Reducing Churn Through UX/UI
- vivien tillett
- Mar 14
- 4 min read
Lessons from Telecom & SaaS
So. You’re losing customers, ey?
Everything seemed to be going fine—you sent out those marketing mailers, had a chat with the CTO, and even launched a new feature or two. But suddenly, and without warning, valued customers are walking away.
Now, there are a handful of reasons why this might be happening: poor customer service, missing product features, or maybe the competition just has a better offering. But today, we’re going to focus on something that often gets overlooked: how UX/UI considerations impact churn.
What is Churn? (And Why Should You Care?)
For the sake of this monologue, let’s define churn.
Churn happens when you have existing customers, and they begin to quit on your product—canceling their service, sometimes before you’ve even gained your ROI on those expensive leads. That’s bad. Really bad. It means you’re still paying for a lead that isn’t paying you back. And leads ain’t cheap.
Churn can rip across your business like an angry badger, affecting your bottom line, stressing out your team, and even tanking your Trustpilot score (ouch).
Why Are Users Leaving? UX-Related Churn Factors
Before tackling churn, let’s break down some of the most common UX-related reasons why customers leave:
Confusing Onboarding
Users don’t fully understand how to use the product. When onboarding isn’t clear, frustration builds. Users question the value of their purchase, assume it lacks features, and abandon the product without a second thought.
Complex Billing & Lack of Transparency
Surprise charges or complicated invoices kill trust. Users should never feel like they need a PhD in Finance to understand their bill. Transparent, well-structured billing reduces churn and lowers call volumes from confused users trying to get answers.
Lack of Self-Service Options
Not everyone wants to call support for every minor issue. The more zero-touch your product is, the better it is for users who can troubleshoot their own problems—and for your service agents, who can then focus on high-priority issues.
Poor Navigation & Discoverability
If users can’t find key features, they assume they don’t exist. Naming conventions should be clear (no jargon!) and based on a combination of user research (from competitive analysis) and user language (from internal surveys).
Slow Issue Resolution
If something goes wrong, how easy is it for the user to fix it quickly? A long wait for support, a clunky chatbot, or a confusing help center can push users to rage-quit.
Now, here’s the important bit: UX/UI alone won’t save your bottom line. Churn reduction requires a combined effort across the entire business. But if UX is handled correctly, it can be the first line of defense against customer loss.
How UX/UI Can Help Reduce Churn
1. Conduct a UX/UI Audit
You heard me. Audit your product experience.
Your UX/UI expert should do this—but don’t stop there. Include your QA, Front-End, and Backend teams. If possible, gather a small team of actual users to participate.
How to do it:
Create a visual flow of the product where team members can document their thoughts as they interact with the experience.
Gather insights on pain points and frustrations.
Work with a researcher to analyze findings.
Generate a presentation highlighting the biggest UX/UI issues (from critical to minor).
Present this to senior management and stakeholders—but don’t just list problems, also propose actionable UX/UI improvements backed by research.
This process can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks, depending on the complexity of the product. But trust me—it’s worth it.
2. Embrace Iteration: Keep Improving the Experience
Most successful apps today don’t stay the same—they evolve.
As a UX/UI creative, you should not fear iteration. Revisiting older aspects of the product allows you to rectify mistakes, test new ideas, and continually improve the user experience.
Why this matters:
Trends change. User behaviors shift. Your product needs to keep up.
Users will stick with a product that is intuitive and friction-free rather than switching to something unfamiliar.
But, if your experience starts feeling clunky, outdated, or inconvenient? They’re gone.
Don’t think of iteration as “fixing mistakes”—think of it as sharpening your competitive edge.
3. Do Real User Testing (Not Fake Surveys)
I know you don't wanna. But you gotta.
And no, I’m not talking about using paid tools like Useberry to get half-baked responses from people who have no real investment in your product. That’s not user testing.
Here’s how to do it right:
- Use your existing client base. These are the people who are already paying for your product and actually care if it works well.
- Build a “Brain Trust” of trusted clients who can articulate what is and isn’t working.
- Incentivize them for their time—exclusive access, discounts, or even a simple thank-you gift.
- Gather feedback, refine insights into actionable UX/UI changes, and work with your Business Analyst to begin implementation.
Your users are your greatest asset in reducing churn. Use them.
4. Collaborate With Your Team (No, Really)
Seems obvious, right? But in today’s development world, silos happen.
UX/UI is an inherently social profession—it’s your job to bridge the gaps between developers, product teams, and stakeholders.
How to do this effectively:
Keep developers and stakeholders aligned through clear presentations and thorough research.
Regularly sync with other departments to understand their processes and challenges.
Make UX a shared responsibility across the team, not just the design department.
The best UX/UI designers are eternally curious—they digest vast amounts of information, see patterns others don’t, and craft solutions that surprise and delight even the most skeptical user.
Final Thoughts: UX as a Churn Reduction Strategy
Reducing churn isn’t about a single fix—it’s about creating an experience that keeps users engaged, informed, and overall, generally happy with your product.
By focusing on:
- Clear onboarding that eliminates early frustration
- Transparent billing that builds trust
- Self-service options that reduce friction
- Intuitive navigation that ensures discoverability
- Proactive engagement strategies that keep users coming back
Good luck with your churn-ey!
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