Churn in Brazilian B2B SaaS: How Research Realigned Retention

We investigated why key accounts were leaving the platform and turned those insights into shared priorities across Product, CS, and Experience.

Context

A Brazilian B2B SaaS company was losing strategic accounts, clients with high MRR, long-term relationships, and complex operations. At first glance, these losses seemed isolated. But a deeper investigation revealed otherwise: these were top-down decisions from leadership aiming to solve structural pains like lack of centralization, fragmented visibility, and difficulty integrating operations. The product was no longer aligned with the maturity of these accounts.

The Challenge

The accounts churning weren’t new or frustrated users. They were long-time clients, using the platform for over 4 years, who decided to switch. The churn justification came from leadership, not daily friction at least, that’s what we thought. It was time to understand their real motivations and realign the product with what truly mattered to these clients.

The Approach

We built a qualitative research plan with multiple listening points, combining different data sources and stakeholder perspectives:

• Desk research to contextualize churn and benchmark the market.
• A Research Canvas with key questions and clear hypotheses.
• Internal interviews with CS, Experience, and Ops teams to gather perceptions and pre-existing theories.
• Interviews with former strategic clients to uncover real reasons for leaving.
• Analysis of churn cases over the past year.
• Analysis of complaints, requests, and support tickets over the years to identify persistent patterns of friction or unmet expectations.
• Co-creation sessions with Product to turn findings into actionable priorities.

What We Discovered

Top-down decisions
Departures were led by managers and directors seeking more control and visibility. It wasn’t about bugs or missing features, it was strategic.

Lack of centralization
The absence of a consolidated view and execution made it hard to justify staying. These accounts needed to simplify and integrate operations in one place.

Fragmented journey
Weak system integrations resulted in manual workarounds, scattered data, and inefficiency.

It wasn’t just about switching tools
The new platforms had their own issues, but they better supported integrated execution, even at a higher cost.

The Impact

• Product, CS, and Experience teams absorbed the research insights and adjusted their roadmaps.
• Priorities shifted: centralization, integration, and visibility took center stage.
• The retention strategy evolved from reactive to proactive, addressing core structural pains.
• Co-creation with stakeholders ensured insights became decisions—not just reports.

What We Learned

1. Churn from key accounts signals a value misalignment, not isolated bugs or features
   Retention for strategic clients requires a product architecture that supports operational consolidation and executive-level decision-making.
2. Weak integrations erode operational trust
   Data and process fragmentation leads to rework and obscures critical metrics. Integration needs to be a product and experience priority.
3. Top-down churn is a strategic signal, not noise
   Leadership-driven exits reflect unmet needs around governance, visibility, and control, not necessarily user dissatisfaction.
4. Cross-functional alignment must be ritualized, not occasional
   Turning insight into action requires ongoing co-creation between Product, CS, Experience, and Ops. Shared language and ownership accelerate execution.
5. Prioritize by impact not request volume
   Not every request carries the same strategic weight. Distinguishing between “frequent” and “transformational” needs adds a crucial value lens to prioritization.
6. Internal operational visibility is a prerequisite for consistent external experience
   If internal teams (CS, Support, Ops) can’t clearly see the account’s state, the customer experience becomes fragmented.
7. Retention must be built before churn becomes visible
   Proactive retention means anticipating risk (e.g., signs of decentralization, rising manual work, governance-level shifts) before it’s too late.
8. Tailored language and delivery for different audiences matters
   Executives, operational users, and implementation teams need different levels of control and communication. The product must serve all layers.

Who Led the Work

• Domenica Ferreira — Senior UX Researcher and Product Partner (Research Lead)
• Maria Luisa — Mid-level UX Researcher
• Product Ops Team — Strategic support and operational facilitation

Want to Do the Same?

If you're also seeing important clients leave for reasons no one seems to fully understand, it might be time for a deeper investigation.

Let’s talk and design a custom research plan for your context.