The subscription business model is increasingly popular. On the one hand, demand is shifting towards usage-based consumption rather than ownership. On the other hand, companies generate consistent revenue from value distribution in exchange for regular payments.
Besides pricing, the other major challenge for companies is profitability. This is because the cost of customer acquisition tends to increase. It is therefore necessary to find solutions to boost customer acquisition and retention.
In this article, we explain the 3 key moments in subscription marketing. From the request for a quote, through the subscription, to the request for cancellation. You will learn what actions to put in place to improve your acquisition and retention.
Converting your prospects during a quote or simulation request
Have you managed to attract visitors to your site? To make them think until they take action? This is already a great step forward. But there is still a long way to go before the sale.
A correct and clear quote makes it easier for your prospects to understand your offer. It limits friction and doubts. It is therefore an asset to trigger a sale effectively. If you sell complex, customizable products or services with multiple options, we recommend that you equip your company with a CPQ (Configure Price Quote) solution. We talk about this in more detail in this article: Establishing a clear quote to get your customers’ commitment: URL Establishing a clear quote to get your customers’ commitment.
Regarding the simulation request, focus on the benefits that your users can obtain. Highlight the ease of use of your tool, anticipate questions, and be attentive to your prospect.
Converting your prospects during the subscription
Your quote is accepted? The simulation results in a subscription request? We are then approaching the conversion. Here, make sure to reduce friction as much as possible: the information requested from your new customers must be relevant, and their entry must be simple.
Be sure to offer different payment methods. We are thinking for example of Buy Now Pay Later or payment in several installments, which facilitate the purchase.
Some subscription requests concern buyers who are already customers. We are thinking for example of upgrades: the subscription to the higher level offer. The watchword here is to always facilitate the user experience. The upgrade to the higher level offer must be done in a few clicks.
Retaining a customer during a cancellation request
When a customer wants to cancel their subscription, you can put in place different actions. The first is to understand why they want to cancel. Sometimes, the offer does not match the usage anymore. In this case, offer a more suitable offer. Thanks to the information you have about the customer’s use of your services, offer a personalized offer.
If the customer no longer needs your services at the moment, maybe they will come back in a few months? Identify your former customers in your CRM, in order to offer tailored acquisition campaigns. Possibly a price reduction in a few months will encourage your former customer to come back? Or that staying in touch with your brand: through your newsletter will encourage them to come back to you when they require it?
In any case, the cancellation should leave a good impression on your customer, and should definitively not break the relationship with your brand.
In conclusion, the experience of your prospects and customers during these 3 key moments must be excellent. Limit friction as much as possible, offer personalized offers and messages, and invest in a long-term relationship between your customers and your brand. You will improve your profitability by reducing the cost of acquisition and improving the average subscription length per customer (CLV).
In a recurring revenue business model, subscriptions, customer relationship management and activity analysis are managed differently. The speed of implementation of new offers, the ability to adopt innovative pricing and provide a tailored customer experience are essential. Rely on an innovative quote-to-cash billing platform to offer each customer a personalized offer.
Designed by Actes Studio
