[REDUCE CHURN] Use Exit Surveys to Prevent Member Cancellations

Cancellations Are Inevitable, But… (00:00:53)

• Cancellations are inevitable, but there are steps that can be taken to try to reduce the number of cancellations, and an exit survey can help initiate a conversation with members who are looking to cancel (00:00:55).
• By collecting actionable information from members who are considering cancellation, it may be possible to save the cancellation and use the information to prevent future cancellations (00:01:08).
• The information gathered from exit surveys can be used not only to identify areas for improvement but also to understand what is being done correctly, allowing for a more comprehensive understanding of the situation (00:01:30).
• Initiating a conversation with members before they cancel their account can provide valuable insights that can be put to use in order to save the cancellation and improve overall member satisfaction (00:01:12).
• The goal of using exit surveys is to reduce the number of cancellations by addressing the concerns and issues of members, and by doing so, create a better experience for all members (00:01:33).

What Is an Exit Survey? (00:01:42)

• An exit survey is a short Questionnaire that is submitted by members prior to sending their account cancellation request, giving an opportunity to try to save the cancellation (00:01:42).
• The exit survey should be kept brief, ideally consisting of around three questions, to ensure members can quickly and easily provide their feedback (00:01:45).
• The purpose of the exit survey is to collect information from members before they cancel their account, allowing for an attempt to prevent the cancellation from being finalized (00:01:49).

Why Should We Use an Exit Survey? (00:02:03)

• Utilizing an exit survey provides an opportunity to collect useful information about members’ decisions to sign up and cancel, and to learn from the members that will not be kept, which can help improve the membership experience (00:02:03).
• Exit surveys allow for the identification of what was done well and what can be improved upon, and can also turn a potentially negative experience into a positive one for both the member and the website owner (00:02:06).
• By using exit surveys, it is possible to save cancellations and turn them into a positive experience for both parties, and to leave on good terms with the member, who may return in the future or recommend the site to others (00:02:11).
• Exit surveys can help recover a small percentage of people who may be canceling due to a lack of understanding of how to use the service or its features, by providing them with the necessary guidance and support (00:02:22).
• The information collected from exit surveys can be used to provide solutions to members who have had a bad experience, and to actively look into solving the problems they have identified, which can help to build trust and improve the overall membership experience (00:02:24).
• By responding to members’ feedback and concerns, it is possible to create a positive experience even in the event of a cancellation, and to increase the chances of the member returning in the future or recommending the site to others (00:02:36).
• Exit surveys can also help to identify members who may not be the right fit for the membership community, but who may have friends or colleagues who would be, and who could potentially recommend the site to them (00:02:46).
• The use of exit surveys can provide valuable insights into the reasons why members are canceling, and can help to identify areas for improvement and opportunities to increase member retention and satisfaction (00:02:53).

What Should We Ask on the Survey? (00:03:59)

• The survey should be kept short and easy to fill out, containing information that members are happy to provide prior to canceling, and it is recommended to limit the questions to only the most essential ones (00:04:01).
• There are three main questions to ask in the survey: why the member is thinking about canceling, which will reveal what went wrong with their experience on the website, what their primary reason was for joining the community, which will indicate what was done right, and if there is anything that can be done to convince them to stay (00:04:10).
• The question about the primary reason for joining the community will help identify what marketing strategies or product and service offerings were effective, and what should be continued to be focused on (00:04:35).
• The third question, about what can be done to convince the member to stay, allows for an opportunity to make things right and improve the experience for the member and others in the future (00:04:52).
• The goal of the survey is to gather information from members who could potentially be canceling, and to use this information to improve and make the experience right for them and other members moving forward (00:04:23).

Make Your Final Plea (00:05:15)

• After a member submits their exit survey, they may still choose to cancel their account, but offering a solution that addresses their specific reasons for canceling can help prevent this, and attempting to get them on the phone can make it easier to make a personal connection and convince them to stay (00:05:30).
• Getting members on the phone allows for a more personal connection and a better understanding of their experience and reasons for canceling, which can be more effective than communicating through emails or live chat, and can help provide a solution tailored to their unique circumstances (00:05:46).
• Potential solutions that can be offered to members who are canceling include pausing, downgrading, or upgrading their membership, providing a coupon code, giving a complimentary profile audit, and offering tips on how to get the most out of their membership, which can help address their specific needs and prevent future cancellations (00:06:08).
• By understanding the member’s experience and providing a solution to their unique circumstances, it is possible to save one cancellation and also prevent future cancellations by taking the information gathered and acting on it to make improvements, which can ultimately help reduce churn (00:07:16).

