I saw some public shaming on LinkedIn this week. 😬
Perhaps that’s too strong a phrase. But it was seemingly a last resort.
It was all to do with a painful offboarding experience. Churn is unavoidable in SaaS, which means you should have a strong offboarding process if you want a chance at winning those customers back later down the line.
When done well, offboarding can lead to advocacy, easier retargeting, and increased win backs.
This week we're going to look at the idea of the Peak-End Rule and a 5-step project to improve your offboarding process.
Follow the magic ↓
🧠 The Theory: The Peak-End Rule
This theory is about our memories. We don’t tend to remember everything exactly as it happened. We also don’t remember every feeling we had in those moments.
This is because our brains make shortcuts when judging experiences.
What we tend to remember are the most intense moments or the last moments. This is because the memory is simplified and emphasis lands on the peak or the end. Hence the name the Peak-End Rule.
Let’s look at a well known example.
👀 The Example: Disney Theme Parks
Have you ever been to a Disney theme park? The experience is carefully crafted using the Peak-End Rule and is often cited as a prime example of how to leverage it.
Take the rides for example. Those lines are long! Sometimes you are waiting over an hour for a short ride. What if it has been scorching in the sun, the lines were hours long, and there was just too much walking?
Well, Disney design the end experience to eclipse all of those struggles.
The day ends with a spectacular firework display and a night time parade with sensory overload of lights, music, and characters. These magical finales create a lasting positive memory that overshadows any fatigue or minor inconveniences from the day.
🧪 The Project: Offboarding Flow
Use these steps to create a thoughtful offboarding experience for your customers.
Step 1: Streamline the cancellation
It’s important to design a cancellation flow that is clear, concise, and free of frustration. Customers churn for a number of reasons. It doesn’t mean that they won’t return at a later date.
Step 2: Personalise the farewell
Choose the best format for your company. If you have been working one-on-one with a customer, then send a personalised video. If it has been low touch, send a personalised email. If it’s no touch, then trigger an automated email upon cancellation thanking them for being a customer.
This is what you can include:
Thank them for their business and partnership
Express appreciation for their feedback
Highlight a key benefit they enjoyed or a specific success they achieved with your product
Offer a short survey to understand more about their experience
Offer support if they have any questions during the transition
Step 3: Create a "look back" page
Direct customers to a "look back" page showcasing their achievements whilst working with you. This is a place to reiterate the value they received. Visualise their progress over time through charts, graphs, tables - whatever makes sense for your experience.
Go a step further and allow them to download a "report" of their accomplishments. This can help when winning them back later on.
If applicable, you can provide resources and guides to help them transition. Explain how easy it will be for them to transition back to you in the future. It helps to remove any stress about needing to switch again.
Step 4: Allow data downloads
Don’t gate keep what they have been able to achieve by using your product. If applicable, provide an easy-to-use option for customers to download their data. For an even better experience, allow different download formats for their convenience.
Step 5: Create a re-engagement plan
Explain to the customer that you would like to get in touch with them again in 6 months (choose your timeframe). You know that the product will have progressed and the overall experience will have improved thanks to their feedback.
Plan a re-engagement email that piques their interest. Is there a new feature that they wanted? Have the pricing plans changed to benefit them? Tailor it to the specific customer and their reasons for leaving.
Offer a new free trial to test out the improvements and entice them to return, no strings attached. You could be playing a long game, especially if they are locked into a different contract. That’s okay, you are laying the ground work for when renewal conversations come around.
🔍 Note: Don’t forget to track and measure any returning customers that went through your offboarding process.
🤓 The Analysis: End on a high
Customers won’t thank you for a lousy and painful offboarding experience. It will only hurt your reputation. Churn experiences are marketing. If you do them badly, you risk public shaming. If you do them well, you earn praise and the right to win them back.
Disney knows that not everything will go perfectly at their busy theme parks. They mitigate that by finishing the day on a spectacle to remember.
We can’t all provide fireworks for our customers, but we can put in effort to make the end a positive and memorable experience.
What you will notice with this project:
Deeper trust with customers
Strong reputation in the industry
More opportunities to win back customers
I’ll leave you with this update and advice on the original public shaming post I mentioned at the beginning:
