How IntellaTriage reduced churn from 20% to less than 5%: a customer success transformation

Just 6 weeks after new CEO Daniel Reese took over IntellaTriage, the healthcare triage SaaS company unexpectedly lost one of its major customers—a client the team hadn't flagged as at-risk.

This "big customer" churned without warning, underscoring that the company's existing clients were essentially "out of sight, out of mind" until they left.

The wake-up call

Reese recalls realizing "oh, wait a minute, we need to address this immediately." The surprise churn was a turning point that exposed fundamental problems with how IntellaTriage managed customer relationships.

At the time, IntellaTriage's annual churn rate was a dangerously high ~13–20%. Losing that major client so suddenly was a shock that prompted immediate changes.

The underlying problem

IntellaTriage had no formal Customer Success structure. Accounts were managed ad hoc by:

A chief nurse
Founders
No dedicated CS team

Customer health was tracked (if at all) via:

Basic spreadsheets
Reactive support tickets
No proactive outreach

The result? IntellaTriage wasn't regularly communicating value or spotting dissatisfaction. They "weren't delivering a consistent message of value to clients," so even customers who seemed content could quietly become flight risks.

The impact

The surprise churn had serious consequences:

High churn rate: 13–20% annual churn was bleeding revenue
Threatened investor confidence: VCs view rising churn as a red flag that can "shrink valuation multiples and drain investor confidence"
Stalled growth: Revenue from new sales was being offset by lost customers
Reactive firefighting: Team was constantly scrambling when accounts left

The transformation

IntellaTriage overhauled its customer success approach:

1. Instituted regular value check-ins

Instead of only hearing from clients when something went wrong, IntellaTriage started proactively sharing:

Positive performance metrics
Value delivered to clients
ROI demonstrations
Success stories

2. Tighter service quality monitoring

The company implemented:

Regular health score reviews
Usage pattern tracking
Support ticket analysis
Early warning systems for at-risk accounts

3. Better communication of value

Reese attributes the churn reduction to "much better communication of the value we're adding" for clients. The team moved from reactive support to proactive value demonstration.

The results

Within a few years, IntellaTriage achieved dramatic improvements:

Churn dropped to <5% - A 75% reduction from the previous 13–20%
Stabilized revenue - Growth resumed as retention improved
Restored momentum - Investor confidence returned
Scalable process - Customer success became systematic, not ad hoc

Lessons learned

1. "Happy" customers can still churn

Even customers who seem content can quietly become flight risks if you're not actively managing the relationship. IntellaTriage learned that assuming everything is fine isn't enough—you need to prove value consistently.

2. Manual tracking doesn't scale

Basic spreadsheets and reactive support can't keep up with customer needs. IntellaTriage needed a more systematic approach to track health and identify at-risk accounts.

3. Proactive beats reactive

The shift from "waiting for problems" to "proactively demonstrating value" was transformative. Regular check-ins and value communication prevented churn before it happened.

4. Early intervention is critical

By the time a customer is ready to churn, it's often too late. IntellaTriage learned to identify warning signs early and intervene before cancellation.

How modern customer success solves this

If IntellaTriage had access to modern customer success tools, they could have:

Real-time health scoring - Automated health scores (0-100) updated hourly based on product usage, not manual spreadsheets
Early warning alerts - Get notified when health scores drop or accounts become inactive
AI-powered recommendations - Specific actions: who to contact, what to say, when to act
Unified dashboard - All customer health data in one place, not scattered across spreadsheets

FirstDistro's Customer Insights provides exactly these capabilities. With real-time health scoring, automated alerts, and AI-powered recommendations, you'll never be caught off guard by surprise churn like IntellaTriage was.

The bottom line

IntellaTriage's story shows how a small SaaS company learned (the hard way) that even "happy" customers can churn if you're not actively managing the relationship. The early loss of a major client forced IntellaTriage to become far more hands-on in customer success, ultimately stabilizing revenue and restoring momentum.

The transformation from 13–20% churn to <5% churn proves that proactive customer success works—but only if you implement it before the surprise churn happens.

Get started with Customer Insights to track customer health in real-time and prevent surprise churn, or view documentation to learn more.

Key takeaways

✅ Surprise churn can happen to any company - Even "healthy" customers can leave without warning

✅ Manual tracking doesn't scale - Spreadsheets and reactive support can't keep up

✅ Proactive beats reactive - Regular value check-ins prevent churn before it happens

✅ Results speak for themselves - IntellaTriage cut churn by 75% (from 20% to <5%)

✅ Early intervention is critical - Identify warning signs before customers are ready to churn

Don't wait for a wake-up call. Implement proactive customer success now.

Frequently Asked Questions

What was IntellaTriage's churn rate before the transformation?

IntellaTriage's annual churn rate was 13–20% before implementing proactive customer success. After the transformation, churn dropped to <5%—a 75% reduction.

How did IntellaTriage reduce churn?

IntellaTriage reduced churn by: (1) instituting regular value check-ins, (2) implementing tighter service quality monitoring, (3) better communication of value delivered to clients, and (4) moving from reactive support to proactive value demonstration.

Why did IntellaTriage lose a major client?

IntellaTriage lost a major client because they had no formal Customer Success structure. Accounts were managed ad hoc, customer health was tracked via basic spreadsheets, and the company wasn't regularly communicating value or spotting dissatisfaction.

How can I prevent the same problem?

Implement real-time health scoring, early warning alerts, and AI-powered recommendations. FirstDistro's Customer Insights provides automated health scores (updated hourly), at-risk customer alerts, and specific next actions—so you'll never be caught off guard like IntellaTriage was.

What can I learn from IntellaTriage's experience?

Key lessons: (1) "Happy" customers can still churn if you're not actively managing the relationship, (2) manual tracking doesn't scale, (3) proactive beats reactive, and (4) early intervention is critical to prevent churn.