The Auto Renewal Gravy Train

I just received this correspondence from one of those software services that I am signed up for about a change in their terms and conditions.

The change is to do with renewal of software services each year.

The payment for the service happens annually and as a matter of course (if you have been careful when you signed up for the service and passed over your credit card details) you should receive an email alerting you to the fact that the service is up for renewal AND if you so choose you can renew.

This prompts the questions:

• Did I use the service?
• Did it do what it was supposed to?
• Do I still have that need?
• Is it worth the renewal fee?

Do I renew?

I’m sure this is a crucial moment for that service provider, a time when many users may ask these simple questions and make the decision to continue or possibly terminate the service.

A confident service provider should have no issue at this time and be quite content that those customers who are getting value for their money will happily renew.

A service provider that isn’t confident in the value of their service might instead not give people the option of renewing with a nice friendly email and instead prefer an auto renewal payment system for their customers.

They might even change their terms and conditions and issue a notice like the one I just received:

Dear Greg,

We’re writing you to inform you that our terms and conditions have changed. The main change for you is that as of August 29th, manual renewal will not be available anymore. That does not change anything for your current subscription; you are currently still on a manual renewal plan.

What this means for your next renewal:

You will need to manually renew your subscription once more on your next renewal date. After that, your renewal will be automatic, and you will be able to use Yoast’s powerful SEO features without any interruptions. Please pay attention to the renewal emails and follow the instructions. Plus, you’ll receive a 10% discount on your next renewal.

Check the new Terms of Service here to see what else has changed.

Thank you for being a valuable member of the Yoast community. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to our support team (simply by replying to this email).

Warm regards,

Bla bla bla …

Why are they offering a 10% discount on the next renewal?

“Auto renewal” is quite simply a goldmine for these service providers – it is easy money to be extracted from customers when you remove that opportunity for them to actually think about what they are paying for and make a decision about renewing.

If you do opt to stay with that service provider do you protect yourself by setting a calendar appointment in your diary to remind yourself that renewal date is coming and you need to log in to cancel the account to avoid automatic charge? – that is a lot of hard, inconvenient work. Worth a one off 10%?

Instead of being delighted with my 10% discount “special offer” all I want to do is cancel my subscription!!

Am I using the service? Not really

Will I renew? Nope…

Greg

Greg Canty is a partner at?Fuzion?a?Brand Communications agency with offices in Dublin and Cork, Ireland