Your play
Churn rarely stems from nothing, it usually begins with subtle changes that are easy to miss.
Often, the earliest signs are invisible while priorities are quietly changing inside the account. These signs can be spotted early through search intent signals that indicate evaluation may be underway before their usage drops or renewal conversations begin.
This play shows you how to use intent signals to monitor your customer list for changes like competitor or category research, then reach out with a timely, value-led check-in before risk escalates.
Tools
Firmable: Use Firmable intent signals to monitor your customer base for churn risk, surfacing early evaluation behaviour automatically without manual checking.
Digital channels: Run this play through email, phone, or virtual meetings. The goal is a calm, well-timed check-in that reflects awareness and context, not alarm.
CRM: Use your CRM as the single source of truth for account health, risk status, notes, and next steps so the whole account team stays aligned.
Actions
Step 1: Upload and anchor your customer list
Start by uploading your customer list into Firmable. Once records are matched, apply simple filters to surface key decision-makers, such as seniority, verified work email availability, or mobile availability. This creates a clean, anchored customer list that can be monitored automatically rather than manually checked.
Step 2: Set up your churn monitoring agent
Create a signal agent in Firmable to automatically monitor your customers for early signs of churn – like research activity around competitors. The agent will notify you as soon as a relevant signal appears, so you can act while timing is still on your side.
Step 3: Quick research
When a signal comes through, skim the signal summary and company profile to get the essentials quickly. Check the surge rating, and the topics being researched to understand what’s driving the spike. Focus on what’s changed since your last touchpoint and the simplest next step to take.
Step 4: Push to your CRM for follow-up (optional but recommended)
When a signal is triggered, push the company record and any relevant people you want to speak to into your CRM – like HubSpot – for follow-up.
Step 5: Outreach with purpose
Can’t get hold of them? Leave a short voicemail or send a follow-up email, then set a CRM task to ensure the loop is closed.
Template
Call script
“Hey [First name], just calling to check in. With [surge topic] coming up more, I thought it was a good time to touch base and make sure [product] is still aligned with what you’re trying to achieve.
Do you have 15 minutes this week to run through how things are tracking and where we can better support you?”
Email check-in
Hi [First name],
I’ve been seeing more focus on [surge topic] across your target market.
Given the focus on [x] right now, it’s a good time to take stock of how you’re approaching it and whether [product] is supporting you in the right ways.
We can do a quick walkthrough of current usage, cover any gaps or questions, and look at a few ways to improve outcomes against your goals.
Does a quick 15-minute check-in work this week?
Metrics
- Time from signal to first outreach
- Time to first customer conversation on flagged accounts
- Change in customer health score after first outreach
- Trends in product usage and engagement
- Retention, renewal, and expansion outcomes for monitored accounts
Bottom line
Churn is easier to prevent than recover. Teams that act on early signals and lead with context protect revenue and maintain stronger customer relationships.
Try this play across your customer accounts, or talk to us about tailoring intent signals to your retention and renewal motion.
