The primary issue with churn is that there are few reliable ways to get a picture of accounts that are likely to churn. We're starting to see better data driven options (at least with online services) by watching user behavior which can really help, but one of the best ways continues to be proactively engaging customers with a meaningful metric.

NPS (Net Promoter) is generally looked at through the lens of driving growth by understanding who your most loyal customers are, why, and encouraging recommendations/referrals.

The other major benefit when instituted properly (regular quarterly engagements for most subscription services) is the early warning you get from detractors who have a very high likelihood of churning within a 90 day period, if not sooner. Nothing tends to be more accurate than a customer self-selecting and letting you know they are either having a bad experience or they don't understand the product, not seeing the value, etc.

Unfortunately a lot of companies/services optimize for churn at the point of cancelation which is way too late. You've got to interact and engage those at-risk accounts ahead of time.

Using tools like NPS (properly of course) along with some key behavioral metrics and the commitment to have meaningful conversations with those accounts can have a drastic impact on churn in most organizations. We've seen it first-hand.

With regards to the article...couldn't agree more. Never enough focus on churn it seems.