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9 Comments

Refund Me

💸 'I want my money back.' (my feedback)

When I launched Thundercontent.

I charged the first users.

A (small) percentage of them were not satisfied with what they paid,

and decided to ask for a refund.

I had to discuss with each of them to try to understand their choice.

There are then 2 possibilities:
📤 They leave
📥 They stay

If, in the end, they wish to stay:

  • explain your long-term vision,
  • share future features,
  • understand the reason for their hesitation
  • pamper them (pamper your users anyway) ❤️

If, in the end, they want to leave, you have two things to do:

  • pay them back as soon as possible and keep them informed
  • ask for a last feedback (this feedback is worth gold) 👑

❌ Keep a customer who asks for a refund:

  • you gain a pissed off customer,
  • you lose your time,
  • you lose your reputation.

When launching a project, this 'churn' percentage (person who wants to leave) is predictable, often stable, and should below.

What do you think about this refund process?

What is your churn rate?

PS: You can discover Thundercontent → thundercontent.com

  1. 7

    I always refund (even forgotten renewals) but do ask why before refunding, sometimes I can help a customer out with a new feature or they just misunderstood an existing feature.

    Wrote a bit about refunding on IH some time ago:
    https://www.indiehackers.com/post/10-reasons-to-have-a-flexible-refund-policy-369886fd9d

    1. 1

      thank you for these 10 points, it's very interesting ✨

  2. 2

    I used to offer a 30-day refund policy when I started https://usegravity.app but quickly stopped.

    As I'm selling code, the consumer can not return the product if they get a refund, and a few people would purchase and then instantly try to find fault (in a timeframe that was not possible for them to properly try the product).

    So I stopped and now have a no refund policy. Do I miss out on some customers? Maybe, but now I have a sophisticated customer base that have done their research before purchasing and know exactly what they're getting and on what terms. I'd much rather deal with these people who are a delight to work with, rather than deal with refund battles.

    I very rarely have refund requests now, and when I do I work with the customer to help them, even if it's outside the remit of what I'm offering. Turning an unhappy customer into your biggest fan is much more beneficial to your business than giving them a refund.

  3. 2

    Ya I think money-back guarantee no questions asked is overrated. Lose out on the opportunity to learn from WHO and WHY customers churn.

    I say something like: "Sorry to hear that, will refund you. But first, can you share what you were expecting instead? I use this to continue improving, thank you!"

    This has helped me better identify how to position my product to attract customers that are a better fit. It's also reduced some churn but the greater value is continuous learning :)

  4. 2

    Very instructive, thank you very much! :)

  5. 1

    Yea learned so much from the refund process. I ended up create a zap to help me manage the tedious work.

    It’s so important to keep that customer happy. Perhaps he/ she will be back in one day.

  6. 1

    We have an automated email telling our customers that "we are about to renew their subscription " and a link so they can cancel if they don't want to renew. Before implementing this, it felt like the right thing to do but didn't want to do it. After implementing it, it just felt right. Now all of my subscribers are active users! And who wants an angry customer? Yes, do what feels right!

  7. 1

    Hi Paul, nice article.

    I tried Thunder Content after this post and I would love to give you some feedback. I couldn't find any way to contact you through the website (I am free user), where could I reach you?

    Thanks and congratulations on the product!

    PS: I could leave my feedback here but I'd prefer to do it privately.

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