How CSMs at Smartly Stop Customer Churn in its Tracks

There are few things that haunt business leaders more than the threat of customer churn. 

Customer churn can lead to a myriad of issues including revenue loss, increased customer acquisition costs and a weakened brand reputation. That’s why companies rely on skilled customer success managers to prevent this degradation as much as possible, placing them at the forefront of safeguarding business success. 

It’s a heavy responsibility, but with the right practices, any CSM can stop customer churn in its tracks. At Smartly, Head of Customer Success Jana Christoviciute and the rest of the company’s CS division lean on a multifaceted strategy to identify potential churn among customers, which includes monitoring external factors like industry trends, leveraging industry benchmarking techniques and gathering customer feedback. 

According to Christoviciute, these efforts, along with more intensive churn prevention initiatives, are key to proving the company’s impact — and keeping customers around for the long run. 

“At Smartly, building long-term partnerships is the cornerstone of our customer success approach,” she said. 

Below, Christoviciute shares more about the steps Smartly’s CSMs take to prevent customer churn. 

Jana Christoviciute

Head of Customer Success • Smartly

What key metrics or indicators does Smartly use to identify potential churn among customers, and how do you leverage this data to proactively prevent churn?

Our proactive churn prevention strategy combines high-touch relationship management with data-driven insights. We monitor customer health using key metrics like sentiment gathered via net promoter scores, CSM feedback and executive sponsorship; product adoption, measured through hero features, alphas and betas; and user engagement patterns. Additionally, we stay attuned to external factors like industry trends and budget shifts, which often signal potential churn risks.

To ensure these key performance indicators remain actionable, we validate them through benchmarking against industry peers, analyzing customer behavior data and gathering direct customer feedback. Proactively, we foster open communication with customers, addressing challenges and aligning on opportunities through quarterly business reviews, leadership meetings and workshops. We share value frameworks that quantify the ROI and efficiency gains, demonstrating the impact of our partnership. By embedding ourselves as trusted advisors within our customers’ teams, we drive feature adoption and demonstrate value, reducing churn and securing long-lasting partnerships.

“By embedding ourselves as trusted advisors within our customers’ teams, we drive feature adoption and demonstrate value, reducing churn and securing long-lasting partnerships.”

Can you provide an example of a successful churn prevention initiative implemented by Smartly and the impact it had on customer retention and business performance?

To reinforce the value of our platform, Smartly partnered with PwC last year to independently validate key performance metrics and efficiency gains. PwC recalculated return on assets and cost per acquisition for a sample of 10 advertisers, confirming up to 550 percent ROAs and 49 percent lower CPA during campaigns. Additionally, PwC validated that the Smartly advertising platform was 3.3 times faster than native tools, saving users an average of 42 minutes per hour.

We used this data to create a value framework that quantified the impact of our platform, providing customers with clear proof of their ROI. This proactive approach rebuilt confidence in our long-term partnerships, reduced churn in key markets and strengthened relationships with strategic accounts. By demonstrating measurable business outcomes, we not only retained customers but also reinforced our role as a trusted strategic partner, ultimately driving customer loyalty and contributing to overall business growth.