Audible’s Cancellation Flow
I have been through Audible’s cancellation flow at least 5 times, only making it to the end once. It’s a great example of how to build customer satisfaction and leave a lasting impression.
How Audible works [simplified]— For a recurring $14.95 each month, you receive access to one book on ‘tape’ of your choice. You get discounts on additional book purchases, but you need to be able to get through a book a month for this plan to be financially beneficial.
This person is not me. I started using Audible as a way to kill time on my bus commutes from San Francisco to Sunnyvale, as my equilibrium doesn’t allow me to do much else. Books continued piling up month after month, so it made sense for me to cancel my account while I caught up.
The Cancellation Flow
[Step 1] Navigate to Account Settings
In the top dropdown I found a link to my account settings. On this page, there was an easy-to-find link to make changes to my membership. Easy as pie!
[Step 2] Change my Membership
As the link is titled, ‘Change my Membership’ brings you to a page where you can, well, change your membership. Already being on their cheapest plan, there were only options for me to upgrade to their ‘better value’ deals. Oh how tempting! I may be a sucker for savings, but I wasn’t going to be tricked today.
At the bottom, I spotted exactly what I was looking for — a tiny, but not hidden link to cancel. I appreciate Audible not making me dig for a special cancellation page. It’s just logical to always be on the user’s side. They are ultimately going to share their opinion of your business when it comes up with friends. This is especially important if you want them to come back and give more money to you.
Ok! This is where the magic starts.
[Step 3] You have Unused Book Credits
Hey silly, you already paid for this month. At least grab your book before you go. If memory serves correctly, they show a list of books from your wishlist, and maybe popular titles to choose from.
I couldn’t let my $15 go to waste, so I left the flow and got my book. I can just go through the cancel flow again anyway.
[Audible:0, Me:1]
[Step 4] Remind User of Benefits
Oh no! Look at all the savings you’re going to miss out on! Not only is money mentioned, but convenience benefits such as this HUGE selection of books, and awesome customer support. Oh! And you have so many books queued up on your wish list, don’t you remember that you want these? Not to mention a great recommendation list as well.
But they do not use this purely as a blocker or inconvenience for people. At the bottom, they politely ask why I want to leave and allow me to feel like I am free to continue with cancelling my account. Makes sense. I’ve loved the service and want to help them make it better — I can take a second to choose from the dropdown, no problem!
[Step 5] Solve the Problem
Most services stop after asking you why you’re leaving. Audible tries to address the problem on the spot depending on the reason for leaving you gave.
I have dropped off on this page FOUR times. Every time I said it was because I couldn’t keep up with the monthly book credits, and got a different solution each time:
- Have a $20 credit.
- Have a book on us.
- Freeze your account (not a marketed option)
- Switch to Audible’s Light Plan (also not marketed)
[Audible: 1, Me:4]
Can anyone really resist free stuff? Even if you’re not a sucker like me, it’s an appreciated attempt at providing something better and making me feel valuable. And they have yet to create resistance for me to continue the cancellation.
[Step 6] Last Cry
Were we not able to solve your issue with all our amazing options? Please call us! We want to help you. If you’re sure though, go ahead and finish the process. We surrender.
[Step 7] Confirmation & Feedback
We can’t believe you survived this flow. Please send any additional feedback so we can keep others from making it this far. BTW, we’re not mad. You deserve to keep everything you’ve paid for.☺
I generally think people love giving feedback on products they love or hate, so this is a great screen for both Audible to get great feedback and also making paying customers feel heard. I actually was so blown away by how many months it took me to finish this process that I forgot to leave something.
In the end, I left it at a score of [Audible: 1, Me:4]. Audible got a point for getting me to freeze my account. But really, Audible won by making me feel like I won. They kept my best interest in mind, made sure my money did not go to waste, and made me feel good by throwing a few goodies my way. I left feeling like I was leaving a great service, and that’s all you can do. I will be back, Audible. While I catch up on my books, I’ll recommend your service to book lovers & spread my adoration of your cancellation flow to my fellow book worms.
