Try Usersnap for User Testing<\/h2>Try Usersnap Now<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBreaking up is not easy.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s truly not easy, for both sides.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On the one side, you have a person who wants to cancel an existing contract or account<\/a>. And on the other side, you have a person who wants you to keep using a particular service. Hmm. Not easy as I said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"user](\"https:\/\/usersnap.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/user-offboarding-conflict.png\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nBusiness interest vs customer interest<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
OK. Let\u2019s not panic. Your customer sent you an email or message (or maybe called you) that she wants to cancel her account. Well, nothing is totally lost, right? Or maybe it is?!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Well. At this point, you should clear your head and make sure to fully understand her situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n- Did your customer express an explicit interest in canceling her contract\/account?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Does your customer fully understand the consequences of her request or is follow-up information needed?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Besides your customer\u2019s account situation, you probably think a lot about this in your current situation facing a customer churn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Should you make cancellation easy or challenging? And what are the results?
\n<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"user](\"https:\/\/usersnap.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/user-offboarding-chart.png\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nTypes of user offboarding<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Before I\u2019d like to give you some tips and insights on the best practices of user offboarding, let me briefly talk about the different types of offboarding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On a high level, every software needs to differentiate between the following types:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n- Pause an account<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Cancel an account<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Delete an account<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
1. Pause an account<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nPausing an account basically means that the user can no longer use the service, and in return doesn\u2019t need to pay his recurring fee. If the user decides to come back at some point, he\u2019ll find everything is still there and he can come back to where he left off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A great example for this model is Audible, which allows users to pause their subscription for a certain period.<\/p>\n\n\n
\n![\"audible](\"https:\/\/usersnap.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/audible-pause-account.png\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n2. Cancel subscription<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nWhen you cancel your Premium Spotify account, the consequences are pretty clear. Or are they? You cancel the account, you no longer enjoy the benefits of your account, and on the other hand, you won\u2019t be charged a monthly fee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But is your personal data still stored on Spotify? Or is all your data including playlists, etc. gone (=deleted)?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
3. Delete account<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\nFrom my point of view, account cancellations are the preferred option in most cases. However, sometimes you might want to delete your account, as you won\u2019t return in the future and you\u2019d like to have all your data deleted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In this case, make sure to ask for your account deletion. Most B2B services do this upon request, and some even have a checkout page for that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Basically, an account deletion means\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 that all your personal user information will be deleted<\/a>.
\n\u2026 all user-generated information will be deleted.
\n\u2026 you won\u2019t receive any further emails or notifications from that account.<\/p>\n\n\n\nNow, let\u2019s get started with these 5 tips on how to provide a better user offboarding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tip 1: Information & transparency trumps fear.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Many software products and subscription services try to hide the \u201cDelete my account\u201d button. Let me tell you a secret: If I really want to unsubscribe\/cancel, I will find it. No matter how well-hidden it is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you learned the basics of user onboarding, you probably know how to give control to your users, while making them successful at the same time. With offboarding it\u2019s no different.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Give your users all the information they need. These are\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n- Where and how can I cancel?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- What are potential consequences of the cancellation?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- What contract terms needs to be followed?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Are there any limitations and restrictions which need to be thought of?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Tip 2: Stick with the medium.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
If someone signs up to your service using his mobile phone, it should also be possible to cancel the account with the same device.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just recently, I tried to cancel my Economist subscription. Obviously, you can subscribe online to a print + digital offering of the Economist. However, you won\u2019t find any cancellation button on their online interface at all. Their answer: You need to call them. Thanks. But no.<\/p>\n\n\n
\n![\"user](\"https:\/\/usersnap.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/economist-offboarding.png\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nTip 3: Show humanity.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
It might be a lost customer. However, it\u2019s still a real person who experienced your product, knows your company name and maybe even is (or was) a fan of your brand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The person might be gone for now. But you always meet twice as they say. And at some point that lost customer might turn into a brand ambassador or might even come back sometime in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n
Try Usersnap for User Testing<\/h2>Try Usersnap Now<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\nTip 4: Ask for feedback.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
I think you got my message so far. Make it as easy and painless as possible for your users to cancel their subscription. However, there\u2019s one thing to not forget about:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ask them for their cancellation reason.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This sounds pretty trivial, however, there are still many software products out there which simply forget to ask this one important question.<\/p>\n\n\n
<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nBusiness interest vs customer interest<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
OK. Let\u2019s not panic. Your customer sent you an email or message (or maybe called you) that she wants to cancel her account. Well, nothing is totally lost, right? Or maybe it is?!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Well. At this point, you should clear your head and make sure to fully understand her situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Did your customer express an explicit interest in canceling her contract\/account?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Does your customer fully understand the consequences of her request or is follow-up information needed?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Besides your customer\u2019s account situation, you probably think a lot about this in your current situation facing a customer churn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Should you make cancellation easy or challenging? And what are the results?
