Michael Howlett · for founders and growing businesses · Australia
Find out why your customers aren't doing what you need them to.
Signing up, sticking around, coming back. When one of those stalls, there's a reason. I find it and show you what to fix first.
A short written read. No call, no pitch.
Something's off, and the numbers won't say what.
People find you, then don't sign up. Or they sign up and never get going. Or they drift off, and you only notice when the numbers dip.
You've looked at the analytics and tried a few fixes. The dashboard shows where people drop off. The reason usually sits somewhere it can't see, like a confusing step in sign-up or a promise the product doesn't keep.
That's the gap I work in.
Customers behave the way they do for a reason. The job is to find out why.
Behaving · principle 01
Every customer who drops off cost you something to get.
You paid to get them there, in ads or in your own time. When they don't sign up, or sign up and drift off, that spend walks out with them.
The usual fix is a guess. Tweak the page, or run another campaign. Some guesses land. Others burn time and money on the wrong problem.
Customers leave for specific, findable reasons. Find the reason and you fix the right thing first.
Customers who stay spend more, refer more, and cost less to serve.
I've spent fifteen years in banking and digital products working out why customers do what they do. Most of that is digging into where people drop off and getting what I find to someone who can fix it. It's the unglamorous part, and it decides whether anything changes.
Big companies have research teams for this. Growing businesses have dashboards and guesses. I give you the research part, sized for your business, without a full-time hire.
Read more about meDepending on what you need, I can help you:
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01
Find out why people aren't signing up
People find you and show interest, then disappear before they become customers. I go through sign-up the way a new customer would and tell you what's getting in the way.
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02
Find out why new customers don't stick
They sign up, then never get going. I look at the first days and weeks, from onboarding to the messages they get, and show you where the experience stops matching what you promised.
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03
Find out why customers are leaving
Churn has crept up and nobody agrees on why. I go through your data and your customer feedback, then give you a straight read on what's driving it and where to start.
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04
Catch it earlier next time
Once you know the problem, you'll want to spot it before it costs you. I set up a simple feedback loop your team can run, with an owner and a regular check-in.
All work is fixed-price and time-bounded. You know the scope and the cost before we start.
See the full set of servicesBy the end, you know why customers are dropping off and what to fix first. If you want a way to catch it earlier next time, I can set that up too. Once it's done, your team owns it.
Not sure where the problem is?
Send me your website or app and a line about what's going on. I'll go through it as a new customer would and send you a short written read on what I see. It takes about 20 minutes, and there's no pitch.
Get a free 20-minute reviewFrom the resource library.
Plain-language articles on customer experience: definitions, how-tos, and strategy.
Customer retention ideas for small business owners
Keeping the customers you have is cheaper than finding new ones. Here are practical retention ideas that actually work for a small business.
How to ask customers why they're leaving (without it being awkward)
Asking a departing customer why they're going feels awkward, so nobody does it. Here's how to ask without it being weird, and what to do with the answer.
How to find out why customers are leaving (without sending a survey)
You don't need a survey to work out why customers are leaving. The answer is usually sitting in data you already have. Here's where to look.
Common questions.
What do you actually do?
I work out why customers aren't signing up, sticking around or coming back, then show you what to fix first. Sometimes the problem is in the product: a confusing sign-up, a screen people can't get past. That's UX, user experience. Sometimes it's everything around the product: the emails, the pricing, what people expected before they arrived. That's CX, customer experience. The reason usually sits somewhere between the two, so I look at both.
How do I know if I need help with this?
You probably already have a sense. Sign-ups are flat, new customers aren't getting going, or people who used to come back have gone quiet. If you've got theories but no clear picture, that's the gap I work in. A free 20-minute review is usually enough to work out whether I can help.
Who do you work with?
Growing businesses where customers sign up, subscribe or use an app, and something isn't converting or sticking. Financial services and digital products are where I've spent most of my career. Local businesses whose customers find and buy from them online fit too. If you've got real customers and a sense that something's off, get in touch.
How much does it cost?
Everything is fixed-price. You know the scope and the cost before we start, no open-ended retainers, no surprises. The right number depends on what you're working on. Get in touch and I'll tell you what fits.
Get your free 20-minute review.
Tell me what's going on and where. I'll send you a short written read within 24 hours.
Thanks.
I read every enquiry myself and reply within 24 hours. If it is urgent, email me at michael@behaving.co.
Or email me directly at michael@behaving.co, or go to the contact page to get in touch.