How Do I Identify At-Risk Customers Before They Churn Using HubSpot Service Hub?
Blend support, engagement, product, and billing signals into a Health Score that triggers alerts, save-plan tickets, and dashboards—so you act before renewal risk spikes.
Create a Customer Health Score combining CSAT/NPS, SLA breaches/reopens, engagement decline (email/meetings), product usage events (via integration), and billing risk. Use workflows to flag Churn Risk = High, notify the CSM via Slack/email, open a Retention ticket with a Save-Plan Playbook, and schedule outreach. Add a risk dashboard to track counts, causes, and win-backs by segment.
Non-Negotiables for Early Churn Detection
How It Works in Service Hub
From signal to save plan—automated and auditable.
- Define the data model: Health Score (numeric), booleans (SLA Breached, Reopened, Usage Down, Billing Risk), and Primary Risk Driver (text).
- Connect signals: auto-create tickets from channels; sync product events; pull CSAT/NPS into the record.
- Publish scoring rubric: weights & thresholds; calculate nightly and on key events.
- Automate the save plan: when At-Risk, set Churn Risk = High, notify CSM, open Retention ticket, attach Save-Plan Playbook, schedule touchpoints.
- Cool-off rule: return to Watch after X healthy days; close retention ticket with reason/outcome.
- Dashboard: risk by segment/ARR, top drivers, time-to-first-touch, save-rate, deflection from KB/Portal.
Leading vs. Lagging Risk Signals (Service Hub)
| Signal type | Examples in HubSpot | Why it’s useful | Pitfalls | Automation to add |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leading | Usage down (custom events), low feature adoption, no CSM meeting in 30 days, KB views on problem topics | Predictive with time to intervene | Needs product data; seasonality can skew | Create Watch list; schedule CSM task; send enablement content |
| Leading | CSAT dips, NPS detractor | Direct customer sentiment | Sample bias if few responses | Trigger Save-Plan ticket; alert exec sponsor |
| Lagging | SLA breaches, multiple ticket reopens, escalations | Clear friction indicator | Often late—customer already frustrated | Escalate to manager; run post-mortem playbook |
| Lagging | Billing risk, non-renewal notice | High intent to churn | Very late signal | Executive outreach; tailored offer; recovery workflow |
Frequently Asked Questions
Find Churn Before It Happens
Pedowitz Group will design your health score, connect signals, and build risk workflows, dashboards, and save-plan playbooks in Service Hub—so renewals rise and surprises drop.
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