Businesses are always trying to improve customer retention rates. What if your business model is built to generate repeat customers? Subscription business models are essentially beautiful.
Subscription businesses can make a profit on recurring purchases while customers enjoy long-term savings as well as convenience. Zuora recently found that 71% (from 12 different countries) have subscribed to subscription services. They predict that 74% will subscribe to more services in the near future. These numbers are very encouraging for businesses looking to enter the subscription market.
A subscription business model is more than setting up recurring billing. This forces you and your team into a different way of thinking about your marketing strategy. Every marketing tactic must be adjusted to work with your subscription marketing strategy.
Before we dive into strategy, let us first discuss the basics of subscription marketing.
What is Subscription Marketing?
Subscription marketing is an ongoing marketing strategy that aims to attract new customers and keep existing customers.
You must first find the right subscription sweet spot before you can implement your subscription marketing strategy. for example: When you turn a one-time purchaser into a recurring client You need to decide the price point. The right product features are important and the optimal billing cycle to make customers want to subscribe.
Once you have figured out your subscription model, you’ll reap the rewards. Continue reading to find out how you can increase customer retention and recurring revenue.
Benefits for Subscription Businesses
Increased customer retention
Subscription business models are great because retention is built into them. You can increase your chances of retaining customers over time by offering discounts or special features to repeat customers.
Consistent recurring revenue
Instead of a one-time purchase, your subscription business can automatically collect monthly/quarterly/yearly fees from customers.
Subscription marketing and models for business subscriptions are not without their challenges.
Also read: Top 15 Ways To Double Your Online Business Revenue
Challenges for Subscription Businesses
Credit card failure
Credit card declines are more common when you collect multiple credit card payments over a long period of time. Credit card problems can be significantly reduced if your e-commerce partner has dunning management tools, features, and tools. It is all about being proactive and not reactive to prevent problems from happening.
Customer retention
Although customer retention was not mentioned in the benefits section, it is important to remember that subscription models can be complicated. These customers can be more difficult to retain if you offer a discount or free trial. You can often reduce drop-off rates by automating your subscription renewal. This is something that you should address when creating your subscription marketing strategy. These users can be enticed with additional functionality or extended loyalty discounts. It is all about making sure that they feel the value of your digital products or services.
Pricing
It can be difficult to determine a pricing model that attracts new customers but keeps the cost high enough to support your subscription business. It may take some trial and error to find the right pricing model for you. This will help you understand how customer retention is affected by your pricing strategy.
You now know the basics of a subscription company and are ready to start using subscription marketing strategies.
5 Subscription Marketing Strategies You Should Use Today
1. Get new customers by offering special deals
Offering free trials or freemium services is a great way of attracting new customers. Customers can try your product or service free of charge for a short time before they are charged. Freemium offers customers basic functionality at no charge but allows them to upgrade to a more powerful version for an additional fee.
Be aware that these discounts can lead to higher drop-off rates.
2. Reach your audience through email marketing.
If you are developing a traditional marketing strategy or subscription marketing strategy, email is vital. If you don’t have one, you should start building it as soon as possible.
Email marketing can be used to reach new customers and follow up on abandoned carts. You can also send cross-sell and upsell promotions and keep customers updated on the latest features and news.
Email marketing is a great way to build customer relationships and keep your products and brand on top of your mind.
Also read: Top 10 Content Marketing Tools
3. Post. Post. Post.
Create content frequently and regularly.
You still need content to draw new customers. However, you must also create content that highlights the long-term benefits of your products. Your subscribers should be reminded why they chose your company and products, and how to validate their purchase decision.
Remember that content is not limited to blog posts and website copy. Your content strategy should also include email and social media campaigns.
Create a plan for when and where to post content, Make sure you implement content marketing strategies in order to make the most of your content marketing efforts.
4. Partner with influencers.
Look for influencers that are respected by your customers and work with them to develop mutually beneficial partnerships.
These are the two best parts of working with influencers.
- Trust. A testimonial or endorsement from an influencer can help you build trust with your customers. People are more likely to believe an endorsement or testimonial from an outside source than if it comes directly from the company.
- Reach. Influencers are well-known for their huge social following. Use their social media footprint to reach new customers.
5. Differentiate your products or brand
Your subscription is better than the ones offered by your competitors. Are you able to deliver your product or service more quicker? Better quality? It is easier to use
For example, Adobe Photoshop is the most popular image editing software. Photoshop can be too complex or expensive for some users. Businesses that use less powerful logo design software can market their product’s ease of use or low price to stand out.
Subscription marketing is similar to traditional marketing, as it uses the same channels and tactics. However, you need to change your messaging and approach to retain subscribers. Every decision must be considered in the long-term for your customers. Subscription marketing isn’t a sprint. It’s a marathon. Prepare for the long haul.
