape how they work, what they buy, and who they trust.
I’ve seen this play out across different industries. Companies that make excellent products can still lose relevance if their tone or behaviour feels out of step with their customers’ values. Others with more modest offerings build loyalty because people feel connected to them.
In many cases, churn is a sign that the organisation is still speaking to an earlier moment in culture. Customers have moved on, and the company hasn’t noticed. The brand, the product, and the way decisions are made no longer fit the mood of the people it serves.
The lesson for leaders is straightforward. Reducing churn means understanding how social values are moving and aligning the company’s choices with that direction. It means listening carefully to what matters to people now and letting that guide tone, priorities, and experience.
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Nicely identified, and a perfect lead to talking about the critical importance of scenario planning.