Strategies – Preventing subscription churn

Keeping subscriptions alive is just as important as keeping users alive. But the ways you go about it are a little bit different.

Let's look at a few different approaches you can take to prevent subscription churn.

Put your subscription at the heart of the experience

We've talked before about preventing user churn by constantly showcasing the value of your product. But with subscription churn, you need to focus that value on the features of your subscription.

Stay in touch with your subscribers throughout their user journey, educating them on the special features in their plan to make sure they see as much value as possible.

For as long as your users are subscribed, you should constantly be reminding them how great and worthwhile their subscription is.

Focus on the 30-day subscription mark

Many brands offer a free trial of their subscription, usually lasting up to 30 days.

This gives you the opportunity to showcase the benefits of your subscription while creating a fear of missing out as the free trial comes to an end.

When taking this approach, you should focus all your time and effort on those first 30 days. Push for maximum usage and feature adoption within the trial to increase your chances of winning another paid subscriber.

Who to target (and who not to)

Before we wrap up, let's look at two other segments, both of which require special treatment:

1. Users who have churned (or are just about to). Just like you can save users from churning, you can also prevent subscription loss by sending the right offer at the right time.
2. Lost users with a live subscription. These are users who have stopped using your product but still have an active subscription. In this scenario, you have a choice between letting them know about it or blacklisting the users and avoiding any communications that could cause them to unsubscribe.