UX Design For Subscription Boxes

𝗪𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗜𝘀 𝗮 𝗛𝗮𝗯𝗶𝘁. 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗦𝘂𝗯𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗕𝗲 𝗧𝗼𝗼. If customers love your product but still cancel, the problem isn’t the product—it’s the experience. The best wellness brands don’t just sell products. They guide behaviours, reinforce habits, and remove friction. But too often, small moments of friction— a failed payment, a forgotten renewal, a skipped order— quietly push customers away before they even realize it. That’s why I put this table together. 7 high-impact automations that keep subscribers engaged, reduce churn, and make retention effortless. Each one removes a key retention blocker before it turns into lost revenue. 1️⃣ 𝗣𝗮𝘆𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗙𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘂𝗿𝗲𝘀 → 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 ↳ Trigger: Payment fails (Recharge) ↳ Action: SMS + Email with urgency & FOMO ↳ Apps: SMSBump, Klaviyo → Catch failed payments before they cancel 2️⃣ 𝗨𝗽𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗥𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘄𝗮𝗹𝘀 → 𝗕𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗳𝗶𝘁 𝗥𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗰𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 ↳ Trigger: Renewal approaching (Recharge) ↳ Action: Email & SMS reinforcing product value ↳ Apps: Klaviyo, PostPilot → Remind customers why they subscribed 3️⃣ 𝗟𝗼𝘄 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 → 𝗥𝗲-𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗙𝗹𝗼𝘄 ↳ Trigger: Skipped orders, no logins, inactivity (CustomerHub) ↳ Action: ‘Reignite Your Routine’ email series ↳ Apps: Klaviyo → Help them stay on track before they forget 4️⃣ 𝗖𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗔𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗽𝘁𝘀 → 𝗦𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗮𝗹𝗲 ↳ Trigger: Customer clicks “Cancel” (Recharge) ↳ Action: “Pause instead of cancel” + Exclusive offer ↳ Apps: Klaviyo, RetentionEngine → Give them a reason to stay 5️⃣ 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗦𝘂𝗯𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗢𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗿 → 𝗢𝗻𝗯𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 & 𝗘𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 ↳ Trigger: First order shipped (Recharge) ↳ Action: Educational onboarding sequence ↳ Apps: Klaviyo, Postscript → Guide them to get the best results 6️⃣ 𝗠𝗶𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗻𝗲-𝗕𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗥𝗲𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀 → 𝗞𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝗛𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗲𝗱 ↳ Trigger: 3rd, 6th, or 12th order milestone (LoyaltyLion) ↳ Action: Reward with a discount, gift, or VIP perks ↳ Apps: Smile.io, Klaviyo → Keep them engaged before they churn 7️⃣ 𝗛𝗶𝗴𝗵 𝗟𝗧𝗩 𝗖𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿𝘀 → ‘𝗦𝘂𝗿𝗽𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗲 & 𝗗𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁’ ↳ Trigger: Customer hits LTV threshold (Klaviyo) ↳ Action: Personalized gift or early access invite ↳ Apps: PostPilot, LoyaltyLion → Turn subscribers into superfans Subscriptions Should Feel Effortless. Your product builds habits. Your subscription model should too. Set up these workflows once, and let them do the work forever. If you need help with putting any of them together, reach out to me in DM 📥

