Effective telecom customer churn analysis starts with understanding that prepaid and postpaid customers leave for vastly different reasons.
Segment-specific questions matter, because what motivates a prepaid user to churn is not the same as what frustrates a postpaid customer. Each segment requires its own lens.
Conversational surveys—especially those powered by AI follow-ups—can reveal real churn drivers that static forms often miss. Those follow-ups are where the richest insights emerge.
Essential questions for prepaid churn analysis
Prepaid customers tend to be more price-conscious, highly sensitive to network reliability, and frustrated by friction during top-ups. Their flexible status empowers them to switch quickly, which is why laser-focused questions and follow-ups are so important.
Price sensitivity: Prepaid churners overwhelmingly cite price as a key factor—60% of prepaid churn is due to pricing and competing offers [1]. Start direct:
How do our rates compare to other providers you’ve considered?
Why it matters: Prepaid users shop around constantly, so knowing which competitors win their business (and why) is pivotal. Tag this “price_sensitive” for analysis.
Tell me more about which competitor offers caught your attention and what made them appealing?
Network issues: Coverage complaints are a top trigger. According to a GSMA report, over 40% of prepaid churn is connected to perceived network coverage or call quality problems [2].
Have you experienced any service quality issues in your area?
Which specific locations did you experience poor coverage? How often did this impact your daily activities?
Tag as “coverage_issue”. These answers help map churn hot spots, guiding network investments and product messaging.
Top-up experience: Any friction in recharging leads to drop-off. Ask directly:
How convenient is the process of recharging your account?
AI follow-ups should probe: Is it payment methods, retailer availability, or a clunky online portal that annoys them?
What’s the toughest part about topping up? Have you ever left because you couldn’t recharge in time?
Tag as “topup_friction”. These nuances show if you need an easier mobile app or more payment integration.
Creating and segmenting these custom questions for prepaid churn analysis is a breeze using the AI survey generator—just describe the scenario and let the AI build question logic tailored to prepaid pain points.
Strategic questions for postpaid churn insights
Postpaid customers typically invest more in a relationship with their provider and are less impulsive about leaving. Their churn triggers are usually rooted in contract inflexibility, customer service frustration, and competitive value perception.
Contract flexibility: Many customers cite unwanted bundles or inflexible contracts as a source of frustration—up to 30% of postpaid churners point to rigid plans or being locked into features they don’t need [3].
Are there aspects of your current plan that feel restrictive or unnecessary?
Follow up for specifics. Tag these “contract_issue”.
What specific features in your current plan do you never use? What would your ideal plan include instead?
Customer service experiences: Poor support is a universal loyalty killer in telco—studies show nearly 70% of postpaid churn is preceded by a negative support interaction [1].
How would you rate your recent experiences with our customer support?
Walk me through your last interaction with customer service. What could have been handled better?
Tag as “service_issue.” Probing here uncovers whether churn is isolated or a pattern across support channels.
Competitor offers: Value perception is nuanced—sometimes it’s price, but often it’s new features or perceived status.
Have you considered switching to another provider recently? If so, what prompted this consideration?
Let the AI explore: Is it about features, price, promotions, or just better marketing? Tag these “better_plan_elsewhere”.
What specific aspects of the competitor's offer appealed to you?
Dynamic probing on these themes—without being pushy—is easy with automatic AI follow-up questions. These allow you to explore motivations contextually, digging past surface-level answers.
Configuring smart follow-up branches for each segment
How you design follow-up logic makes or breaks your churn survey. Prepaid and postpaid segments respond best to different strategies, and a great conversational survey adapts without feeling like an interrogation.
Prepaid follow-ups should be short, focused on pain points like pricing and top-up hurdles, and casual in tone. The key is brevity—respecting their time and directness.
Postpaid follow-ups can go deeper, mapping the relationship history, expectations, and complex grievances. The tone should be professional and empathetic.
Segment | Follow-up Length | Tone | Recommended Max Depth | AI Focus |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Prepaid | Brief, targeted | Casual, efficient | 2–3 | Price, recharge, coverage |
Postpaid | In-depth, explorative | Professional, empathetic | 3–5 | Service, contract, value |
You can customize branching, tone, and do-not-ask lists for each segment using the AI survey editor—just specify “no discount negotiation for prepaid,” or “probe perceived value for postpaid.” That granularity ensures the conversation feels natural and not formulaic, matching each segment’s mindset and attention span.
Analyzing churn patterns across customer segments
Segment-specific analysis reveals just how differently prepaid and postpaid customers think about churn. This is where AI-powered survey response analysis unlocks the strategic edge—surfacing actionable insights by filtering responses with the segment tags you’ve set up (“price_sensitive”, “service_issue”, etc).
For prepaid analysis, I’d start by mapping the price sensitivity landscape. For instance:
What price points do prepaid customers mention when comparing to competitors? Group by mentioned price ranges.
This identifies the thresholds at which price becomes a dealbreaker and helps you refine offers or communication accordingly.
For postpaid, support pain points are often underappreciated. Use prompts like:
Summarize all customer service complaints from postpaid churners. What are the top 3 recurring issues?
This highlights whether escalation processes, response time, or agent knowledge are driving churn for that segment.
Comparing both segments side by side always uncovers strategic opportunities:
Compare the top churn drivers for prepaid and postpaid customers. Which issues overlap and which are unique to each group?
By running separate analysis chats—one for each segment—you get clarity on which fixes to prioritize and which messages will resonate most, using tools like AI survey response analysis for seamless, chat-based exploration.
Build your segment-specific churn survey
Understanding why each segment churns transforms your retention strategy. Great questions for prepaid and postpaid require distinct approaches, and with ready-made templates, you don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Create your own survey with segment-specific logic built in—and turn churn into a competitive advantage before your rivals do.