# Retention

> Use when reducing churn, improving activation, cancellation flows, winback, failed payments, renewal, expansion, customer health, or revenue retention.

- Skill: `infinite-labs-ai/retention` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 2 files)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add infinite-labs-ai/retention`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/infinite-labs-ai/retention/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Finance & Business
- Author: Infinite-Labs-AI (https://skillmd.com/u/infinite-labs-ai)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/infinite-labs-ai/retention

---


# Retention

Find where customers lose momentum and choose practical ways to improve activation, renewal, expansion, or winback.

## Map The Customer State

Use product analytics, billing data, CRM notes, cancellation reasons, support tickets, interviews, or lifecycle performance. If unavailable, ask for:

- Customer lifecycle stages.
- Activation milestone.
- Churn or cancellation point.
- Plan, pricing, and renewal model.
- Common objections or complaints.
- Existing save, winback, and dunning flows.

## Identify Retention Leaks

Classify by cause:

- **Setup failure:** customer never reaches the first useful outcome.
- **Value gap:** product works but not enough to justify cost.
- **Habit gap:** value exists but usage does not become routine.
- **Champion loss:** buyer or user changes.
- **Expectation mismatch:** marketing or sales promised the wrong thing.
- **Payment failure:** billing breaks an otherwise healthy account.
- **Expansion ceiling:** customer cannot grow into the next plan.

## Choose Interventions

Match intervention to cause:

- Activation checklist or concierge setup.
- Use-case education.
- Health alerts.
- Save offer or plan downgrade.
- Pause option.
- Failed payment recovery.
- Renewal proof recap.
- Expansion trigger.
- Winback based on prior use case.

Do not use discounts as the default save tactic. If value is unclear, discounting only delays churn.

## Choose Retention Plays

Order interventions from least invasive to most commercial:

- Product fix or setup improvement.
- Education or lifecycle guidance.
- Human support or concierge save.
- Billing repair or dunning.
- Plan change, pause, or downgrade.
- Commercial save offer.
- Winback after exit.

Use discounts only when the evidence suggests price or timing is the real barrier.

## Output

```text
Retention map:
Lifecycle stages:
Activation milestone:
Main leak:

Leak diagnosis:
| Stage | Symptom | Evidence | Root cause confidence | First intervention |

Intervention ladder:
1. Product:
2. Education:
3. Human support:
4. Billing:
5. Commercial:

Cancellation flow:
- Ask:
- Route:
- Save option:
- Exit if:

Winback segment:
- Who:
- Why now:
- Message:

Metrics:
- Leading:
- Lagging:
```