Test your retention calls first, because some push customers away

American Flamingo, engraved by Robert Havell after John James Audubon, The Birds of America (1838). Come too close to a flock, and the birds fly away.

A friendly call to save customers money made many of them leave.

The study. Eva Ascarza, Raghuram Iyengar and Martin Schleicher ran a field experiment with a wireless phone company in South America. The company called 54,089 customers and suggested a plan that fit their use better. A control group of 10,058 customers got no call.

The finding. In the 3 months after the campaign, 10.0% of the called customers left. In the control group, only 6.4% left. The difference was 3.6 percentage points and statistically significant.

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