Product Led Growth: Doing the Opposite
Sometimes you gotta look somewhere else to find the solution to the problem...
In the strategic landscape of charity: water, we faced a significant challenge with customer churn. Initially, the instinct was to streamline the cancellation process to retain subscribers. However, our data painted a different picture.
Data Analytics & Visualizations, HERE
Churn data for charity: water shows that 79% of subscribers in the sampled time period selected the cancellation reasons “unknown” or “reason not listed.” When combined into a single group, these two options represent 75% of monthly recurring revenue (MRR). This group also has an average subscription length of 18 months, whereas customers who chose “accidental sign up,” or “duplicate sign up” were more likely to cancel within the 1st year of signing up. For my first solution, I propose focusing on this first group, users who choose “unknown” or “reason not listed,” because the second would be better addressed by refining the customer onboarding of charity: water.
I suggest designing a cancellation flow that begins by asking for the reason for cancellation (Image 1). Requesting this information at the start of the cancellation workflow may not only increase the number of responses we gain, therefore reducing the “unknown” data points, but will also allow us to customize the remainder of the cancellation process. By iterating small changes in the copy, charity: water can apply personalization to increase relevance for their specific reason. For example, 22% of cancellations in the provided data listed “affordability” or “choose cadence” as reasons for canceling. With the proposed workflow in place, these users would be met with a screen tailored specifically to options for those concerned with cost, such as the ability to pause donations or remain a member for as little as $5 per month.
Image 1 (Proposed new flow):
While only 24 total subscribers listed “I don’t know enough about my impact” as their reason for canceling, all cancellations signify a choice between money and impact. Some impact statistics are currently embedded into the cancellation flow, however, charity: water provides an exceptional amount of impact information through their website that could be utilized during the workflow as well. Integrating the “Our Work” page into the cancellation flow, or creating a similar page with more streamlined statistics and additional resources, will make clear to users the impact that their money has. 30% of lost MRR comes from subscribers who are canceling between 2.5 to 3.5 years.
After this length of time, it can be easy to understand why subscribers may have lost touch with the elements of charity: water that set it apart from other organizations. Additionally, the provided data shows that cancellations after the longest subscription times are caused by “impact information” and “other charity” - issues that I believe would be best addressed by this proposed workflow, which will highlight charity: water’s impact and dedication to transparency.
Why I did the opposite…
Instead of revamping the cancellation flow, we shifted focus to user onboarding and engagement. Our insight was powerful: actively engaged customers continued their support and increased their contributions regardless of their subscription amount or duration.
We developed a comprehensive onboarding program, including instructional videos, to immediately involve users in the charity’s mission. The results spoke volumes. By fostering early and consistent user engagement, we managed to reduce churn by 1.2% annually, securing a few million in saved subscription revenue. This approach improved our retention rates but also strengthened the bond between our users and our mission.
Below is one of the many onboarding flows we optimized to create stronger user engagement by enhancing it.