🚫 OK Cancel or Cancel OK? (https://lnkd.in/eJXGswxz), with design guidelines by João Conceição on how to choose the right placement if you need both, and how to design a better “Cancel” UX ↓ João suggests to distinguish between full-page forms and modals. In full-page forms, we could use left alignment and order the buttons primary-to-secondary, from left-to-right. For small windows like dialogs, we would place primary buttons on the right with right-aligned buttons. And most importantly: we always make the destructive buttons appear different from other buttons, and harder to find — to prevent critical mistakes, and make such actions deliberate. This wouldn’t always apply as we might have inline editing or feature comparison, or search queries, but it’s a helpful rule of thumb to keep in mind. General design guidelines for Cancel UX: 🚫 There is nothing more ambiguous than an X icon in a modal. 🚫 X can mean Cancel, Close, Save, Ignore, Back, Delete, Reset. ✅ Cancel is useful for multi-step dialogs as Back doesn’t undo actions. ✅ Cancel is useful when exiting the page doesn’t clear input. ✅ Prefer explicit labels: “Save and Continue”, "Close and Dismiss”. ✅ Avoid pre-selected radios and add an option "None of the above". ✅ Always allow users to cancel radios and toggle selections. ✅ Use confirmation prompts or auto-saving to avoid data loss. ✅ Design and lay out destructive buttons to appear differently. ✅ Always make destructive buttons harder to find (Cancel, Delete). ✅ On mobile, stacking and centering buttons is a reliable option. ✅ On mobile, put a primary button last, so users notice all options. ✅ Always close overlays when a user hits the Back button. As designers, we often worry about consistency of our UIs. But from the user’s perspective, clarity is way more important than consistency. In fact, I always try to design Cancel very differently, and place it far away from primary buttons. Users need Cancel when they fear that they’ve committed to something they want to avoid. With explicit labels, we can explain what users should expect and what will happen to their data. If a user has typed any data, Cancel prompts a confirmation. And with Undo, we can allow them to rollback changes even once they’ve confirmed Cancel. Useful resources: Should “Cancel” be a Button or a Link?, by Karim Maassen https://lnkd.in/dJyG93t7 Cancel vs. Close: Design Them To Be Different, by Aurora Harley https://lnkd.in/eP-Z3qQh Where To Put Buttons On Forms, by Adam Silver https://lnkd.in/epmY_AiR Make It Harder To Find Destructive Buttons, by Caroline Jarrett https://lnkd.in/diBDWD95 #ux #design

When I was head of growth, our team reached 40% activation rates, and onboarded hundreds of thousands of new users. Without knowing it, we discovered a framework. Here are the 6 steps we followed. 1. Define value: Successful onboarding is typically judged by new user activation rates. But what is activation? The moment users receive value. Reaching it should lead to higher retention & conversion to paid plans. First define it. Then get new users there. 2. Deliver value, quickly Revisit your flow and make sure it gets users to the activation moment fast. Remove unnecessary steps, complexity, and distractions along the way. Not sure how to start? Try reducing time (or steps) to activate by 50%. 3. Motivate users to action: Don't settle for simple. Look for sticking points in the user experience you can solve with microcopy, empty states, tours, email flows, etc. Then remind users what to do next with on-demand checklists, progress bars, & milestone celebrations. 4. Customize the experience: Ditch the one-size fits all approach. Learn about your different use cases. Then, create different product "recipes" to help users achieve their specific goals. 5. Start in the middle: Solve for the biggest user pain points stopping users from starting. Lean on customizable templates and pre-made playbooks to help people go 0-1 faster. 6. Build momentum pre-signup: Create ways for website visitors to start interacting with the product - and building momentum, before they fill out any forms. This means that you'll deliver value sooner, and to more people. Keep it simple. Learn what's valuable to users. Then deliver value on their terms.

10 reflections on retention from a decade of building eCommerce & SaaS businesses: ~~ 1. Most brands focus on acquisition. The best brands focus on retention. The difference? Profitability. 2. A second-time buyer is 5x more valuable than a new customer. Yet most brands don’t have a strategy to get that second purchase. 3. The fastest way to increase LTV? Make the next purchase a no-brainer. Default-on behaviors always win - “subscribe and save”. 4. Discounts kill retention. Cashback, memberships, and loyalty perks work better. The goal isn’t to win once—it’s to win forever. 5. The best retention strategies create habits—Prime, Starbucks Rewards, Apple’s ecosystem. If you have to remind customers you exist, you’ve already lost. 6. Retention starts before the first purchase. Customers who engage with content, quizzes, and community are 2-3x more likely to buy again. 7. A VIP customer doesn’t spend 10% more—they spend 10x more. Exclusive access, priority perks, and surprise gifts turn buyers into evangelists. 8. Community is the best retention strategy no one talks about. Private groups, live Q&As, and direct brand access keep customers engaged. 9. People leave when they feel unappreciated. A simple “thank you” email, handwritten note, or surprise upgrade goes further than any discount. 10. Retention isn’t about gimmicks. It’s about delivering real, consistent value that makes repeat purchases the obvious choice. Retention is the single most important metric you’re not paying enough attention to. Follow Josh Payne for more lessons on growth, retention, and scaling profitably.

