Downgrade Intercept Flow

This drill builds the intervention surface that fires when the downgrade-intent-detection drill identifies a user at risk of downgrading. It deploys personalized in-product messages, email sequences, and retention offers matched to the user's specific situation. The goal is to demonstrate the value the user is about to lose and offer a path to stay.

Prerequisites

• downgrade-intent-detection drill running (provides scored cohorts)
• Intercom configured with in-app messaging permissions
• Loops configured with transactional and sequence email capabilities
• PostHog feature flags enabled
• Defined retention offers approved by the team (discounts, plan pauses, feature coaching)
• Understanding of your plan tiers and what premium features differentiate them

Steps

1. Design tiered interventions matched to intent severity

Each intervention tier maps to a downgrade intent tier from the detection drill:

Moderate intent (score 36-60) -- Feature education: The user is underutilizing premium features. The intervention highlights the value they are not capturing.

Using intercom-in-app-messages, deploy a targeted in-app message to the "Downgrade Intent: Moderate" PostHog cohort:

• Trigger: user logs in while in the moderate cohort
• Message type: Banner (non-blocking)
• Content: "Did you know? Your [plan name] plan includes [specific premium feature they have not used recently]. Here's how teams like yours use it to [specific outcome]."
• CTA: "Show me how" -> link to a product tour or help article for that feature
• Frequency: once per week, maximum 3 times total per user

Using loops-sequences, enroll moderate-intent users in a 3-email "feature value" sequence:

• Email 1 (day 0): "You have access to [feature] but haven't used it recently. Here's a 2-minute setup."
• Email 2 (day 3): "Teams using [feature] see [quantified outcome]. Here's a quick start guide."
• Email 3 (day 7): "Need help getting value from your plan? Reply to this email or book a 15-minute session."

High intent (score 61-85) -- Personalized retention offer: The user is actively evaluating a downgrade. The intervention presents a concrete reason to stay.

Using intercom-in-app-messages, deploy a targeted message to the "Downgrade Intent: High" cohort:

• Trigger: user logs in while in the high cohort
• Message type: Modal (attention-grabbing but dismissible)
• Content: personalized based on their usage. Use PostHog properties to populate:
  • If they use premium features: "You've used [feature] [N] times this month. On the [lower plan], you would lose access to this."
  • If they have team members: "Your team of [N] relies on [feature]. Downgrading would remove [specific capability]."
• CTA primary: "Keep my current plan"
• CTA secondary: "Talk to someone about my options"

Using loops-transactional, send a personalized email within 2 hours of entering high intent tier:

• Subject: "Before you make any changes to your plan"
• Body: usage summary showing what they would lose, plus a retention offer (e.g., 20% discount for 3 months, or a free month)
• CTA: "Claim your offer" with a unique link that applies the discount automatically

Imminent intent (score 86-100) -- High-touch human outreach: Using attio-contacts, create an urgent task for the account owner with:

• User's name, plan, MRR at risk
• Top downgrade signals and their scores
• Recommended talking points based on usage data
• A pre-drafted email/message the account owner can personalize and send within 4 hours

Using loops-transactional, simultaneously send a "plan pause" offer:

• "Not getting enough value right now? Pause your plan for up to 30 days instead of downgrading. Your data, settings, and team access stay intact."

2. Build the downgrade page intercept

This is the critical moment -- the user has clicked "Downgrade" or "Change Plan" in your billing settings. Using posthog-feature-flags, gate the downgrade flow to insert an intercept page:

1. When the user lands on the downgrade page, show a personalized retention summary:
   • "Here's what you used this month on your [current plan]:"
   • List their top 3 premium feature usages with specific counts
   • "On [lower plan], you would lose access to: [list of features]"
   • Show a comparison table: current plan vs. target plan, highlighting what disappears
2. Below the summary, present 3 options:
   • "Keep my plan" (primary CTA)
   • "I'd like a discount" -> triggers the retention offer workflow
   • "Continue with downgrade" -> proceeds to standard downgrade flow but logs downgrade_intercept_bypassed

Track all interactions via posthog-custom-events:

posthog.capture('downgrade_intercept_shown', {
  current_plan: 'pro',
  target_plan: 'starter',
  mrr_at_risk: 70,
  premium_features_used: ['advanced_analytics', 'api_access', 'team_roles'],
  premium_feature_count_30d: 47
});

posthog.capture('downgrade_intercept_action', {
  action: 'keep_plan',  // or 'request_discount' or 'continue_downgrade'
  current_plan: 'pro',
  target_plan: 'starter',
  offer_shown: 'none'  // or '20pct_3mo' or 'pause_30d'
});

3. Build the retention offer fulfillment workflow

Using n8n-triggers, create a webhook workflow that fires when a user accepts a retention offer:

1. Receive the offer acceptance event from PostHog or Intercom
2. Apply the offer in your billing system:
   • Discount: apply the coupon code via your billing API (Stripe, Paddle, etc.)
   • Plan pause: set the subscription to pause at end of current billing period
   • Free coaching session: create a Cal.com booking link and email it to the user
3. Update Attio with attio-deals: create a "Retention Save" deal with: user, offer type, MRR saved, offer cost
4. Send confirmation via loops-transactional: confirm what was applied, when it takes effect, and how to get maximum value during the retention period
5. Log the outcome in PostHog: retention_offer_fulfilled with offer details

4. Handle offer expiration

For time-limited offers (discounts, pauses), build an n8n workflow that:

• 7 days before expiration: send a reminder email via Loops. "Your [discount/pause] ends on [date]. Here's what to expect."
• Include a usage summary showing engagement during the retention period
• If usage increased during the retention period: "Great news -- you've been using [feature] [X]% more. Looks like your plan is working for you."
• If usage stayed flat: "We noticed you're still not using [feature]. Here's a 5-minute guide to getting started."
• On expiration day: transition back to full price or reactivate the subscription. Log retention_offer_expired in PostHog.

5. Track intervention effectiveness

Using posthog-custom-events, build a complete intervention funnel:

| Event | When | |-------|------| | downgrade_intent_scored | Daily scoring identifies intent | | downgrade_intervention_sent | In-app message shown or email sent | | downgrade_intervention_engaged | User clicked CTA, opened email, or responded | | downgrade_intercept_shown | User reached downgrade page and saw intercept | | downgrade_intercept_action | User chose keep/discount/continue | | retention_offer_shown | Retention offer presented | | retention_offer_accepted | User accepted the offer | | retention_offer_fulfilled | Offer applied to their account | | downgrade_prevented | User remained on current plan 30 days after intervention | | downgrade_completed | User downgraded despite intervention |

Using posthog-cohorts, create a "Saved from Downgrade" cohort: users who were scored high/imminent, received intervention, and remained on their current plan for 30+ days.

Output

• Tiered in-product intervention messages deployed via Intercom
• Email sequences and transactional emails via Loops matched to intent severity
• Downgrade page intercept with personalized usage summary and retention options
• Retention offer fulfillment workflow in n8n
• Offer expiration handling with follow-up messaging
• Complete PostHog event funnel tracking the full intervention lifecycle

Triggers

• Moderate interventions: triggered by daily detection workflow when users enter moderate cohort
• High interventions: triggered within 2 hours of entering high cohort
• Imminent interventions: triggered immediately, task created for human outreach
• Downgrade page intercept: triggered in real-time when user visits downgrade page
• Offer expiration: triggered by n8n cron 7 days before and on expiration date