Companies think making it hard to cancel a subscription, order, trial, etc., creates fewer cancellations. I disagree.
I disagree because when you go to a website to cancel something you already decided you want to cancel. They’re too late. Why annoy me by making it hard, dammit, AFTER I’ve decided to cancel?
You know what I mean. Are you sure you want to unsubscribe and miss all these great benefits…that you have to wade through to find the tiny “Unsubscribe”. Clicking through several pages, hunting for the “Cancel”, and sometimes, if the subscription is big enough, you have to actually speak to a human? A Customer Retention Specialist, no less. Whose job it is to RETAIN you.
None of this is a good experience. I recently cancelled my subscription to Wondruim, an online training company. Easy-peasy. A couple clicks, sorry to see you go, and two things happen. Both good for them:
- I’m more likely to re-subscribe when the reason I cancelled changes.
- I’m more likely to tell someone to try them if they’re looking for online training.
So, what to do? Help your users or customers get value out of what they’ve bought . Before they cancel. And make it easy. Most companies know when people typically cancel. How about a week or month before that time comes up you check in with your customers to make sure they’re happy, understanding how to use your product, etc.?
If I was a marriage counselor and I told you not to worry about your relationship until your spouse asks for a divorce, well, that’s ridiculous. Right? Don’t wait until it’s too late to save a customer relationship.