Customer retention isn't something that starts 3 months before renewal... it begins the moment they sign! 📝 In our latest #TuesdayTip, our Huddlers share their best strategies for keeping customers engaged and loyal: 💼 Equip users with value stories that align with decision-maker objectives 🤝 Ensure sales and marketing alignment on retention messaging   🗣️ Speak directly to customers—nothing beats firsthand insights ⏰ Focus on the entire customer lifecycle, not just renewal time 📧 Coordinate communications to optimize value without overwhelming 🔄 Build integrated strategies across sales, product, and customer success 📊 Deliver value at three levels: tactical, efficiency, and organizational outcomes Remember: every interaction is an opportunity to build trust or erode it. Make it count! Huge thanks to Huddlers Laura MacGregor, Ellina (Gurvits) Shinnick, James (JD) Dillon, Katrina Klier, Julie Zawacki-Lucci, CTP, 🔬 S. Marshall Poindexter 💊, and Andy Dé for sharing their retention wisdom 💜🐧

Don’t make your subscribers fight to leave. If you have to hide the cancel button to keep them, you’ve already lost. Here’s why trust, not friction, builds retention that lasts. Subscription models work best when they're built on what I call a ”Forever Promise.” But too often, companies take the opposite approach: → $1 first shipments that convert into $200 second charges unless the customer returns everything in time → “Online sign-up, phone-only cancellation” with limited hours → Fine print that hides multi-month commitments That’s not a Forever Promise. That’s a trap. Meanwhile, smart businesses are doing the opposite: → Adding pause buttons instead of just cancel → Offering grace periods after renewals → Tracking inactive accounts and auto-canceling unused subscriptions (like Netflix did) Even financial apps like Truebill and Trim exist because people are so often misled by the businesses they trusted. The companies that win in the long run are the ones that put the relationship first, even when it’s time to say goodbye. If you're building a subscription offering, I encourage your team to take this simple pledge: “We will never hide the cancel button.” Because short-term tricks cost long-term trust. And the businesses that earn trust? They’re the ones with loyal members and recurring value. +++++++++++ 👋 I'm Robbie, I'm a consultant, author, and speaker covering all things subscription businesses. +++++++++++ 🛎 Tap the bell under the banner on my profile to catch the next post. ++++++++++++

Subscriptions without easy cancellation aren’t clever. They’re quicksand. And quicksand kills trust. If cancelling takes more effort than buying, you’re not building loyalty. You’re taxing the future relationship. Consumers know it too. That’s why “sticky subs” are turning into pre-boycotts—people avoid signing up in the first place because they assume you’ll trap them. And regulators are circling. What’s legally allowed today won’t stay that way for long. I’ve seen this play out with streaming apps, newsletters, and even children’s learning platforms. Joining? Just one tap!  Cancelling? Here are 12 different things you need to do, including praying. The irony here is that the brands thought they were protecting churn. But in reality, they were eroding trust and goodwill faster than any retention metric could show. The new game isn’t “make it hard to leave.” It’s “make it so honest they don’t want to.” • Offer one-tap cancel or snooze—inside the app or via card. • Replace friction with reminders and recurring value. • Show all recurring charges upfront. Build retention on earned loyalty, not hidden obstacles. Because retention by friction isn’t retention. It’s theft of attention. #marketing #business #entrepreneurship

