Understand Your Buyer > How To Lose The Sale > The Hard To Leave Effect
What is it?
When you make it hard for customers to cancel (by not openly confirming how to cancel) it can be an annoyance and also cement the decision to cancel in the mind of the buyer.
Why does it work?
The fact is, if someone wants to cancel, they should be allowed to do so.
By not publishing how to cancel, or making it harder for people by making them send you written notice xx days beforehand, you aren’t improving your chances of retaining that buyer, you are simply confirming to them that their decision to not use you anymore is justified.
Buyers want to feel (and actually be) in control.
Hiding cancellation details and being evasive will not only help you to lose the buyer, it will gain you a bad reputation too.
How can you use it?
If you want to make things difficult for your buyers and make it hard to leave, then you can try the following:
1 – Not include the information on your website.
2 – Request a large amount of notice in writing.
3- Have no option in your automated phone system for cancellations. (press 3 to..)
4 – Insist that your buyer has to speak with a person to cancel and go through an excruciating conversation about why they are leaving.
Example
It was so notoriously hard for buyers to leave some phone contracts in the UK that the regulator stepped in to create an easy transition to put the power back into the hands of the consumer.
See also:
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