# Save plays & win-back ladder

A ready-to-lift playbook. The skeletons below are structure and offer shape — not
finished copy. Polished email/in-app wording is `../newsletter/SKILL.md`.

## The one-question exit survey

Rules:
- **One question, 5–7 preset reasons, one tap, answerable in <5 seconds.**
- Always show a free-text "other" but branch on the preset.
- The cancel button stays reachable in one click throughout (CA ARL floor — see
  `../compliance/SKILL.md`).

```text
Before you go — what's the main reason?
  ( ) Too expensive
  ( ) Not using it right now
  ( ) Missing a feature I need
  ( ) Switching to another tool
  ( ) Just a temporary project / seasonal
  ( ) Something else ____________
```

## Save-play library (exit reason → ranked play)

Ranked by retained life. Save rate benchmark ≈34% (Churnkey 2025). Personalized
offers prevent ~23% of cancellations; generic flat offers do not.

| Exit reason | Play 1 | Play 2 | Offer shape | Retained-life rationale |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Too expensive | Downgrade to lower tier | Temporary discount | tier move; or 20–30% off, 2–3 mo | downgraders stay **7–8 mo longer**; lower revenue > $0 |
| Not using it right now | Pause | Re-onboarding touch | freeze 1–3 mo + scheduled setup call | pausers stay **~5.5 mo longer**; ~25% of would-be churners pause |
| Missing a feature | Human / roadmap | — | connect to PM, show roadmap, NO discount | money does not close a capability gap |
| Switching vendor | Save call | — | book a person fast | only a human counters a competitor decision |
| Temporary / seasonal | Pause | Downgrade | freeze to reactivation date | preserves the account for the obvious return |
| Bad fit / price-only | Graceful let-go | — | clean cancel + enroll in win-back | retaining bad fit just delays churn, inflates support |

Tie-breaker when the reason is fuzzy: **downgrade > pause > temporary discount >
human save call > let-go.** Discount last — it permanently cuts revenue and only
tests price sensitivity. **Temporary 20–30% off for 2–3 months, never permanent.**

Pause economics worth remembering: pause programs generate $200M+ in industry
re-subscription revenue precisely because ~25% of cancellers will accept "freeze"
when they would have rejected "stay."

## Win-back ladder (30 / 60 / 90)

For customers who left anyway. Recovers ~5–15%. Value-first, then escalate — never
lead with the deal or you train healthy customers to churn for a discount.

```text
Day 30  Value reminder. NO discount.
        "Here's what's shipped / what your team is missing." Re-open the door.

Day 60  Modest incentive.
        ~15–20% off for 3 months. "Come back and pick up where you left off."

Day 90  Best offer.
        ~30–40% off for 6 months. Final, time-boxed. "Last chance at this rate."
```

After Day 90, drop to a low-frequency nurture (quarterly product news) — do not
keep escalating discounts indefinitely.

Sources: Churnkey 2025, Recurly, SmartSMS, Userpilot, ChurnWard — accessed 2026-06-02.
