There will come a time when some subscription customers – for one reason or another – decide that they want to cancel the service a company provides. That’s the point at which some companies run into trouble by making the cancellation process arduous, complicated and frustrating, which can generate negative reviews and damage a company’s reputation.
Outstanding customer service does not end once a customer subscribes to your service. In fact, it may be more important for companies to make subscription cancellations seamless to avoid creating anger and resentment in customers, which can lead to an avalanche of bad press.
With that in mind, there are three simple methods companies can employ to make subscription billing cancellation a pain-free experience for both sides.
Make It Clear
Some companies make the mistake of hiding their subscription cancellation prompt so that customers have to really dig into the website before they can access that call-to-action (CTA) button. Not only does that create frustration and anger, it also makes it much more likely that a client who is cancelling a recurring payment service, will not come back under any circumstances.
Companies can avoid this problem by making the process for cancelling their subscription as clear and accessible as possible. This is most easily accomplished by placing the cancellation prompt within a customer’s account detail page, so that it cannot be missed.
A clear cancellation CTA can create trust in a customer that a company is upfront and honest about its business practices, and may lead to reactivation at a later date.
Make It Instant
Sometimes companies are also guilty of failing to make the cancellation process instantaneous. When a customer clicks on a cancellation CTA button, the best practice is for that cancellation to take immediate effect.
But what’s happening more often these days is that when customers click “Cancel subscription,” a box appears asking if they are sure that they want to cancel, followed by questions about why the customers are requesting the cancellation.
While it’s understandable that businesses want to amass information about why customers are fleeing, a follow-up email after a cancellation has gone through may be more beneficial than making customers go through a long list of explanations as to why they no longer want a service. Alternately, companies can create field forms asking why customers left, after the cancellation has gone through on screen.
Once the message, “Your subscription has been successfully cancelled” appears on screen, then a company can generate the field form asking why a customer left.
Offering enticements such as a free gift certificate in exchange for answering questions about why a customer left is an outstanding way of creating goodwill about a company, rather than negative feelings.
Remind Customers What They Have Cancelled
It’s also vital that companies remind customers what they are cancelling, so there is no confusion on the customers’ part once they click “Cancel subscription.”
One of the most important reminders is informing customers that a company will delete all payment information that has been stored for recurring billing.
Customers are most often worried that their credit card information will remain on a website after cancellation, which makes it more likely that hackers can access that information through a data breach.
When a company reinforces trust by reminding customers who are cancelling a subscription that the slate is wiped clean, it increases the likelihood of reactivation.
Serving Customers Even When They Are Leaving
Outstanding customer service should never be limited to existing customers only; it must be extended to those who are cancelling a service, because client satisfaction is the ultimate goal for every business.
Companies that streamline the subscription cancellation process, are much more likely to earn the admiration of departing customers and maintain a good business reputation, which in the long run can generate reactivations and convince others to seek their services.