Small changes, big results: how a behavioral redesign doubled conversion rates 💡 Want to double conversions by tweaking your positioning? We did exactly that for Marvin Behavioral Health, a therapy platform for healthcare professionals. The problem seemed straightforward: only 10% of healthcare workers were enrolling after visiting their landing page. But the psychological barriers were complex: 👉 Confused mental models: visitors couldn't immediately grasp what the service actually was 👉 Missing idiosyncratic fit: healthcare workers needed evidence therapists truly understood their unique challenges 👉 Professional stigma: in medicine's "push through it" culture, seeking mental health support feels risky Our behaviorally-informed redesign focused on three key changes: 1️⃣ Humanizing the service with actual therapist photos, bios, and credentials to create a clear mental model 2️⃣ Showcasing therapists' 10+ years of healthcare experience and highlighting their previously hidden 24/7 hotline 3️⃣ Layering social proof with prestigious hospital partnerships and press coverage The result? Enrollment more than doubled to 21%. This matters beyond metrics. With burnout affecting 48% of doctors and 56% of nurses, costing healthcare systems $4.6 billion annually, making mental health support more accessible addresses both business objectives and critical societal needs. Full case study in comments 👇 #BehavioralScience #ProductDesign 

Most teams obsess over customer acquisition. And then ignore the people they already closed. That's how churn eats your business from the inside. Retention is not a support function. It's a growth strategy. Here's how we keep customers engaged long after the sale: - Onboarding is everything. You don't get a second chance at first value. We map the path from signup to success. Every touchpoint is tracked. If a user stalls, we intervene early - not after they cancel. - Engagement is designed, not hoped for. We build in product nudges to pull users back in. We send usage-based emails that actually teach something. We turn power users into community leads. If you don't design engagement, you won't get it. - Churn is predictable - if you're watching. We track leading indicators like drop in usage, unanswered support tickets, and billing pauses. We run exit interviews on every cancel. And we feed that intel back into product, support, and success. You can't grow if your back door is wide open. Retention is not a metric. It's your business model.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐒𝐚𝐚𝐒 𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐮𝐞 ÷ 𝐄𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐲𝐞𝐞 = 𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐞 𝐒𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐞 The most successful SaaS companies today have cracked the code on product-led growth—where the product itself drives acquisition, expansion, and retention with limited human intervention.  👉 What: Build products that sell, expand, and retain themselves, 👉 Who: Creative, autonomous teams that design for self-service adoption and viral growth 👉 When: Now, moving as quickly as possible, leverage AI every where you can, while competitors are still scaling teams instead of product agility Headcount size doesn’t matter anymore. See a few relevant cases:  🚀 WhatsApp: $19B exit with 55 employees 🚀 CursorAI: As of last week, $500M ARR with an estimated 60 employees 🚀 Midjourney: $400M ARR, 50 employees 🚀 And many more (check the excellent Nathan Latka for more examples) The pattern: Elite SaaS companies let their products do the heavy lifting, and embrace AI to the max. True product-led growth means: ✓ Self-discovery: Users find value without sales demos ✓ Self-onboarding: Activation happens through product experience ✓ Self-expansion: Features naturally drive upsells and cross-sells ✓ Self-advocacy: Satisfied users become your sales force ✓ Unbeatable value: multi tenant, scalable, well documented, at an amazing price At Cleeng, we've architected our subscriber retention platform around these principles: ✅  Product-driven acquisition: Our unique and complete product stack sells itself—media companies all around the world like BeIn Media, Optus, Fox/Big10, Volley Ball World, NHL, NHK, Newsmax see immediate benefits & ROI ✅  Automated expansion: A modular stack easy to configure, while ChurnIQ smart recommendations surface revenue opportunities without account managers ✅  Self-service retention: Invest heavily in AI-powered customer care, to offer predictive models that prevent churn before it happens, provide practical guidance on future campaigns, boost payments acceptance, reduce escalations. The result? We're achieving enterprise-level revenue per employee, profitable growth, and high cash efficiency. There is still a lot of work to do, yet we are able to move with agility, fast customer centric innovation, and a truly modern technical stack. It takes longer to build, yet progressively, we become unstoppable. This isn't just efficiency—it's a fundamentally different business model. When your product drives growth, every new feature multiplies your entire team's revenue capacity. The question for every SaaS leader: Are you building a product that scales revenue, profits & innovation? How many people do you need to achieve your next million of revenue? (in the picture, few key participants during our last AI hackathon in Poznan) #ProductLedGrowth #SRM #SaaS #RevenuePerEmployee #Automation #SubscriptionEconomy #MediaTech #Efficiency