— Role
UX Content Designer
UX Researcher
— Timeline
8 months
— Tools
Figma
Google Docs
Challenge
Continuously provide users with a positive experience, even when they're preparing to leave.
Solution
Create a self-serve cancellation process that reduces the friction users experience when leaving our product, while still providing us with important information.
The Account page, where administrators can begin cancellation or switch to a holding plan.
Users pay ahead for monthly usage, so explaining the process with specific dates provides transparency throughout.
To continue collecting exit information for the customer success team, an optional step provides broad feedback.
Per stakeholder request, we added an optional written feedback section at the bottom of the confirmation step. The top confirms the process has been initiated and the user is done.
When a user does submit feedback, a thank you message serves as their final screen.
A constant banner reminds administrators their account is scheduled for cancellation and provides an easy link to stop the process if necessary.
A second banner for non-administrators informs users of their scheduled account cancellation.
The copy informs users what this plan option includes while providing a detailed breakdown of the monthly cost.
An optional screen allows our teams to collect information on when a user thinks they may return.
The confirmation screen reassures users that all data will be safe until they return or cancel. It provides exact dates for when their plan will switch to a Holding Plan and what to do when they’re ready to return.
Process
1. Identified the problem that users previously had to contact the success team to cancel, leading to added frustration and a poor final experience with the product.
2. Conducted research and competitor audits of other SaaS cancellation flows, exploring the benefits of automation, with the peak-end rule as a guiding principle to ensure users’ last interaction was positive.
3. Addressed concerns from other departments, including meetings with c-suite, balancing the ease of cancellation by introducing automation with the long lasting business impacts of a positive offboarding experience.
4. Designed the cancellation flow with a friendly, factual tone, avoiding disrespect or desperation, and aiming to make users feel empowered and informed.
5. Contributed to the design of an alternative cancellation flow for seasonal users, allowing them to retain account data for a small monthly fee, making reactivation smoother and retaining customers.
Results
It’s still early, but so far there has been no noticeable increase in the number of monthly cancellations. This is a project that will take time before usable, quantifiable data and analysis can be looked at.
From a qualitative stand point, our success team previously spent upwards of three hours per week completing manual cancellation requests. That is now down to an average of twenty minutes for those users who wish to cancel over the phone. This frees our team up to better address other customer needs, adding to the overall user experience.