Cancellation survey email template to ask why they left

When to send it

Soon after they cancel, the same day or the next. They still remember why. A week later they will say "I don't remember".

Ask one question and ask it as a reply, not a form. A single line back from a customer who just left tells you more than a ten-question survey nobody finishes.

The email

Subject: One question about [Product]

Hi {{first_name}},

I saw you cancelled [Product]. No hard feelings. Your account stays open until [date].

I have one question: what was the main reason? A single line is plenty. Reply to this email.

Thanks, Sam

Two variations

Offer the answers. If you would rather not read free text, give them numbers to reply with:

Subject: One question about [Product]

I saw you cancelled. What was the main reason? Reply with a number:

1. Too expensive
2. I did not use it enough
3. Something was missing or broken
4. Something else

Sam

Numbers are quick to answer, and "Something else" still lets them write.

When you want to fix it.

Subject: Was something broken?

I saw you cancelled [Product]. If it was a bug or something missing, I would rather fix it than lose you over it. Tell me what it was. Reply to this email.

Sam

What to avoid

• A long survey. One question. A link to a ten-field form is a reason not to answer.
• A discount in the same email. It turns a question into a sales pitch, and the answer you get will be about the discount.
• Guilt. "We're sorry to see you go" is fine once. Skip the rest.
• Making cancelling hard. The email works because the cancellation was easy. Do not undo that.
• Arguing with the answer. Thank them. If they reply, you can answer later as a person, not as a rebuttal.

How Kicklace sends it

On your Lifecycle map, a side road can start from a cancellation. Connect Stripe and a cancelled subscription lands on the person with no code (Stripe has the steps), or post subscription_cancelled from your own server with the kicklace package. The email goes to whoever lands on that side road.

Kicklace writes a first version in your voice, and you change whatever you like. Nothing sends until you switch it on. Before you do, it shows who would have got it over the last 30 days, and you can send yourself a test. Each person gets it once.

Replies go to your own email address. Once you send from your own domain and set up replies, they can come back into Kicklace's Mail, on the person who wrote. Kicklace writes a reply down and tells you, and never answers it by itself. What you do next is yours.

Read what people say before you build a win-back email, because the answers are what it should be about. The longer story is in win-back emails. Try the map on your own site in the demo, or see pricing.

FAQ

Should the survey be in the email or on a page?

In the email, as a reply. A reply takes seconds and reaches you directly. A page is one more click, and most people will not make it.

What do I do with the answers?

Read them. Group them by hand once there are ten or so. If one reason comes up three times, that is your next thing to fix, and it is also the first line of your win-back email.

Do I need to send it to everyone who cancels?

If you have few cancellations, yes, and consider writing each one yourself. With more, a sequence is fine. Either way, keep it to the one question.