Grandfather existing subscribers at their entry price forever but revoke it permanently upon cancellation to maximize retention
Lock in existing customers at whatever price they originally subscribed, creating a powerful retention incentive. If they cancel, they lose their grandfathered rate permanently and must rejoin at the current (much higher) price. This creates golden handcuffs that dramatically reduce churn even when clients aren't actively using the service.
When to use
When you have a subscription service with rising demand and need to reduce churn while continuously raising prices for new customers
Don't do this
Forcing existing customers to accept price increases, or allowing cancelled customers to rejoin at their old rate
1 Founder Who Did This
Raised prices 9 times from $449 to $5,995/month. Existing clients kept their original price forever but lost it permanently if they cancelled. This created strong retention incentive.