Guide
8 warning signs a SaaS user is going dormant
Eight behaviour patterns that tend to show up before a SaaS customer cancels, gathered from retention research by US Tech Automations, Automaiva, ChurnZero and Sixteen Ventures. Use them to build a dormant-user cohort for interviews: pick the three to five signals that fit your product and pull everyone who matches. In Koji you can import that cohort so each person gets a personal interview link.
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- Logins drop 50% or more: The most reliable signal. It shows up 30 to 45 days before cancellation.
- Core feature use falls 30%+ a month: Tracks with churn within 60 days.
- Seat use declines (B2B): Accounts at 25% capacity churn 5x more than those at 80%.
- The champion changes role: A 51% chance the account churns within 12 months, and 65% for executive changes.
- Support tickets spike or go silent: Frustration or disengagement. Cancelled QBRs 6 to 8 weeks out are a red flag.
- NPS or CSAT drops 20+ points: A month-over-month fall of that size.
- Data exports or plan downgrades: Pulling data out or gaming the billing tier is mid-stage exit behaviour.
- Annual moves to monthly: Flagged by ProfitWell as the highest-signal billing event.
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<a href="https://www.koji.so/visuals/eight-leading-indicators-saas-churn-dormant-users"><img src="https://www.koji.so/visuals/eight-leading-indicators-saas-churn-dormant-users/eight-leading-indicators-saas-churn-dormant-users.png" alt="Listicle of eight signs a SaaS user is going dormant, from a 50% drop in logins to switching from annual to monthly billing." width="1080" height="1080" /></a>
<p>Source: <a href="https://www.koji.so/visuals/eight-leading-indicators-saas-churn-dormant-users">8 warning signs a SaaS user is going dormant</a>, Koji</p>
