Win-back emails for SaaS: what to send customers who cancelled

Who they are for

Win-back emails go to people who paid and then cancelled. They are not for people who never started (that is activation emails) and not for users who went quiet but are still around (re-engagement emails). A win-back goes to someone who knew your product well enough to pay for it, and left.

Start on the day they cancel

The best win-back email is the one you send the day they cancel, and it is not a win-back at all. It is a short note that asks why. The answer tells you what to say later, and sometimes it fixes the problem on the spot. There is a cancellation survey email template to start from.

Subject: Sorry to see you go

Hi Sam, your Acme plan is cancelled. Could you tell me why? One line is plenty, and you can answer by replying to this email. It helps me decide what to build next.

What to send after

Three at most, spread out.

• Two to four weeks later, only if something changed that matters to them. Say what shipped, in a line, and link it. If nothing has, send nothing.
• A couple of months later, a short check-in: is the thing you heard about still in the way?
• Then stop.

The one with news can be as short as this (there is also a win-back email template):

Subject: Acme now exports to CSV

Hi Sam, you told me the missing export was why you left. It ships today: [link]. Your account is still there if you want to look.

Offer money off only if price was the reason they gave. Otherwise you are answering a question they did not ask.

What to avoid

• Guilt. No "we miss you" subject lines, countdowns or fake deadlines.
• Pretending something changed. If it did not, say nothing.
• Making it hard to stop. Every email should be one click from the end.
• Writing to someone who asked you to stop.

How Kicklace does it

Connect Stripe and a cancelled subscription lands on the person's record. A cancellation can start a side road on your Lifecycle map: a sequence of emails and waits that begins when somebody arrives. That is your cancellation note, a wait, and the update when you have one. Somebody on a side road stays there until they leave it.

Kicklace only emails somebody who asked or who got in touch first, and somebody who bought can be written to about that. Tips and check-ins each carry Stop these emails, one click, and nobody gets more than one of them a day.

Nothing sends until you switch the sequence on. Before you do, Kicklace shows who would have got it over the last 30 days. Replies go to your own email address. Try it in the demo.

FAQ

How long after someone cancels should I send a win-back email?

Wait a few weeks, and send it when you have a reason: something they asked for shipped, or the thing they left over changed. A win-back with no news is just a reminder that they left.

Should I offer a discount?

Only if price was why they cancelled, and you only know that if you asked. The cancellation note is how you find out.