When it comes to reducing churn, there are five different decision-making styles you need to be aware of.
Advances in AI have reached the stage where companies are now able to use machines to learn about their customers and give them a personalised experience. Even the most talented call centre worker in the world can’t remember every customers’ preferences, but the right programme could crunch all the data discussed in our previous white paper and create personality types that match different offers that would appeal to them.
These five decision-making styles are essential to understand if you are to act on the information you have gathered:
1) Rational
Logical and systematic, rational decision makers work their way step-by-step through the choices at hand. They are not susceptible to impulse offers like flash deals and gimmicks. These types of decision makers will benefit from being given longer to make their decision, so present them with a retention offer way in advance of the deadline.
2) Avoidant
These are the types of people who ignore unopened letters because they’re worried about what they might contain. Avoidant decision makers would rather let their contract expire than proactively investigate better terms, so give them a shorter time window to retain them and make sure they are well aware of the deadline. Put the pressure on and make them pay attention.
3) Dependent
Following the crowd is a way of life for these shoppers. They will not make an important decision before they have spoken to three family members, five best friends, consulted four reviews, and the neighbour’s dog. This means that you have to give them your time. They will benefit from being given testimonials or discussing their offer over the phone or in store.
4) Intuitive
These decision makers go with their gut. The polar opposite of dependent, these people follow their own instinct above anything else. You should avoid offers that seem too good to be true at all costs. You need to appeal to that survival response and give them a retention offer that seems plausible, sensible and essential.
5) Spontaneous
Wild cards like these consumers are far more common than you might believe. Flighty and unpredictable, they show very few signs of churning before they disappear to a competitor. Like rational decision makers, they need to be presented with a retention offer way in advance, but that’s where the similarity ends. While the rational decision maker is sensibly running through the pros and cons, the purpose of a long time frame for this spontaneous group is to try and catch them before they have the chance to make an impulse decision.
You should develop a retention plan for each of these five types of decision makers. This will allow you to deliver a retention deal that matches their personality and have the highest chance of success. But your churn strategy doesn’t end there, you might have convinced them to stay today but a great plan caters for the future as well.
Read on in our white paper: Building an Effective Churn Reduction Strategy
