resume.io
reframing subscription cancellation as a segmentation system
Resume.io is an online resume builder operating on a subscription model. Many users canceled after a few months, and a noticeable portion returned later. The opportunity was not only to reduce churn — but to better understand why users leave.
The task: Increase insight into cancellation reasons and explore retention opportunities without harming user trust.
growth · retention
original cancellation flow
Same flow for all users. No segmentation. No reason capture. No behavioral context.
problem
The existing cancellation flow was purely transactional.
Users weren’t segmented.
Motivations weren’t structurally captured.
Retention logic was generic and reactive.
Cancellation was treated as a loss, not as a signal.
reframing the opportunity
Instead of redesigning a single cancellation page,
I reframed cancellation as a strategic decision point. Cancellation is a high-intent moment.
It reveals behavior, motivation, and product fit gaps. The goal shifted from:
“Stop the user from leaving”
to:
“Understand who is leaving — and why.”
cohort-based offboarding
Rather than showing one universal retention screen,
I designed a cohort-based offboarding system. Users were segmented using three signals:
engagement level
subscription history
declared cancellation reason
Each cohort triggered a tailored scenario aligned with user motivation. This approach prioritized relevance over pressure.
scenarios
Four strategic paths were defined based on behavioral segmentation:
goal achieved → pause option
For users who completed their objective — offering a flexible “snooze” instead of full exit.cost concerns → discount offer
For price-sensitive users — providing a temporary incentive to stay.indecisive → feature reminder
For low-engagement users — surfacing underused benefits and remaining value.power users → value reinforcement
For highly engaged users — emphasizing progress and future gains.
The cancellation path remained accessible and frictionless at every step.
strategic shift
Cancellation shifted from a simple confirmation step to a structured insight system. Instead of losing users blindly, the business could now:
collect meaningful churn data
introduce flexible alternatives
test targeted retention experiments
expected impact
Although this was a conceptual product proposal, the anticipated outcomes were:
Structured qualitative churn data
Alternative revenue paths (pause, downgrade)
10–15% potential retention uplift
The concept was reviewed and positively received.
reflection
The strongest shift wasn’t UI.
It was introducing segmentation into a previously generic system. If implemented and tested, the next step would be validating cohort performance and refining retention logic through experimentation.