If you run a B2B SaaS product, churn is probably your least favorite metric. You might pour months into building features and onboarding users, only to watch them quietly slip away. The good news: user analytics tools like Heap can actually help you figure out why folks are leaving—and give you a fighting chance to do something about it. If you’re tired of hand-waving and want to actually reduce churn (not just report on it), this guide’s for you.
Why Churn Happens (and Why Guessing Doesn’t Work)
You can’t fix what you don’t understand. Most B2B SaaS teams have a hunch about why users churn—maybe their onboarding is clunky, certain features don’t deliver, or customer support is slow. But guesses don’t cut it. Until you look at the data, you’re just making assumptions. Heap gives you a way to actually watch how people use your product, spot the red flags, and act before it’s too late.
Step 1: Set Up Heap So It Actually Tracks What Matters
Let’s be honest: most analytics setups are a mess. If you just slap the Heap script on your site and call it a day, you’ll end up with a mountain of random events and no real insight. Here’s how to make sure you’re tracking the right things:
- Track Core Actions, Not Just Page Views
For B2B SaaS, focus on the stuff that drives value. Think: - Signing up
- Inviting teammates
- Completing a core workflow (e.g., sending an invoice, creating a project)
- Integrating with third-party tools
- Define “Active” and “Churned” Users
Don’t just use Heap’s default definitions. For your product, “active” might mean logging in weekly, or using a feature twice a month. Be specific. - Tag Key Events Yourself
Heap’s automatic capture is handy, but it’s easy to drown in noise. Take an hour to manually tag the events that actually matter for your business.
Pro tip: If you’re not sure what to track, ask: “What’s the one thing users must do every month to get value from our product?” Start there.
Step 2: Find Out What Churned Users Do (and Don’t Do)
Now you’ve got solid data. Time to dig in.
Identify Patterns Before the Breakup
- Compare Active vs. Churned Behavior
- In Heap, segment users into “active” and “churned” (based on your definitions).
- Look for actions that healthy users take—but churned users don’t.
Examples:- Inviting teammates within 7 days of signup
- Setting up integrations
- Completing onboarding tutorials
- If churned users consistently skip certain steps, that’s a clue.
- Spot Drop-Off Points
- Use Heap’s funnel analysis.
- Where are users bailing out? Is it during onboarding, or after hitting a paywall?
- Don’t expect one big “aha”—often, it’s death by a thousand cuts (lots of little friction points).
Beware of Red Herrings
Heap tracks a ton of data. Some of it’s useful, some is just noise. Don’t get distracted by things like:
- Page views that don’t tie to any meaningful action
- Tiny sample sizes (“3 users didn’t click this button, so it must be broken!”)
- Vanity metrics (downloads, time on site) that don’t connect to retention
Stick to the stuff that actually moves the needle on user success.
Step 3: Build Segments to Flag “At-Risk” Accounts
Once you know what behaviors predict churn, use Heap to flag users who look like they’re on the way out.
- Create Segments for At-Risk Users
- Example: users who haven’t invited a teammate within 14 days
- Users who haven’t completed a key workflow in the last month
- Set Up Alerts
- Heap lets you set up notifications for these segments.
- Don’t go overboard—pick 1–2 signals that are strong predictors, and start there.
- Integrate with Your CRM
- If you’re serious about reducing churn, pipe Heap data into your CRM or customer success tool.
- That way, your team can reach out before users disappear for good.
Reality check: Not all “at-risk” users are savable. Some accounts were the wrong fit from day one. Focus on the ones who showed signs of life but got stuck.
Step 4: Test Simple Fixes First
Armed with data, it’s tempting to launch a six-month redesign. Don’t. Start small.
- Tweak Your Onboarding
- If lots of churned users never finish onboarding, add nudges or help text.
- Test a short email sequence that highlights the next step.
- Surface “Aha Moments” Faster
- If successful users always do X, make it the first thing new users see.
- Example: If inviting teammates drives adoption, prompt users to do it right after signup.
- Remove Friction
- If users drop off at a certain step, can you cut it out or simplify it?
- Ask support and sales what real users complain about—even the best analytics can’t see everything.
What usually doesn’t work:
- Long, generic surveys (“Why did you leave?” gets ignored)
- Chasing every feature request from churned users (most won’t come back, no matter what you build)
Step 5: Measure, Iterate, Repeat
None of this is “set and forget.” Churn drivers change as your product grows, and so do user behaviors. Here’s how to keep on top of it:
- Track the Right Metrics
- Don’t just watch overall churn rate. Break it down by plan, industry, or company size.
- Look for improvement in leading indicators: onboarding completion, number of “aha moments” per user.
- Run Small Experiments
- Change one thing at a time. Did that new onboarding email help more users activate?
- Heap makes it easy to compare cohorts before and after changes.
- Talk to Real Users
- Data tells you what’s happening; actual conversations tell you why.
- Don’t let Heap replace talking to customers—it should spark better questions.
Honest Pros, Cons, and Pitfalls With Heap
What works: - Heap’s auto-capture saves time, especially if you hate bugging engineers. - The funnel and segment tools are solid for spotting drop-off points. - Getting granular—comparing “power users” and “churn risks”—is much easier than with older analytics tools.
What doesn’t: - Out-of-the-box, Heap can feel like a firehose. You need to spend time cleaning up your events and definitions. - Heap isn’t magic at telling you why users churn—just what they did or didn’t do. - If your product is heavily mobile or desktop-based (not web), set-up can get fiddly fast.
What to ignore: - “Engagement” scores that don’t tie to real business outcomes - Overly complex dashboards—if you can’t explain it to your team in a sentence, it’s probably not actionable
Keep It Simple, Iterate, and Don’t Panic
Reducing churn is rarely about one big fix. Most of the time, it’s about finding a couple of key behaviors, tweaking your product or process, and doing it again. Heap can help you see what’s actually happening—not just what you think is happening—but it’s not a silver bullet. Trust the data, but trust your gut and your users, too.
Start by tracking the basics, focus on the signals that matter, and don’t let yourself get lost in dashboards. Churn won’t disappear overnight, but you’ll have a much clearer path to making it manageable.