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SaaS

SaaS cancellation reasons

Learn why customers cancel, which features and competitors they mention, and give them a reason to come back.

When to send itRight after a customer cancels, linked from the cancellation confirmation page and email. Never as a step they must complete before they're allowed to cancel.

Free plan, no card needed. “Fit it to my business” rewrites the wording with AI for your brand.

The survey

Sorry to see you go

  1. Page 1
  2. 1What's the main reason you cancelled? · RequiredIt costs too much for us · It's missing a feature we need · We switched to another tool · It was hard to use · We don't need it any more · Something didn't work reliably · Another reasonMultiple choice
  3. 2Which feature were you missing?And what you'd have used it for, if you have a moment.Shown only when question 1 is “It's missing a feature we need”Open text
  4. 3Which tool did you move to?Optional. It helps us understand where we fell short.Shown only when question 1 is “We switched to another tool”Short text
  5. 4How well did your [plan] plan fit what you needed?It had more than we needed · It was about right · It didn't have enough for usMultiple choice
  6. Page 2
  7. 5Would you consider coming back later? · RequiredYes, if what I mentioned changes · Maybe, at a lower price · Maybe, when we need it again · NoMultiple choice
  8. 6What's one thing we could have done better?Open text
  • When question 5 is “No”, go to the “Thanks, and all the best” screen.
End screens
  • Thanks for telling us Your answers shape what we fix next. If things change, we'd be glad to have you back.
  • Thanks, and all the best We appreciate the time you took. What you told us will help the customers who come after you.

Suggested coupon

Suggested couponThanks for telling us. If you'd like to come back, here's 50% off your first two months.A unique code per customerValid for 90 days when you restart a paid plan. Applies to the first two monthly payments. One code per customer.

A generous comeback offer suits software, where a returning customer costs little to serve. Unique codes stop it being shared, and everyone who finishes gets it, whatever their reason for leaving.

Where to send it

  • Cancellation flowLink the survey from your cancellation confirmation page and repeat it in the cancellation email, adding ?name= and ?plan= to the link if your app knows them.

When to send it

Show this the moment someone cancels: link it from the cancellation confirmation page, and repeat the link in the confirmation email for anyone who closed the tab. Ask once the cancellation has gone through, not as a gate in front of it. Making people answer questions before they're allowed to leave feels like a trap and tends to produce angry, unhelpful answers.

If your app can add the customer's first name and plan to the link (?name=Asha&plan=Growth), the survey uses both: the greeting becomes personal, and the plan question names the plan they were on. Without them, it falls back to neutral wording that still reads naturally.

Why these questions

The main question asks for one reason, not several. People who leave usually have a few small complaints and one deciding one, and you want the deciding one. The options cover the usual causes for small software products: cost, a missing feature, a competitor, difficulty, the need going away, and something not working reliably.

Two of those answers open a follow-up. "Missing a feature" asks which one, and "switched to another tool" asks which tool. Over a few months, these short answers turn into a gap list and a competitor list written by the people who walked away.

The plan question asks whether the plan fit: more than they needed, about right, or not enough. A steady stream of "more than we needed" suggests a smaller plan would have kept some of these accounts.

The second page asks whether they'd come back and what you could have done better. People who say no see a different closing message, but the coupon appears for everyone.

The coupon

Half price for two months is a strong offer, and it suits software: a returning customer costs little to serve, and many reasons for leaving, from a missing feature to a busy quarter, are often temporary. Unique codes stop the offer being passed around. It's shown to every customer who finishes, whatever they said, so nobody is rewarded for a particular answer.

What to do with the answers

Tag each reason monthly and watch the mix rather than the totals. If cost complaints rise right after a price change, you have your answer. If "hard to use" dominates, read those answers alongside your onboarding survey results, because churn that starts in week one rarely gets fixed in month six.

When a cancellation names a feature you've since built, email that customer yourself with the news and their code. A personal note from a founder wins back more accounts than an automated sequence. For the money side of churn, run Pricing feedback with current customers too.

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