Overview

Prerequisites

• A feedback mechanism (surveys, NPS, support tickets) to capture customer reasons for leaving.
• Integration with your subscription platform or CRM.
• A team or workflow dedicated to monitoring churn signals and acting on them.

Limitations

• Not all cancellations can be prevented—some churn is inevitable.
• Requires ongoing monitoring and iteration to refine your approach.
• Effectiveness may vary across customer segments and product types.

Definition

Voluntary churn happens when customers choose to cancel their subscriptions. Combating it means uncovering the “why” behind cancellations and offering alternatives—like subscription pauses or personalized incentives—to keep customers engaged.

Key benefits

• Actionable insights: Turn customer feedback into data-driven retention strategies.
• Flexible retention options: Give customers options to pause or downgrade instead of cancelling outright.
• Personalized outreach: Use Recurly Engage to deliver targeted messages and offers at key moments.

Key details

Pause subscriptions

Offer a “pause” option in your cancellation flow so subscribers can temporarily suspend deliveries instead of leaving. Pauses let customers return seamlessly when they’re ready—no new sign-up required.

Learn more: Pause a subscription in Recurly.

Recurly Engage

Leverage Recurly Engage to send real-time, behavior-based messages that address churn risks:

• Exit intent offers: Trigger a discount or bonus content when a user initiates cancellation.
• Win-back campaigns: Automatically email paused or cancelled customers with tailored incentives.
• Segmented messaging: Target users by tenure, usage, or feedback to maximize relevancy.

Learn more: Getting started with Recurly Engage