Churn Reduction & Merchant Re-activation

Role

Lead — Continuous Improvement & Retention Operations

Team

Sales Support, Customer Support, Data, Product, Finance, Ops

Tools

Tableau dashboards, CRM, automated SMS triggers, internal ticketing workflows

Philosophy

Predictive retention + proactive merchant support + experience-driven loyalty

Context

Merchant churn directly impacts revenue, terminal utilization, and long-term market competitiveness. The organization historically treated churn as a lagging event, calling merchants only after they left.

The goal was to build a predictive and proactive churn engine focused on experience, communication, and support recovery.

Business Challenge

• Churn was analyzed retrospectively
• No proactive outreach to at-risk merchants
• Lack of structured retention processes
• Limited visibility into churn drivers

Pre-Intervention Reality

• No churn segmentation or journey view
• Support and sales did not coordinate on retention
• Payout perception significantly impacted merchant trust

Problem

Deep analysis uncovered two main themes driving merchant churn.

1. Experience-Driven Churn

40% of churn linked to payout experience — not system performance; merchant perception of payout timing created trust issues.

Churn root cause analysis showing payout perception as primary driver

2. Operational Gaps

• Inactive merchants (20–60 days) received no touchpoints
• Pull-out requests processed immediately — no retention attempt
• No standard playbook for retention outreach

"We were reacting to churn instead of preventing it. Merchants left before we even knew they were unhappy."

— Retention Team Insight

Ideation

Goal: Intervene early, automate touchpoints, personalize recovery.

Churn Segmentation

Region, MCC, payout behavior, complaints, ticket history, annual volume-based merchant buckets.

Playbooks

Tailored scripts for at-risk vs churned vs pull-out merchants with empathy-driven messaging.

Triggers

SMS automation + CRM extraction + weekly dashboards for proactive intervention.

Ownership

Dedicated retention squad created with clear KPIs and accountability.

Experience Fix

Transparent payout communication model to rebuild merchant trust.

Process

A phased approach combining analytics, automation, and organizational change.

Phase 1 — Analytics & Segmentation

• Tableau churn dashboards created
• Merchant buckets defined:

Merchant Segmentation Model

At-risk: 20–60 days inactive
Churned: > 60 days inactive
Pull-out intents: Captured via support system

Phase 2 — Retention Engine Build

• Automated SMS nudges: "We're here to assist"
• Weekly list extraction for outbound recovery calls
• Routing pull-out tickets to sales support instead of closure

Automated retention workflow from detection to recovery

Phase 3 — Experience Intervention

• Identified payout-experience friction
• Advocacy for transparent & consistent payout communication model
• Merchant reassurance and proactive support touchpoints

"We moved from reacting to churn to preventing churn through proactive outreach and payout clarity."

— Program Reflection

Implementation

Execution balanced technical automation with organizational change management and merchant experience improvement.

Technical Implementation

• SMS automation via system workflow triggers
• Weekly churn data feeds to sales retention team
• CRM state changes aligned to merchant lifecycle

Organizational Implementation

• Formed sales support retention squad
• Trained agents on playbooks & empathy scripting
• Implemented new flow for pull-out tickets → retention first
• Executive reporting on churn & reactivation metrics

Retention Playbook Components

Detection: Automated identification of at-risk merchants
Outreach: SMS + phone calls with empathy scripts
Support: Fast-track issue resolution for churned merchants
Recovery: Personalized incentives and payout clarity

Results

The retention program delivered measurable impact across churn reduction, merchant reactivation, and revenue recovery.

Churn Reduction

Month-over-month decrease

718

Merchants Reactivated

Returned to active status

SAR 12M

TPV Regained

Revenue recovery

SAR 2.7M

Churn Cost Avoidance

Retained value

Strategic Outcome

• Shifted from passive churn handling to predictive experience-driven retention
• Blended automation, human support, and CX psychology
• Enabled the business to protect revenue, enhance trust, and build scalable retention playbook
• Churn became a measurable, manageable, and improvable metric — not an afterthought

"We transformed churn from a reactive cost center into a proactive retention engine that protects revenue and builds merchant loyalty."

— Strategic Impact