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Robin Trust
Robin Trust 29 April 2019

Lazy Brands are Missing a Trick with Subscription Offering

As the popularity and prevalence of subscriptions grows exponentially, here at The Kite Factory we have taken a closer look at this valuable business angle with Solving Subscriptions, a study of 2,000 consumers which analysed every aspect of the subscription market.

Not all that long ago the only subscription businesses were charities, magazines and Sky TV. Over time contact lenses were made available on a subscription model, and mobile phones became a universal subscription of sorts. However, in 2019 there are very few sectors in which subscriptions do not exist, be it personal hygiene, food, books, fashion or cleaning products. 

It's a constant battle for brands across every sector to stay relevant, up to date and one step ahead of consumer behaviour, ensuring their offering and advertising is appropriate to their target audience not only in content but in terms of platform, voice and, crucially, business model.

Our study covered everything from what consumers want from their relationship with brands, from the level of personalisation to the frequency, tone and method of communication, to looking at the vital role played by data in the quest for successful subscription acquisition and retention.

What we found was that the majority of brands are missing a trick by relying on email as their key form of communication.

While 35% of the respondents interviewed said they were most likely to discuss subscription products on Facebook, 27% on WhatsApp and 17% on Facebook Messenger, 80% said subscription service providers still use email to communicate with them, with 19% of brands turning to Facebook and 9% opting for Twitter.

The gap was particularly significant among 16-24-year olds, just 9% of whom said they preferred using email to communicate about their subscriptions, though this is compared to only 18% of those aged over 55.

This disconnect between the way businesses communicate and the platforms on which their customers are talking to each other is a key contributor in brands failing to achieve meaningful dialogue with existing or prospective customers in the subscription space.

Understanding where customers are having conversations is just part of uncovering the full customer journey and providing an inclusive experience where people feel their needs are met every step of the way.

Sure, the business tools for WhatsApp and Facebook are young compared to email but by using them brands show they have a progressive attitude, and it’s important for brands to have a voice on those channels. However, as our research proves, the vast majority of businesses are still not there. Those who already use these channels to speak to their customers are certainly enjoying the benefits of first mover advantage.

With forecasts showing the subscription market is set to be worth £1bn by 2022 (up from £583m in 2017), our report also proves just how crucial effective communication is at all stages of the subscription journey when it comes to retaining customers in a competitive market place. Customers at different stages of the buying cycle – from the consideration stage, to sign-up, to post-purchase - all have different needs and therefore should receive different communications.

Some 70% of 16-24-year olds are passionate about the importance of personalisation but 60% of respondents said they receive communication that is not personalised to their needs or interests, suggesting a lazy, one-size-fits-all approach by many brands.

Marketers are often not aware of the full extent of the tools available to them to analyse existing customer data, nor the huge variety of touchpoints that can be utilised for analysis in the pursuit of gaining a full and detailed picture of a customer’s behaviour – what influences them, what is important to them, how they think and practical insights such as their income and disposable cash.

Brands are often failing to standardise and organise their customer databases or garner vital layers of third-party data from external sources. And for those marketers who are collating their customer data efficiently, the improvements in machine learning now used to identify patterns in the data mean they are able to be smarter in applying it to personalised marketing strategies.

The key to effective personalisation lies in the use of data. Tracking behavioural data throughout the whole user journey and identifying what triggers provoke specific actions is crucial to truly harnessing insight into individuals’ preferences. Brands must invest more time and budget into employing specialist data analysis in order to build a fuller subscriber picture from the outset.

Effective personalisation should be neither complex nor intrusive. Our research – and our experience with many of our clients – shows the vast majority of consumers respond positively to communication that is clearly tailored to their preferences rather than blanket emails that fail to make that all-important emotional connection.

So if you want to ensure you are on the front foot when it comes to your subscription offering pay close attention to what your customers actually want, not what you think they want, and never ignore your data. Any brand who offers a subscription model but fails to collect focused customer data and adopt a structured method of retaining and analysing that data is missing a huge opportunity to expand their business. And there’s little excuse for that in 2019.

Original Article

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