Learn from Your Survey Data (00:07:27)

• Learning from survey data is a crucial step in understanding member behavior, and it is not just an extra step, but rather a way to gather insights on why members are joining or cancelling, and what can be changed to encourage more signups and less cancellations (00:07:27)
• The goal of analyzing survey data is to identify the reasons behind member cancellations and to determine what changes can be made to reduce cancellations and increase signups (00:07:29)
• By taking the responses from members and understanding their motivations for joining or cancelling, it is possible to make data-driven decisions to improve the overall member experience and reduce churn (00:07:31)

Let’s See How to Implement This! (00:07:54)

• Creating an exit survey form and implementing it on a website can help gather feedback from members who want to cancel their accounts, and potentially save them from canceling by addressing their concerns (00:07:54).
• When a member wants to close their account on a website, they typically have to go through a process that involves clicking on a “close my account” button, which can be modified to include an exit survey as an extra barrier to gather feedback (00:08:19).
• An example of an exit survey includes a form with questions such as “why are you thinking about canceling”, “what was your primary reason for joining our community”, and “is there anything we can do to convince you to stay”, which can help identify the reasons for cancellation and potentially offer solutions (00:10:06).
• The exit survey can be created using a form manager and can include required fields, as well as a button that allows members to provide feedback and potentially remain a member (00:10:16).
• The exit survey can be implemented on the website by adding it to the “close my account” page, and can include a final plea to gather feedback and potentially save the member from canceling their account (00:10:51).
• The feedback gathered from the exit survey can be used to follow up with members and offer them options to remain a member, and can also be used to improve the website and prevent future cancellations (00:11:29).
• A thank you page can be created to thank members for providing feedback, and can include a message stating that the team will follow up with options to help them stay with the website (00:11:18).
• The exit survey and thank you page can be customized to fit the needs of the website and its members, and can include additional options for members to contact the team and provide further feedback (00:11:34).
• To reduce churn, it is possible to use exit surveys to prevent member cancellations by editing the close account section header, which is a text label that renders above a box on the manage account page, and can be customized to include a form or plain text, such as a call to save the account, with a phone number like 1 800, (00:11:46).
• The close account section header is empty by default, but can be edited in the admin area to include a form, such as an exit survey, or plain text, and when something is put in this text label, it will render on the page, (00:11:57).
• A custom form with an exit survey can be created and added to the close account section header, which can include fields such as a title heading, custom HTML, and input questions, including a hidden field for the user’s Email address, (00:13:32).
• The exit survey form can include questions such as why the user is thinking about canceling, what their primary reason was for joining the community, and if there is anything that can be done to convince them to stay, with options including radio selects and multi-line text input fields, (00:15:20).
• The form can be created and edited in the form manager, where a new form can be created by clicking on the new form button, which creates a copy of the website’s contact us form, and can be modified to include custom fields and questions, (00:14:05).
• The form can include higher-level elements, such as images and custom HTML, and can be used to collect feedback from users who are canceling their accounts, with the goal of reducing churn and improving the overall user experience, (00:14:38).
• Creating a custom form can be useful for collecting data and creating landing pages, and it is recommended to familiarize oneself with the process by creating a sample page and experimenting with different fields and settings (00:16:09).
• When a form is submitted, the system already knows the user’s email address because they are logged in as a member, so it is possible to make the email field hidden and pre-fill it with the user’s email address using a custom widget (00:16:44).
• To create a custom widget, one can go to the widget manager, create a new widget, and add a snippet of code that echoes the user’s Email address, which can then be used to pre-fill a hidden field in the form (00:17:15).
• Alternatively, one can make the email field a normal input field where the member has to type in their email address, which is a simpler approach (00:18:13).
• The form settings allow for adding classes to style the form, such as adding a “well” class to match the website’s design theme, and setting up save actions, such as redirecting to a URL after the form is submitted (00:18:34).
• Redirecting to a URL after the form is submitted can be beneficial as it takes the person away from the cancellation page and can help prevent them from canceling their membership (00:19:22).
• To set up an exit survey, a form can be created with specific settings, including redirecting to a URL after submission, such as a “cancellation thank you” page, and the form element class can be added for optional styling (00:19:34).
• After the form is submitted, it is possible to view the submissions and set up email notifications, including a custom email template that can be sent to the person who submitted the form, with options to send a follow-up email and save the submission in the forms inbox (00:20:30).
• The email settings allow for the creation of a custom email template that addresses the fact that somebody filled out the form, and this template can be sent after the form is submitted, with options to send the email to the member and to the admin or alternative email addresses (00:20:35).
• The submission is saved in the forms inbox, where it can be viewed in full, including the reasons why the person is canceling, such as the service not meeting their needs or being too expensive, which can help inform follow-up efforts to save the member (00:22:25).
• The goal of using exit surveys is to increase the overall lifetime value of each member by keeping them, and the information gathered from the survey can be used to offer targeted solutions and improve the service to prevent future cancellations (00:23:07).
• To reduce churn, it is essential to use exit surveys to understand why members are canceling their subscriptions, and this can be achieved by creating a new form for the exit survey, setting up a thank you page, and configuring the form settings to redirect to the thank you page (00:23:13).
• The exit survey can include multiple questions, but it is recommended to keep it simple and concise, with only three questions being asked in this example, and the survey can be filtered by form name in the forms inbox (00:23:26).
• The forms inbox provides valuable information, including the person’s Email address and member ID, which can be used to follow up with members who have canceled their subscriptions (00:23:44).
• To set up the exit survey, the major steps include creating a new form, setting up a thank you page, and configuring the form settings to redirect to the thank you page, and then pasting the form shortcode into the text label (00:24:05).
• The cancellation thank you page can be customized to include a title, a message, and a call-to-action, and it is recommended to add a personal touch to the page to make it more engaging and helpful to members who are canceling their subscriptions (00:25:28).
• The data collected from the exit survey is saved in the forms inbox, and it can be filtered by form name to view all the submissions for a specific form, such as the exit survey (00:26:40).
• By using exit surveys and analyzing the data, it is possible to identify patterns and trends that can help to reduce churn and improve the overall member experience (00:26:43).