Why Quiet Customers Might Be Your Biggest Risk
- Deborah Knight
- Jun 6
- 2 min read
Most founders worry about the customers who complain.
But some of the biggest churn risks are the ones who don’t say anything at all.
They don’t log tickets. They don’t raise concerns. They don’t push back on pricing or service.
They just drift.
At first, they might’ve had a strong onboarding. But slowly, engagement faded. No one checked in. And by the time someone noticed, it was too late – they’d already made the decision to leave.
The problem with assuming silence means satisfaction
I’ve seen it first-hand, either taken over or helped consult around portfolios full of dormant customers. On paper they looked fine – no complaints, no escalations – but in reality, they’d already disengaged months ago.
Founders often assume if there’s no noise, there’s no problem. But in most portfolios, the majority of at-risk customers won’t tell you they’re unhappy.
One stat that sticks with me today is that “only 1 in 27 customers will tell you they’re leaving”. The rest just vanish.
What the best teams do differently:
They track behaviour, not just sentiment.
They spot early indicators of drift.
And they don’t wait for renewal conversations to check in.
Instead, they create touchpoints that offer real value. Not another QBR. Just something useful and relevant enough to reignite engagement.
Silence isn’t safety. It’s a signal. You just need to know how to read it — and when to act.
Might a call with me be helpful?
If you’re unsure who in your portfolio is really at risk – and want to build early warning systems that catch disengagement before it becomes churn – I’d be more than happy to talk things through.
