1# Cancel Flow Patterns
2 
3Detailed cancel flow patterns by business type, billing provider, and industry.
4 
5---
6 
7## Cancel Flow by Business Type
8 
9### B2C / Self-Serve SaaS
10 
11High volume, low touch. The flow must work without human intervention.
12 
13**Flow structure:**
14```
15Cancel button → Exit survey (1 question) → Dynamic offer → Confirm → Post-cancel
16```
17 
18**Characteristics:**
19- Fully automated, no human in the loop
20- Quick — 2-3 screens maximum
21- One offer + one fallback, not a menu of options
22- Mobile-optimized (significant cancellations on mobile)
23- Clear "continue cancelling" at every step
24 
25**Typical save rate:** 20-30%
26 
27**Example flow for a $29/mo productivity app:**
281. "What's the main reason?" → 6 options
292. Selected "Too expensive" → "Get 25% off for 3 months (save $21.75)"
303. Declined → "Or switch to our Starter plan at $12/mo"
314. Declined → "We're sorry to see you go. Your access continues until [date]."
32 
33---
34 
35### B2B / Team Plans
36 
37Lower volume, higher stakes. Personal outreach is worth the cost.
38 
39**Flow structure:**
40```
41Cancel button → Exit survey → Offer (or route to CS) → Confirm → Post-cancel
42```
43 
44**Characteristics:**
45- Route accounts above MRR threshold to customer success
46- Show team impact ("Your 8 team members will lose access")
47- Offer admin-to-admin call for enterprise accounts
48- Longer consideration — allow "schedule a call" as a save option
49- Require admin/owner role to cancel (not any team member)
50 
51**Typical save rate:** 30-45% (higher because of personal touch)
52 
53**MRR-based routing:**
54 
55| Account MRR | Cancel Flow |
56|-------------|-------------|
57| <$100/mo | Automated flow with offers |
58| $100-$500/mo | Automated + flag for CS follow-up |
59| $500-$2,000/mo | Route to CS before cancel completes |
60| $2,000+/mo | Block self-serve cancel, require CS call |
61 
62---
63 
64### Freemium / Free-to-Paid
65 
66Users cancelling paid to return to free tier. Different psychology — they're not leaving, they're downgrading.
67 
68**Flow structure:**
69```
70Cancel button → "Switch to Free?" prompt → Exit survey (if still cancelling) → Offer → Confirm
71```
72 
73**Characteristics:**
74- Lead with the free tier as the first option (not a save offer)
75- Show what they keep on free vs. what they lose
76- The "save" is keeping them on free, not losing them entirely
77- Track free-tier users for future re-upgrade campaigns
78 
79---
80 
81## Cancel Flow by Billing Interval
82 
83### Monthly Subscribers
84 
85- More price-sensitive, shorter commitment
86- Discount offers work well (20-30% for 2-3 months)
87- Pause is effective (1-2 months)
88- Suggest annual plan at a discount as an alternative
89 
90**Offer priority:**
911. Discount (if reason = price)
922. Pause (if reason = not using / temporary)
933. Annual plan switch (if engaged but price-sensitive)
94 
95### Annual Subscribers
96 
97- Higher commitment, often cancelling for stronger reasons
98- Prorate refund expectations matter
99- Longer save window (they've already paid)
100- Personal outreach more justified (higher LTV at stake)
101 
102**Offer priority:**
1031. Pause remainder of term (if temporary)
1042. Plan adjustment + credit for next renewal
1053. Personal outreach from CS
1064. Partial refund + downgrade (better than full refund + cancel)
107 
108**Refund handling:**
109- Offer prorated refund if significant time remaining
110- "Pause until renewal" if less than 3 months left
111- Be generous — bad refund experiences create vocal detractors
112 
113---
114 
115## Save Offer Patterns
116 
117### The Discount Ladder
118 
119Don't lead with your biggest discount. Escalate:
120 
121```
122Cancel click → 15% off → Still cancelling → 25% off → Still cancelling → Let them go
123```
124 
125**Rules:**
126- Maximum 2 discount offers per cancel session
127- Never exceed 30% (higher trains cancel-for-discount behavior)
128- Time-limit discounts (2-3 months, then full price resumes)
129- Track discount accepters — if they cancel again at full price, don't re-offer
130 
131### The Pause Playbook
132 
133Pause is often better than a discount because it doesn't devalue your product.
134 
135**Implementation:**
136 
137| Setting | Recommendation |
138|---------|---------------|
139| Pause duration options | 1 month, 2 months, 3 months |
140| Default selection | 1 month (shortest) |
141| Maximum pause | 3 months (longer pauses rarely return) |
142| During pause | Keep data, remove access |
143| Reactivation | Auto-reactivate with 7-day advance email |
144| Repeat pauses | Allow 1 pause per 12-month period |
145 
146**Pause reactivation sequence:**
147- Day -7: "Your pause ends in 7 days. We've been busy — here's what's new."
148- Day -1: "Welcome back tomorrow! Here's what's waiting for you."
149- Day 0: "You're back! Here's a quick tour of what's new."
