How to Reduce Churn With Win-Back Emails

Cancellation is not the end

A customer just cancelled their subscription. It stings, but it's not over. Research shows that 20-40% of churned customers can be won back with the right approach at the right time. The problem is that most SaaS founders never reach out at all.

A win-back email is a message sent automatically when someone cancels. It's your chance to acknowledge the cancellation, ask for feedback, and give them a reason to reconsider. Done right, it feels helpful rather than desperate.

What makes a good win-back email

The best win-back emails share a few traits. They are personal, short, and they focus on the customer rather than the product. Here is what to include:

1. Acknowledge the cancellation

Don't pretend it didn't happen. Start with something like "We're sorry to see you go" or "Your subscription has been cancelled." This shows you respect their decision.

2. Ask why they left

A simple "We'd love to know what we could have done better" goes a long way. Even if they don't reply, it signals that you care. And when they do reply, you get invaluable product feedback.

3. Give them a reason to come back

Mention a recent feature launch, offer a discount, or simply remind them what they'll be missing. Keep it to one clear call-to-action — don't overwhelm them with options.

4. Keep it short

Three to five sentences is plenty. Nobody reads a wall of text from a service they just cancelled. Get to the point, be genuine, and make it easy to respond or resubscribe.

A simple win-back email template

Here's an example you can adapt for your own SaaS:

Subject: We're sorry to see you go

Hi {{customerName}},

We noticed you've cancelled your subscription.
We're sorry to see you go.

If there's anything we could have done better,
we'd genuinely love to hear about it — just
reply to this email.

If you change your mind, you can resubscribe
anytime from your dashboard.

Thanks for giving us a try,
The {{companyName}} Team

Notice the use of template variables like {{customerName}} and {{companyName}}. With Muli, these get replaced automatically with real customer data from Stripe.

What it looks like when built

The plain text above is just the starting point. In Muli, you design your email visually — with your brand colors, a header, a call-to-action button, and a professional layout. Here's what the same win-back email looks like once it's built:

The template variables like {{customerName}} are automatically replaced with real data — "Sarah" in this case. Your brand colors, company name, and contact email are pulled from your Muli settings. No HTML or CSS knowledge needed.

Timing matters

The best time to send a win-back email is immediately after cancellation. The customer still remembers your product, and their reasons for leaving are fresh. Waiting days or weeks dramatically reduces the chance of recovery.

With Muli, the email is triggered the moment Stripe fires the cancellation event — so your win-back message lands in their inbox within minutes, not days.

Start winning back customers today

Setting up a win-back email in Muli takes two minutes. Create a template, pick the "subscription cancelled" trigger, and enable it. That's it. Every future cancellation will automatically receive your email — no code, no cron jobs, no manual work.

You can't prevent every cancellation, but you can make sure every cancelled customer knows the door is open. Sometimes that's all it takes.