eol-message

Purpose

Craft a clear, empathetic End-of-Life (EOL) message that communicates product or feature discontinuation, explains the rationale, addresses customer impact, provides transition support, and positions the replacement solution. Use this to maintain customer trust during difficult transitions and reduce churn by demonstrating care and offering a clear path forward.

This is not a generic sunset announcement—it's a customer-centric communication that acknowledges loss while framing the change as progress.

Key Concepts

The EOL Messaging Framework

An effective EOL message balances honesty about the change with empathy for customer impact. It includes:

1. Company context: Who you are and your commitment to customers
2. The announcement: What's being discontinued and what's replacing it
3. The rationale: Why this decision benefits customers (not just the business)
4. Current product context: What the product was and who it served
5. Customer impact: How this affects users (acknowledge the disruption)
6. Transition solution: What the replacement is and how it improves on the old
7. Support measures: How you'll help customers migrate
8. Timeline: Key dates and milestones
9. Call to action: Next steps and contact info

Why This Works

• Empathy-first: Acknowledges customer disruption before justifying the decision
• Clarity: No ambiguity about what's changing and when
• Support-focused: Shows you're not abandoning customers mid-transition
• Future-oriented: Frames change as progress, not loss

Anti-Patterns (What This Is NOT)

• Not a terse shutdown notice: "We're discontinuing Product X. Goodbye."
• Not business-centric: Don't lead with "This reduces our costs"
• Not vague: "Soon" is not a timeline
• Not defensive: Don't blame customers ("low usage forced us to shut down")

When to Use This

• Discontinuing a product, feature, or service
• Migrating customers from legacy to new platform
• Sunsetting an acquisition target's product
• Deprecating a technology stack or API

When NOT to Use This

• For minor feature tweaks (don't over-communicate small changes)
• Before you have a transition plan (communicate after you know how you'll support customers)
• If you're secretly hoping customers won't notice (be transparent)

Application

Use template.md for the full fill-in structure.

Step 1: Gather Context

Before drafting, ensure you have:

• Product being discontinued: What specifically is ending?
• Replacement solution: What's replacing it (if anything)?
• Timeline: Key dates (announcement, feature freeze, shutdown, data export deadline)
• Customer impact: How many users affected? What workflows disrupted?
• Support plan: Migration support, training, discounts, data export tools
• Rationale: Why is this happening? (Technology obsolescence, strategic shift, consolidation, etc.)

If missing context: Don't send the message until you have a complete transition plan. Customers will ask "What do I do now?"—you must have an answer.

Step 2: Draft the Product Transition Narrative

Company Context

Establish who you are and your commitment:

### Product Transition Narrative

**We are:** [Describe the company and its relationship to the product being phased out]
- [Key point about company's commitment to customers]
- [Key point about company's product evolution]
- [Key point about company's future vision]

Example:

**We are:** Acme Workflows, a workflow automation platform serving 50,000 small businesses
- We're committed to helping you save time and focus on what matters
- We continuously evolve our product based on your feedback and technological advances
- We're building toward a future where automation is accessible, powerful, and simple

The Announcement

Be clear and direct:

**Announcing:**
- [Single sentence that clearly states the EOL of the product and introduces its replacement]

Example:

• "We are discontinuing Acme Workflows Classic on December 31, 2026, and migrating all customers to Acme Workflows Pro."

The Rationale (Customer-Benefit-Focused)

Explain why this benefits customers:

**Because:**
- [Reason 1: e.g., technological advancements]
- [Reason 2: e.g., improved performance]
- [Reason 3: e.g., better alignment with customer needs]

**Which means for you:**
- [Describe the impact and benefits from the customer's perspective]

Example:

**Because:**
- Acme Workflows Classic runs on outdated infrastructure that limits performance and scalability
- Acme Workflows Pro is built on modern technology that enables faster automation, better integrations, and real-time collaboration
- Consolidating to one platform allows us to invest 100% of our engineering resources in features you've requested

**Which means for you:**
- Faster automation execution (3x speed improvement)
- 50+ new integrations with tools you already use
- Access to new features like real-time collaboration and mobile app

Step 3: Provide Current Product Context

Acknowledge what's being lost:

### Current Product Context

**Our product** [name of the product being discontinued]
- **is a** [brief description of the product and its primary function]
- **that has served** [target customer/user] for [duration or timeframe]
- **by providing** [key benefits or solutions the product offered]

Example:

**Our product** Acme Workflows Classic
- **is a** workflow automation tool that helps small businesses eliminate repetitive tasks
- **that has served** over 20,000 customers for 8 years
- **by providing** reliable, straightforward automation without requiring technical expertise

Step 4: Acknowledge Customer Impact

Be honest about disruption:

### Customer Impact

**We understand that this may affect you by:**
- [Potential impact 1 on customer operations or processes]
- [Potential impact 2 on customer operations or processes]
- [Potential impact 3 on customer operations or processes (if applicable)]

Example:

**We understand that this may affect you by:**
- Requiring time to migrate workflows from Classic to Pro
- Learning new features and interface changes
- Updating integrations or API connections if you've customized workflows

Step 5: Present the Transition Solution

Use positioning statement format (reference skills/positioning-statement/SKILL.md):

### Transition Solution

**For** [target customer/user affected by the EOL]
- **that currently use** [name of the product being phased out]
- [name of the replacement product]
- **is a** [definition of the replacement product category]
- **that** [statement of benefit to the user, focusing on continuity and improvements]

### Differentiation and Continuity

- **Like** [product being phased out],
- [name of the replacement product]
- **provides** [how the replacement maintains key benefits of the old product]
- **while also offering** [new benefits or improvements]

Example:

### Transition Solution

**For** small business owners
- **that currently use** Acme Workflows Classic
- Acme Workflows Pro
- **is a** next-generation workflow automation platform
- **that** maintains all the simplicity and reliability you love while adding 3x faster performance, 50+ new integrations, and real-time collaboration

### Differentiation and Continuity

- **Like** Acme Workflows Classic,
- Acme Workflows Pro
- **provides** easy-to-build automations without coding, reliable execution, and straightforward pricing
- **while also offering** 3x faster workflows, mobile app access, real-time team collaboration, and integrations with tools like Slack, Asana, and Notion

Step 6: Outline Support Measures and Timeline

Support Measures

### Support and Next