#39 - Why Tech Companies Fail Families After A Death
Reluctant Executor News
If you've ever been close to the marketing department at a company, you know that lots of thought goes into identifying different customer types, or personas. Products are built for different customer needs, different demographics, different ways someone wants to interact with the product.
They even think of ways to entice customers who stopped purchasing their product or service, or customers that are essentially dead to their company.
But, most companies do not have great plans in place for when a customer actually dies. Yes, the big tech companies give you the ability to set up legacy contacts, which allows your designated person to access certain info after a death.
But smaller or newer companies? The focus is on growth and active users. Generate revenue now.
So what happens when one of those active users dies? The post below shares my experience with one company that did not have a good experience in place.
LinkedIn post from October 30, 2023
Two big lessons learned today.
1. FULLY follow up to ensure an action is finished.
2. Tech companies are not built to handle customer deaths.
Last year my mom received a bill for a subscription my dad had on his laptop. We worked to cancel this account and ask for a refund, since the laptop wasn't in use anymore. I sent an email from my email address to the company, provided all of the details, and received an automated response back. I assumed that this was all I needed to do, but I never followed up with my mom to make sure the refund was processed. Fast forward a year later, and she sees a charge from the same company for autorenewal.
Lesson 1: don't assume an action is completed until you confirm every expected outcome.
I mentioned that I emailed my dad's account information from my email account. When I called the company about this new charge, the customer service rep told me that their systems do not accept emails from addresses that do not have an account with the company. Even though I received an auto reply, they claimed they could not process the original refund, and they did not budge even after I explained the situation. Their system was not set up to receive their preferred mode of communication from someone other than the customer. So if a customer dies, it's on the family to find an alternative communication method to perform a common action.
Lesson 2: Assume that most companies do NOT have a process in place to deal with a customer death.
There are notable exceptions to this, like Chewy, who is famous for their compassion and generosity when customers ask to return food when a pet dies. They refund the purchase, and ask that you donate the food to a local pet shelter.
The death rate in the US is about 9%. If your company has a cross-section of customers from the US, make sure you have a plan to address the 9% that die each year. Their families will appreciate it.
Click here to comment or like this post on LinkedIn.
Estate Map
You can't control how a company manages customers after a death, but you can control your knowledge. Before acting on transferring or closing accounts, you need to know which accounts and subscriptions your family has.
An easy way to begin is to download the Estate Map from Reluctant Executor. The Estate Map is a template that helps you organize and document your information in one place. Once completed, you can share this with trusted family, giving them knowledge and a starting point to closing out accounts.
Download a free copy of the Estate Map Template, or schedule a call.