Do you wonder why customers leave you for a competitor—and what you can do about it?

Customer retention is one of the primary reasons why Forbes Global 2000 companies embrace a customer feedback solution. After all, unless you know what customers are thinking and feeling, you can't pinpoint problems—or take action to fix them. Note the emphasis on action. Customer intelligence should not only tell you what's wrong but also guide you toward a cure. It must be actionable.

Here's a good example. In 2005, a large West Coast auto insurer was struggling with an unacceptably high customer turnover rate. The churn was aggravated by several internal changes, including the introduction of a new CRM system. The company's support reps' unfamiliarity with the new system caused temporary delays and busy signals, which increased defections and took a toll on renewals and new-customer acquisition.