Win-back Email Templates
Win-back email templates help re-engage disengaged customers with discounts and added value, reducing churn and acquisition costs. Use customizable templates fo...
4 min read
LiveAgent
Email Marketing
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Cancellations are inevitable in SaaS businesses. Even the most loyal, long-term customers who you thought would stick around forever may cancel their subscription out of the blue. Maybe they didn’t achieve the results they expected because they haven’t been nurtured enough to realize the full ROI of your product. They may have found a better solution (with a broader range of features and more affordable pricing), or they simply no longer need your product or service. Whatever the case, cancellations don’t always mean the end of your relationship with a customer.
How you manage cancellations makes a difference, and it starts with your cancellation emails – the type of transactional emails triggered when a user cancels their paid subscription. Much like win-back emails, cancellation emails play an essential role in customer retention. There is often an opportunity to re-engage those customers who have lapsed and win them back. That is why your cancellation emails should go beyond simply saying ‘goodbye’ – they should be designed to leave a positive impression and reduce churn. Below are some key tips for crafting cancellation emails, including ready-made cancellation email templates that you can customize and use.
Cancellation email best practices
Keep your message short and sweet
Cancellation emails have proven to work better if they are concise and straightforward. There are only four major points that you should include in your email:
- Thank your customers for their business.
- Confirm that their cancellation is being processed.
- Ask for feedback to find out the reason behind their cancellation.
- Reassure them the door is always open if they ever decide to come back.
Ask customers why they canceled
Learning why your customers cancel and where you’ve failed them can be painful, but it’s still unquestionably valuable for your business. Tracking the reasons behind cancellations always provides a huge opportunity to leverage customer feedback, improve your offering for future customers and reduce your churn rate.
Use empathetic language to show you care
While cancellation messages should typically be brief, it doesn’t mean they have to be overly formal and cold. Emphasizing that there are no hard feelings by including something like ‘We’d love you to stick around, but we understand that cancellations happen’ can make your email more personalized and human even though it’s an automated message.
Cancellation email subject lines
- We’re sorry to see you go
- We will miss you!
- Before you go … (We miss you already!)
- Your account has expired. Try a premium subscription!
- Your [Product] subscription has been canceled
- Your free [Product] Account Cancellation. Achieve More with Premium
- Premium account cancellation from [Brand]
- Confirm your cancellation request
- Following up on your cancellation, [Name]
- Your [Product] account will be deactivated in 30 days
Cancellation email template examples
Basic subscription cancellation email
Hi [Name],
Thanks for being part of the [Brand] community. As requested, your subscription has been successfully canceled, and your card will no longer be charged.
We’d love to hear about your experience and how you think we can improve [Product/ Service] for other members (and you, if you decide to come back!) Take the Survey
Just a heads up – you’ll still have access to [your account/ data/ message history/ free features], etc. If you decide you’d like to continue [using Product/ Service], you can resume your membership at any time.
We hope to see you around!
[YOUR SIGNATURE]
Casual non-automated subscription cancellation email
Hey [Name],
I noticed you canceled your [Product/ Service] account. No worries!
Did you expect something different, or was it missing something you needed? Your feedback helps us improve [Product/ Service], so it would be great to hear from you.
Best,
[YOUR SIGNATURE]
SaaS subscription cancellation survey #1 example
Hello [Name],
We successfully canceled your subscription for [Product/ Service]. We’re sorry to see you go! To help us improve our [product/ service], we would appreciate it if you took a moment to fill out this quick survey.
What was the reason for the cancelation? (Select up to 3 reasons):
- It was not effective, and I didn’t achieve the results I wanted
- It doesn’t integrate with our other tools or systems
- It lacks key features or functionality
- It was difficult to use
- It’s too expensive
- Customer support was unsatisfactory
- This was a test account
- My organization closed
- Other
If you don’t mind sharing, which [tool/ platform/ software] will you use now?
What can we do to improve?