\n<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nTypes of user offboarding<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Before I\u2019d like to give you some tips and insights on the best practices of user offboarding, let me briefly talk about the different types of offboarding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On a high level, every software needs to differentiate between the following types:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Pause an account<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Cancel an account<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Delete an account<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
1. Pause an account<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Pausing an account basically means that the user can no longer use the service, and in return doesn\u2019t need to pay his recurring fee. If the user decides to come back at some point, he\u2019ll find everything is still there and he can come back to where he left off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A great example for this model is Audible, which allows users to pause their subscription for a certain period.<\/p>\n\n\n
\n<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n2. Cancel subscription<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
When you cancel your Premium Spotify account, the consequences are pretty clear. Or are they? You cancel the account, you no longer enjoy the benefits of your account, and on the other hand, you won\u2019t be charged a monthly fee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But is your personal data still stored on Spotify? Or is all your data including playlists, etc. gone (=deleted)?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
3. Delete account<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
From my point of view, account cancellations are the preferred option in most cases. However, sometimes you might want to delete your account, as you won\u2019t return in the future and you\u2019d like to have all your data deleted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In this case, make sure to ask for your account deletion. Most B2B services do this upon request, and some even have a checkout page for that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Basically, an account deletion means\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2026 that all your personal user information will be deleted<\/a>.
\n\u2026 all user-generated information will be deleted.
\n\u2026 you won\u2019t receive any further emails or notifications from that account.<\/p>\n\n\n\nNow, let\u2019s get started with these 5 tips on how to provide a better user offboarding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tip 1: Information & transparency trumps fear.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Many software products and subscription services try to hide the \u201cDelete my account\u201d button. Let me tell you a secret: If I really want to unsubscribe\/cancel, I will find it. No matter how well-hidden it is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you learned the basics of user onboarding, you probably know how to give control to your users, while making them successful at the same time. With offboarding it\u2019s no different.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Give your users all the information they need. These are\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Where and how can I cancel?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- What are potential consequences of the cancellation?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- What contract terms needs to be followed?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Are there any limitations and restrictions which need to be thought of?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Tip 2: Stick with the medium.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
If someone signs up to your service using his mobile phone, it should also be possible to cancel the account with the same device.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just recently, I tried to cancel my Economist subscription. Obviously, you can subscribe online to a print + digital offering of the Economist. However, you won\u2019t find any cancellation button on their online interface at all. Their answer: You need to call them. Thanks. But no.<\/p>\n\n\n
\n<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nTip 3: Show humanity.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
It might be a lost customer. However, it\u2019s still a real person who experienced your product, knows your company name and maybe even is (or was) a fan of your brand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The person might be gone for now. But you always meet twice as they say. And at some point that lost customer might turn into a brand ambassador or might even come back sometime in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n
Try Usersnap for User Testing<\/h2>Try Usersnap Now<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Tip 4: Ask for feedback.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
I think you got my message so far. Make it as easy and painless as possible for your users to cancel their subscription. However, there\u2019s one thing to not forget about:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ask them for their cancellation reason.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This sounds pretty trivial, however, there are still many software products out there which simply forget to ask this one important question.<\/p>\n\n\n
![\"user](\"https:\/\/usersnap.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/offboarding-best-practices-1024x678.png\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n![\"account](\"https:\/\/usersnap.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/account-cancellation-user-offboarding.png\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n