Anticipating to retain: the impact of digital on anticipating needs and managing the churn risk

Abstract

Given the increased competition and customer volatility, the ability to anticipate churn has become a strategic issue. This article examines how the anticipation of needs, facilitated by digital tools, influences the management of customer churn risk in the service sector.

A quantitative study was conducted on a sample of 87 service companies using a questionnaire. The relationship between the anticipation capability (ANTI) and the predictable churn risk (RCHURN) was tested using a simple linear regression model. The regression model shows that need anticipation explains 45.4% of the variance in predictable churn (R² = 0.454). The effect is highly statistically significant (F(1, 85) = 70.641; p < 0.001). These results confirm that anticipation is a major driver of retention. By acting proactively, service companies can not only identify at-risk customers but also strengthen the relationship and limit the reasons for churn, which constitutes a key organizational dynamic capability.

JEL Classification: M31, L80

Paper type: Empirical Research