ChurnZero tracks customer health. BackEngine shows you why it's changing.
ChurnZero gives your team real-time health scores, in-app engagement tools, and workflow automation. BackEngine connects the customer conversations happening across email, calls, and Slack that explain the "why" behind those scores. Together, they give you both the signal and the story.
An honest comparison
Different tools for different jobs. Here's how they compare.
| Capability | ChurnZero |  |
|---|---|---|
| Core purpose | Real-time customer health monitoring with in-app engagement, workflow automation, and churn reduction tools | Connect every customer interaction across channels, surface risk and opportunity, and help teams execute consistently |
| Data model | Product usage data, CRM data, and in-app behavior. Strong for SaaS companies with measurable product engagement | Unstructured interaction data from email, calls, Slack, meetings, and support tickets. Captures relationship context that usage data alone can't reveal |
| Health scoring | Real-time health scores based on product usage, engagement, and CRM signals | Conversation-driven health signals based on sentiment, engagement patterns, and relationship context across all communication channels |
| In-app engagement | Native in-app walkthroughs, announcements, and onboarding tools to drive product adoption | Does not provide in-app engagement tools — focuses on the interactions that happen outside the product |
| Execution support | Playbooks and automated workflows triggered by health score changes and customer segments | Drafts deliverables (QBRs, briefs, follow-ups), monitors execution drift, and ensures playbooks are followed in day-to-day interactions |
| Best for | SaaS companies that want to combine customer health monitoring with in-app engagement and adoption tools | CS teams that need to understand the full context behind customer health changes and ensure consistent execution |
BackEngine doesn't replace ChurnZero. It adds the conversation layer that explains why health scores are moving — so your team can act on the right signals.
What ChurnZero does well
ChurnZero is a strong platform for teams that want real-time health monitoring and in-app customer engagement in one place.
Real-time health monitoring
ChurnZero's health scores update in real time based on product usage and engagement data. For SaaS companies with measurable in-product behavior, this provides an always-current view of account health.
In-app engagement tools
ChurnZero's native in-app walkthroughs, announcements, and surveys let CS teams drive product adoption directly inside the product — a capability most CS platforms don't offer.
Workflow automation
ChurnZero's playbooks and automation engine let teams trigger actions based on health score changes, lifecycle stages, and customer segments, reducing manual work for common CS workflows.
Salesforce integration
When paired with well-structured Salesforce data, ChurnZero becomes particularly powerful for teams that have invested in keeping their CRM clean and current.
Where BackEngine adds a new layer
BackEngine adds the conversation intelligence layer that reveals the "why" behind every health score change.
Understand the story behind the score
A health score tells you an account is trending down. But why? BackEngine analyzes email threads, call transcripts, and Slack conversations to surface the specific issues, sentiment shifts, and stakeholder concerns driving the change — so your team knows exactly what to address.
Capture signals that never reach the product
Many of the most important customer signals happen in conversations, not in product usage. A frustrated email to an account manager, a concern raised on a call, a question in Slack — BackEngine captures all of these and connects them to the account.
Simplify complex workflows
ChurnZero's segmentation and scoring can become complex for advanced use cases. BackEngine provides a simpler, conversation-first approach to identifying risk and opportunity that complements ChurnZero's structured workflows.
Bridge the reporting gap
BackEngine's cross-channel analysis provides the narrative context that makes ChurnZero's quantitative reports more actionable — giving leadership not just the "what" but the "why" and "what to do next."
Better together: How ChurnZero + BackEngine works
BackEngine captures the conversations ChurnZero can't see
Email, Slack, calls, and meetings are automatically analyzed. BackEngine builds a relationship-level understanding of every account from the interactions happening outside the product.
BackEngine reveals the story behind the score
When a health score drops, BackEngine shows you the email thread where the customer expressed frustration, the call where they mentioned evaluating alternatives, or the Slack message where they flagged an unresolved issue — giving your team the full context to respond.
Your team responds with the full picture
Armed with both the quantitative signal from ChurnZero and the qualitative context from BackEngine, your team can craft targeted responses that address the actual issue — not just the symptom.
Teams using BackEngine see real results
UserEvidence
As UserEvidence grew from 20 to over 100 customers, their team was looking at incomplete data sets to make product decisions and identify churn risk. They needed a way to understand the full story behind every account.
"I always felt like I was looking at incomplete data sets to make product decisions or to know who was happy or who was a churn risk." — Ray Rhodes, Co-founder
Give ChurnZero the conversation context it's missing
Connect in 30 minutes. See the "why" behind every health score on day one.
