Rise Online Advertising — 439 clients analyzed | Feb 23, 2026
Every single client in the onboarding pipeline is stuck at step 1. Median age: 250 days. This pipeline hasn't been managed since it was created. Either these clients were onboarded and the pipeline was never updated (data hygiene issue), or they genuinely fell through the cracks (revenue leak).
Retention improves for recent cohorts — a good sign. Early cohorts (2022-2023) show ~20-30% retention. Recent cohorts (Q3-Q4 2025) at 77-100% but still aging.
48% of churn happens in the 1-2 year range. The "danger zone" is months 12-24 — clients who don't see enough growth leave after their first year.
Rise closes ~9 new clients/month but loses ~6 to churn. Net growth of only ~3 clients/month. Cutting churn by even 2 clients/month would nearly double net growth.
Relatively even throughout the year. Slight peaks in Sep/Nov. May is notably lower — possible seasonal dip.
| Signal | Active | Churned | Insight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Has custom website | 93% | 86% | Slight correlation — website = more invested |
| Facebook linked | 44% | 59% | Counterintuitive — churned had MORE FB |
| Median tenure (active) | Active clients: mixed | Newer cohorts retaining better | |
Churned clients had a HIGHER rate of Facebook linked (59% vs 44%). This suggests FB-linked clients may have had higher expectations from ad performance and churned when ROI didn't materialize.
To double from $3M to $6M, Rise needs to ADD ~$3M in ARR. At ~30% annual churn, Rise will also LOSE ~$900K-$1M of its current base along the way. So the real target is $4M in gross new revenue. Cutting churn from 30% to 20% would save $300K+/yr and make the $6M goal 25% easier to reach.
Audit every client in NEEDS ONBOARDING. If they're actually onboarded, move them. If not, that's the fire. Slow/broken onboarding is the #1 predictor of early churn in agencies.
Impact: Prevent 10-20% of first-year churn → $50-100K/yr saved
48% of churn happens between months 12-24. Set up mandatory QBR calls at 90, 180, and 365 days. The RISE CONTRACT CLIENTS pipeline exists but has ZERO deals in it — activate it.
Impact: Catch at-risk clients before they leave → 2-3 saves/month → $48-72K/yr saved
The client dashboards from Phase 1 are ready. Clients who SEE their results stay longer. Deploy per-client dashboards to prove ROI monthly. Requires per-location API tokens.
Impact: Reduce churn 3-5% → $90-150K/yr retained
SC retains only 32% (7/22), AR only 20% (2/10). Compare to Missouri at 81% (13/16). Are certain markets oversaturated? Are there AM coverage gaps in these regions?
Impact: Fix regional issues → save 5-8 clients → $120-240K/yr
Early cohorts churned more. Clients who see leads fast stay. Set a hard SLA: ads live within 7 days, first lead within 14 days. Track it in the FIRST MONTH pipeline.
Impact: Reduce early churn 20-30% → $30-50K/yr saved
236 clients left. Why? Set up automated exit surveys (GHL workflow) + offer a "pause" option instead of cancel. Even 10% of churns choosing pause over cancel = 7+ clients saved/year.
Impact: Recapture 5-10% of churns → $50-100K/yr
Monthly churn rate of 2.9% means many clients are on month-to-month. Offer 10% discount for 6-month commitment, 15% for annual. The discount costs less than replacement.
Impact: Lock in 30%+ of base → reduce monthly churn to ~2% → $60K/yr saved
These clients already know Rise. A "Come back — here's what's new" campaign to churned clients from the last 12 months (~70 clients) could recover 10-15%. They already trust you.
Impact: Win back 7-10 clients → $126-240K/yr in reactivated revenue
| Metric | Current | Target | Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual churn rate | ~30% | ~15% | Half the revenue leak |
| Monthly churns | ~6/month | ~3/month | Save 36 clients/year |
| Avg client lifetime | 34 months | 67 months | 2x LTV |
| Revenue saved | — | — | $300-500K/yr |
| Net growth rate | ~3 clients/mo | ~6 clients/mo | 2x faster scaling |
Bottom line: Rise isn't just a sales problem — it's a retention problem. At 30% annual churn, Rise has to close ~70 new clients/year just to replace losses. Cutting churn in half would be the equivalent of adding ~35 new clients/year in sales capacity — without spending a dollar more on ads.