150 
151### The Downgrade Path
152 
153For multi-plan products, downgrade is the strongest save:
154 
155```
156┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐
157│  Before you go, what about right-sizing │
158│  your plan?                             │
159│                                         │
160│  Current: Pro ($49/mo)                  │
161│                                         │
162│  ┌─────────────────────────────────┐    │
163│  │ Switch to Starter ($19/mo)      │    │
164│  │                                 │    │
165│  │ ✓ Keep: Projects, integrations  │    │
166│  │ ✗ Lose: Advanced analytics,     │    │
167│  │         team features           │    │
168│  │                                 │    │
169│  │ [Switch to Starter]             │    │
170│  └─────────────────────────────────┘    │
171│                                         │
172│  [No thanks, continue cancelling]       │
173└─────────────────────────────────────────┘
174```
175 
176**Downgrade best practices:**
177- Show exactly what they keep and what they lose
178- Use checkmarks and X marks for scanability
179- Preserve their data even on the lower plan
180- If they downgrade, don't show upgrade prompts for at least 30 days
181 
182### The Competitor Switch Handler
183 
184When the cancel reason is "switching to competitor":
185 
1861. **Ask which competitor** (optional, don't force it)
1872. **Show a comparison** if you have one (see competitor-alternatives skill)
1883. **Offer a migration credit** ("We'll match their price for 3 months")
1894. **Request a feedback call** ("15 minutes to understand what we're missing")
190 
191This data is gold for product and marketing teams.
192 
193---
194 
195## Post-Cancel Experience
196 
197What happens after cancel matters for:
198- Win-back potential
199- Word of mouth
200- Review sentiment
201 
202### Confirmation Page
203 
204```
205Your subscription has been cancelled.
206 
207What happens next:
208• Your access continues until [billing period end date]
209• Your data will be preserved for 90 days
210• You can reactivate anytime from your account settings
211 
212[Reactivate My Account]
213 
214We'd love to have you back. We'll keep improving based on feedback
215from customers like you.
216```
217 
218### Post-Cancel Sequence
219 
220| Timing | Action |
221|--------|--------|
222| Immediately | Confirmation email with access end date |
223| Day 1 | (Nothing — don't be desperate) |
224| Day 7 | NPS/satisfaction survey about overall experience |
225| Day 30 | "What's new" email with recent improvements |
226| Day 60 | Address their specific cancel reason if resolved |
227| Day 90 | Final win-back with special offer |
228 
229**For detailed win-back email sequences**: See the email-sequence skill.
230 
231---
232 
233## Segmentation Rules
234 
235The most effective cancel flows use segmentation to show different offers to different customers.
236 
237### Segmentation Dimensions
238 
239| Dimension | Why It Matters |
240|-----------|---------------|
241| Plan / MRR | Higher-value customers get personal outreach |
242| Tenure | Long-term customers get more generous offers |
243| Usage level | High-usage customers get different messaging than dormant ones |
244| Billing interval | Monthly vs. annual need different approaches |
245| Previous saves | Don't re-offer the same discount to a repeat canceller |
246| Cancel reason | Drives which offer to show (core mapping) |
247 
248### Segment-Specific Flows
249 
250**New customer (< 30 days):**
251- They haven't activated. The save is onboarding, not discounts.
252- Offer: Free onboarding call, setup help, extended trial
253- Ask: "What were you hoping to accomplish?" (learn what's missing)
254 
255**Engaged customer cancelling on price:**
256- They love the product but can't justify the cost.
257- Offer: Discount, annual plan switch, downgrade
258- High save potential
259 
260**Dormant customer (no login 30+ days):**
261- They forgot about you. A discount won't bring them back.
262- Offer: Pause subscription, "what changed?" conversation
263- Low save potential — focus on learning why
264 
265**Power user switching to competitor:**
266- They're actively choosing something else.
267- Offer: Competitive match, feedback call, roadmap preview
268- Medium save potential — depends on reason
269 
270---
271 
272## Implementation Checklist
273 
274### Phase 1: Foundation (Week 1)
275- [ ] Add cancel flow (survey + 1 offer + confirmation)
276- [ ] Set up exit survey with 5-7 reason categories
277- [ ] Map one offer per reason (simple 1:1 mapping)
278- [ ] Track cancel reasons and save rate in analytics
279- [ ] Enable pre-dunning card expiry emails
280 
281### Phase 2: Optimization (Weeks 2-4)
282- [ ] Add fallback offers (primary + secondary per reason)
283- [ ] Implement pause subscription option
284- [ ] Set up dunning email sequence (4 emails over 10 days)
285- [ ] Enable smart retries (Stripe Smart Retries or equivalent)
286- [ ] Add MRR-based routing for high-value accounts
287 
288### Phase 3: Advanced (Month 2+)
289- [ ] Build health score from usage signals
290- [ ] Set up proactive intervention triggers
291- [ ] A/B test discount amounts and offer types
292- [ ] Segment flows by plan, tenure, and usage
293- [ ] Post-cancel win-back sequence (coordinate with email-sequence skill)
294- [ ] Cohort analysis: churn by channel, plan, tenure
295 
296---
297 
298## Compliance Notes
299 
300### FTC Click-to-Cancel Rule (US)
301- Cancellation must be as easy as signup
302- Cannot require a phone call to cancel if signup was online
303- Cannot add excessive steps to discourage cancellation
304- Save offers are allowed but "continue cancelling" must be clear
305 
306### GDPR / Data Retention (EU)
307- Inform users about data retention period post-cancel
308- Offer data export before account deletion
309- Honor deletion requests within 30 days
310- Don't use post-cancel data for marketing without consent
311 
312### General Best Practices
313- Always show a clear path to complete cancellation
314- Never hide the cancel button (dark pattern)
315- Process cancellation even if save flow has errors
316- Confirm cancellation with email receipt
317