Churn is unavoidable for any subscription-based business. Some people only have a temporary need. Some will be disappointed with your service or have an issue you can’t resolve. Some of them will lose the original motivation they had to use your service in the first place. There are plenty of legitimate reasons why people will cancel their services. That’s all perfectly fine. What you as a business owner need to do is separate out the churn coming from avoidable sources, and work to minimize unnecessary cancellations. Here are a handful of common sources of churn and what you can do to minimize them.
1. Poke and remind people with declined cards.
One very common source of churn is expired payment information. People have their cards canceled — or they simply expire — so the next time you try to charge them, the transaction fails.
When this happens, take a moment to create a message. Sometimes there is a good reason a card is declined, but often times users simply forget to change their information. A simple reminder that their information has expired — and even reminders in the months leading up to the expiration — can spur them into action to update their info and keep their subscription going.
2. Offer upgrades to bring back canceled subscribers.
Another reason people cancel their subscriptions tends to be a relative lack of value compared to higher tier, more expensive plans. They want to use your better services, but they don’t have the budget for it, so they cancel. You can often draw them back if you send them a “sorry to see you go” message with an offer…