"Ghosting" Customers? Why Only Reaching Out at Renewal Time Damages Trust and Limits Growth

I’ve heard the horror stories from customers too often:

A tool is sold, excitement is high, onboarding goes well, but then the relationship goes cold.

The vendor doesn’t check in until renewal time, maybe with a quick mention of new features or a reminder that it’s time to renew.

It's an approach that undermines the trust and value needed in an effective, long-term partnership.

Chris Elliot, Director of Security Operations at SoFi, put it bluntly when I spoke to him:

His statement captures what many buyers feel – the disappointment and frustration of being ghosted by their vendors, seemingly, partners.

It’s a wake-up call, especially in cybersecurity, where the stakes for customer loyalty and partnership are especially high.

Before we dive in, don’t forget to subscribe to The Cyber Brain and join 1700+ cybersecurity marketers and sales pros mastering customer research.

Don’t Let Relationships Fall Through the Cracks

The tendency to only reach out when sales are involved might make sense from a quarterly-driven, sales-focused perspective, but it’s a short-sighted approach.

By ghosting customers, we forfeit the chance to build real trust and connection – the very things that lead to renewals, cross-sell opportunities, and valuable referrals.

When you ignore a customer for an entire year, except for when money is on the table, you miss insights about how they’re using your tool, what their pain points are, and how their needs may have evolved.

Genuine engagement goes beyond contract cycles.

It requires consistent, meaningful check-ins that focus on how the customer is actually using your product, where they’re seeing value, and where they might be struggling.

By staying in regular contact, vendors can adapt their solutions to better fit customer needs, making them an indispensable partner rather than just another vendor in a crowded market.

The Costs of Transactional Relationships

Maintaining a relationship purely for the transaction is risky.

Each time you reach out only to sell or renew, you send a clear message:

“I care about your revenue, not your success.”

Customers notice this, and it affects their loyalty and willingness to invest in your brand long-term.

From my perspective, these types of interactions build a reputation that’s hard to fix, leading to frustration and ultimately, churn.

And it’s not just the customer who suffers.

This approach hurts vendors too.

Every disengaged customer is a lost opportunity for upselling, expansion, or even positive feedback that could inform product improvements.

How to Keep Engagement Alive Post-Sale

We need to be thinking about engagement as part of the customer lifecycle – not just the sales cycle.

Establishing clear lifecycle touchpoints helps ensure we don’t fall into the trap of “ghosting” our customers.

Here’s how we can build a more meaningful post-sale relationship:

• Set Regular Check-Ins: Establish a cadence for non-sales check-ins. Reach out every quarter, if not monthly, simply to ask how things are going. Avoid any hard sells; focus on understanding their current needs and experiences with the tool.

• Create Milestone-Based Engagements: Every customer will have different “success milestones” based on their usage and goals. Build these into the customer lifecycle to celebrate wins and address any concerns as they progress. For instance, a 90-day review could focus on adoption and initial feedback, while a six-month review could check for deeper integration or more advanced use cases.

• Equip Customer Success Teams for Active Support: Customer success shouldn’t just be about technical support; it should also involve proactive engagement. Make it a core responsibility for customer success teams to connect with users about their strategic goals and how the tool can best support them.

• Build a Feedback Loop into the Marketing, Sales, AND Product Lifecycle: Capture customer insights through surveys and feedback calls, not just quantitative data. Relay these insights across departments to create improvements that directly address customer needs, helping them feel heard and valued.

• Develop Nurture Strategies Focused on Value: Instead of bombarding users with sales messaging, create content that adds value, educates them, and showcases use cases or new features. This keeps your brand in their mind in a way that’s helpful and supportive rather than sales-driven.

Reframe the Company’s Perspective on Customer Relationships

It’s time for GTM teams to think differently about customer relationships.

Authentic, sustained engagement is no longer optional.

It means shifting away from a transactional mindset and showing customers that you’re there to help them succeed.

To make this shift, everyone in the company – from sales to customer success to marketing – needs to be aligned on the importance of ongoing, proactive customer support.

Companies that engage consistently and authentically retain customers and grow through positive word of mouth.

They’re able to identify expansion opportunities organically because they’re in tune with what their customers actually need.

The Payoff of Consistent Engagement

When vendors prioritize consistent, authentic engagement, customers feel seen and valued, and they’re more likely to invest in long-term relationships.

When renewal time does come around, it’s no longer an uncomfortable or awkward negotiation but a natural next step in an ongoing partnership.

Expansions, referrals, and advocacy happen naturally because the relationship has been built on a foundation of trust, not transactions.

The GTM teams that prioritize authentic, ongoing customer engagement will not only reduce churn but also foster loyal partnerships that drive growth and reputation long-term.

Join 1700+ cybersecurity marketers and sales pros mastering customer research.

Subscribe to The Cyber Brain for more deep thoughts, customer insights, and research tools and templates.

Access the minds that matter to you.

Directly connect with cybersecurity decision makers over video call and get the deepest buyer insights to refine your products, sharpen your marketing, and accelerate your sales.