LUCERNE, Switzerland – Noting that retaining members has always been a challenge for companies that use the subscription model, billing services provider Vendo has announced the launch of a data tool that helps companies answer the “Why?”, “When?” and “What?” questions associated with member cancellations.

“It has long been understood that the best way to get ex-members back is to understand why they decided to leave, when they are actually leaving and then to take the right steps to get them back as cheaply, easily and quickly as possible,” the company said in a press release announcing the launch of the tool. “This is the Why? When? and What? challenge facing each subscription ecommerce company. It’s always been difficult.”

Vendo further observed that because members are often expensive to acquire, as companies incur advertising, marketing and other costs in pursuit of members, companies often “lose money trying to get new members in the door,” making member retention crucial to turning a profit.

“Once they are with a company it’s ‘cheaper to keep ‘em!’ to paraphrase the great Stax recording artist Johnnie Taylor back in 1973,” Vendo said in its release.

Based on Vendo’s aggregate data, 52% of members cancel because of price, 35% because of content and 13% due to “technical reasons.”

Vendo is also sharing an analysis of the timing of membership cancellation, looking at how many days after a monthly rebill date the average customer cancels. The data “upsets the traditional wisdom that customers cancel in the middle of a billing cycle,” emphasizing the need for “regular, even daily ex-member communication that was previously too difficult and time consuming to perform.”

According to Vendo’s announcement, the ex-member data tool is “available today for demo or to start using it today for select clients” and Vendo Data Tools is in an invitation-only beta phase.

For more information, go to VendoServices.com/Ex-members.