Thanks,
[YOUR SIGNATURE]
SaaS subscription cancellation survey #2 example
Hi [Name],
We’re sorry you had to cancel your [Product/ Service] subscription. Can we ask why you’re leaving? Your answer will help us make [Product/ Service] better for everyone.
- Technical issues
- Missing key features I need
- Not sure how to use the tool
- Too expensive
- Switching to another product
- Shutting down the company
- Other (please explain below)
Appreciate your help and honest feedback!
[YOUR SIGNATURE]
SaaS subscription cancellation survey follow up
Hi [Name],
You’ve recently canceled your [Product/ Service] account and mentioned it was because of technical issues. We’re really sorry about that. We do our best to make sure our service is accessible and reliable, but sometimes things fall through the cracks. If you wouldn’t mind letting us know, we’d love to hear more about what technical issues you had so we can get to the bottom of it and make sure it doesn’t happen again.
Thanks so much!
[YOUR SIGNATURE]
Premium account cancellation
Hey [Name],
Your [Product] Premium subscription has been canceled and will end on [date]. Until then, you will still have access to your Premium features.
When your subscription expires, you will still be able to [use free features]. You can come back and enjoy [Product] Premium anytime by re-subscribing. We’ll always be here if you need any help.
Thanks for being a customer,
[YOUR SIGNATURE]
Membership cancellation confirmation
Hi [Name],
Thank you for being a part of the [Membership name]. As you requested, we’ve canceled your membership effective [date]. We’d love to have you back, but we completely understand that this may not be the best option for you right now. If you ever change your mind, made this request in error, you can restart your membership anytime to enjoy [key membership benefits].
Restart Membership
If there’s anything we can do to help, please let us know. Visit our Help Center for more info or reach out to our support team.
Best of luck!
[YOUR SIGNATURE]
Account deactivation email
Hi [Name],
It looks like you haven’t signed in to your account for a while. [Product/ Service] accounts are automatically deactivated after [number] days of inactivity. Your account will be deactivated in [number] days.
Thank you for trying [Product/ Service]. We’d love you to stick around, but we completely understand that [Product/ Service] isn’t for everyone. Let us know if you have any questions or need help keeping your account.
Cheers,
[YOUR SIGNATURE]
Subscription canceled due to failed payment
Hi [Name],
Something went wrong, and we were unable to process the charges on your credit card ending in [last four digits]. Unfortunately, we had to cancel your [Product/ Service] subscription.
But don’t worry, we understand that sometimes these things happen. You can always reactivate your [Product/ Service] subscription at any time.
Reactivate [Product/ Service] Account
If you have any questions or issues, don’t hesitate to reach out, we’re just an email away.
Hope to see you back soon.
[YOUR SIGNATURE]
Best practices for cancellation emails
Cancellation emails are most effective when they follow certain best practices to maximize engagement and conversion rates:
Keep it concise and empathetic
Your cancellation email should be brief and to the point. Customers who are canceling are likely in a hurry or frustrated, so respect their time. Use empathetic language that shows you understand their decision and that there are no hard feelings.
Confirm the cancellation immediately
Make sure to confirm that the cancellation has been processed successfully. This gives customers peace of mind and prevents confusion about their account status.
Ask for feedback
Include a question or survey asking why the customer decided to cancel. This valuable feedback can help you identify pain points in your product or service and make improvements. Even if customers don’t respond, the fact that you asked shows you care about their experience.
Offer a way back
Always remind customers that they can reactivate their account or return in the future. This keeps the door open for potential win-back campaigns and future re-engagement.
Personalize when possible
Use the customer’s name and reference their account history or specific features they used. Personalization makes the email feel less like a generic automated message and more like a genuine communication.
Avoid being pushy
Don’t try too hard to convince customers to stay. Aggressive sales tactics in a cancellation email can damage your brand reputation and make customers feel worse about their decision.
Test and optimize
Monitor your cancellation email metrics like open rates and click-through rates. Test different subject lines, messaging, and timing to see what resonates best with your audience.
