Customer Churn Sankey Diagram: Editable Template
A churn Sankey from plan to retained or churned customers to the reasons they gave, so you can see which plan loses the most and why. Editable template.
A churn Sankey connects who left to why they left. Each plan splits into retained and churned customers, and the churned customers split by the reason they gave.
Three plans start with their customer counts. Each splits into retained and churned, and the churned ribbon fans out into four reasons: price, a competitor, service and no longer needed.
Seeing plan and reason in one diagram helps separate a pricing problem from a product or support problem. The counts are invented and the reasons are only as good as the way you collect them; treat self-reported reasons with care.
How to read this diagram
- Of 10,000 customers, 1,400 churn: a rate of 14% in this example.
- Basic loses the most (700 of 4,000, 17.5%); Pro loses 10% and Enterprise 15%.
- Price is the largest reason at 520, more than a third of churn.
- The reasons are not split by plan here. Add a second level of nodes if you want that.
The data behind it
Invented customer counts for one period. Not data about any real product.
| From | To | Amount (customers) |
|---|---|---|
| Basic | Retained | 3300 |
| Basic | Churned | 700 |
| Pro | Retained | 3600 |
| Pro | Churned | 400 |
| Enterprise | Retained | 1700 |
| Enterprise | Churned | 300 |
| Churned | Price | 520 |
| Churned | Went to a competitor | 380 |
| Churned | Service | 260 |
| Churned | No longer needed | 240 |
The same data as CSV
source,target,value
Basic,Retained,3300
Basic,Churned,700
Pro,Retained,3600
Pro,Churned,400
Enterprise,Retained,1700
Enterprise,Churned,300
Churned,Price,520
Churned,Went to a competitor,380
Churned,Service,260
Churned,No longer needed,240How it works
Enter the plans and their outcomes
Add each plan with its starting count, and the retained and churned counts it splits into.
Add the reasons
Send the churned node to each reason with its count. Use a category such as Unknown for customers who gave none.
Compare rates, not only counts
A wide churn ribbon on a large plan can be a lower rate than a thin one on a small plan; check the numbers in the table.
Frequently asked questions
Should I include customers who did not give a reason?
Yes, as an Unknown node. Leaving them out hides how much of churn you do not understand.
Can I split reasons by plan?
Yes. Add a node per plan and reason pair, or add another stage between churned and the reasons.
Edit this churn Sankey
Open the template as your own chart and enter your plans, churn and reasons.