3 Reasons Why Businesses Should Operate on a Subscription Model
There’s no question that the subscription model is here to stay for consumer goods. Today, a consumer might subscribe to a dozen or more monthly services that deliver entertainment, food, wine, clothes, makeup, razors, fitness apparel, and more directly to their home.
The premise for consumers is simple—sign up once and get new stuff sent to their homes every month without lifting another finger. Or, in the case of streaming services like Netflix, sign up once and get unlimited access to new content as it becomes available.
It might seem like the subscription market is becoming saturated, but that’s far from the truth. The fact is, businesses don’t need to sell lifestyle products to operate on a subscription model. Many service companies are catching on to the benefits of offering a subscription model to their customers. For example, 999services.com offers homeowners in India a chance to subscribe to regular AC services for up to 24 months. This allows customers to set up recurring appointments with a reliable technician who will regularly service their AC unit to ensure that it works all year long.
Businesses of all kinds stand to gain by turning to a subscription model. Here are three main reasons why companies across industries are choosing to adopt a subscription model.
1. Investors love it
Entrepreneurs dedicated to making investors happy should start operating using a subscription model. Investors love this model for a few reasons. First, subscription services offer a steady, reliable income stream. Business leaders can make more accurate predictions for the future based on the number of subscribers they have, which means they can make investment and management decisions based on data, not just a gut feeling.
Another reason investors love a subscription model is that it offers unique growth opportunities. Once a company has an established subscription user base, they can more comfortably take risks and tap into new markets. This creates greater visibility for the company and enables it to grow and scale appropriately.
2. It improves customer retention
Customers love subscription models because they are convenient, cost-effective, and easy to use. Most subscription services are flexible and allow customers to pause, speed up, or add to their existing subscription as their needs evolve and their comfort with the company grows. As long as a subscription model continues to provide value to its customers, they’re going to stick around (aside from some unavoidable churn.)
Instead of having a short-term relationship that ends as soon as a customer’s credit card gets accepted, businesses who utilize a subscription model have the opportunity to engage with their customers on a long-term basis. This means getting to create deeper relationships with customers that allow companies to branch out and offer new products and services to meet their customers’ needs.
3. It gives businesses flexibility
Flexibility goes both ways when it comes to a subscription business model. On the business end, a subscription model empowers companies to offer multiple deliverables and try new sales methods. Once a subscription model is in place, businesses can offer add-ons and upgrades to increase MRR and provide even more options for customers.
Knowing what to expect for monthly and annual revenue allows management to adjust their business plan and scale up or down, depending on how many subscribers there are during a given period of time.
The subscription model has proven to be successful for all types of businesses and industries. Any company that isn’t yet utilizing it should consider doing so soon to enjoy the benefits of customer retention, engagement, and revenue that a subscription model offers.