Recurly

Recurly has been a driving force in the recurring payment world for over a decade. Their enterprise-class account management system and billing platform allow companies to adapt quickly, scale globally, and increase customer lifetime value. Recurly understands that startups and established companies alike can face difficulties. So, they don’t just work behind the scenes—they stay involved to help you increase subscriptions and grow your brand.

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Why Communication Channels Are So Important in the World of Subscriptions

There is no such thing as too much communication, especially when it comes to your subscription-based business. The more you communicate with your subscribers, the better you understand their needs and their experience. Otherwise, you are operating in the dark without a clear sense of direction. But, when you partner with a billing platform that allows you to easily personalize communication with subscribers and implement solutions to meet their needs, you can help your business grow. Here’s everything you need to know.

What Channels Work Best for Communicating with Subscribers? While the specific channels you use to communicate with your subscribers vary depending on your industry, there are some universal methods that can work for any business. Email is a great option, especially if you have a subscription management platform that allows you to personalize your email communication. Social media is also a great way to let your customers know about new features, deals, or pricing options you are introducing. Finally, implementing surveys into your communication strategy is an excellent way to get a good feel for your customers’ experience throughout their journey. The Best Times to Reach Out to Your Customers Some situations offer the perfect opportunity for you to communicate with your subscribers. Reach out to them a few weeks after starting their subscription to ask for their opinions about your service. Post a poll on your brand’s social media account after introducing a tiered pricing model to see what your customers plan to use. Or set up a custom dunning campaign to reach out to customers whose subscription renewal failed. No matter how you communicate, be sure to make it personal and purposeful. How Communication Can Help You Improve Your Business Now that you’ve determined the best methods and times to communicate with your subscribers, you can leverage this personalized connection to improve your business. Instead of simply seeing numbers on a spreadsheet, your subscribers are now real people with real desires that you can engage with for an effective growth strategy. Once you understand the needs of your subscribers, you can create solutions that help them see the value in your subscription. The more value they see, the less likely they are to voluntarily end their subscription. As you refine your communication strategy, you are likely to see the results of your churn rate formula improve and increase the average lifetime value for every new customer. With all this in mind, communication is vital for understanding what your customers want, which ultimately impacts the decisions you make and the direction your business takes. As a result, it’s a valuable way to gather data and use the information you find to grow your business. About Recurly If you are ready to take the next step with your subscription-based business, it’s time to partner with Recurly. The world of subscription services continues to expand every year, and Recurly can help you stand out from the crowd. They offer the insight you need to refine and streamline every step of the recurring billing process for your business. From optimizing the subscriber experience to invoice management, Recurly is the best subscription management and billing platform to help you grow your business. They have helped manage over 40 million subscriptions and have been a leader in the industry for more than a decade. Their range of smart tools and data-driven solutions can help you scale and increase the lifetime value of each customer. Whether you want to run a churn calculation or implement a new pricing model, trust Recurly to help you do it. Get the best out of subscriber communication with tools from https://recurly.com/ Original Source: https://bit.ly/3IUKjVW

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4 Ways Data Can Help Improve Decisions for Your Subscription-Based Business

One of the significant aspects of growing a successful subscription-based business is identifying and leveraging the most important data points available to you. The right data can help you understand your customers’ intentions, motivations, and tendencies, so you can craft a recurring billing model that better meets their needs. As your business grows, it’s even more critical to partner with a subscription platform to help you make analytically driven decisions. Here are four ways you can use data to make important decisions for your business.

Evaluate the Performance of Plans and Trials Every business that offers subscriptions knows the importance of testing new plans and trial options. While 30-day free trials might be a great idea when you are just starting, it might make more sense to start offering 7-day trials as your business grows. The answer always lies in the data. Start testing new options and see if the number of new or returning subscribers increases. Offer new pricing models and see if your monthly revenue increases. You can always go back to your previous offerings and test out a different direction if you don’t see the changes you want. Growing your subscription-based business is about staying agile and constantly testing new solutions. Thankfully, data can help you do that efficiently and effectively. Understand Your Churn Numbers “Churn” is the rate at which you lose subscribers over the course of a defined range of time, and it is a valuable indicator of the overall health of your subscription-based business. This data can help you predict the direction your business is heading and decide what changes you want to implement next. If your churn rate is high or increasing, you should start by figuring out why you are losing customers and how you can reverse that trend. If your churn rate is low, you know you can look to the future and start planning the next big move for your business. Offer Personalized Solutions The more you understand your customers, the better you can serve them with your product or service. When you partner with a subscription management platform, you can use data about your subscribers’ preferences and tendencies to create more personalized solutions. If you lose a lot of subscribers right after their discount ends, it could be time to reevaluate your pricing models. If you see more churn during a particular season or time of the year, you could offer a subscription pause functionality or send discount codes to loyal subscribers. Data helps you cater to your customers and meet their needs. Measure the Success and Growth of Your Subscription Ultimately, data can help you track the growth of your business. You might keep track of what regions your customers are from and notice opportunities to expand into new countries. The right subscription management platform can make it easy for customers to pay for your service using their currency or preferred payment gateway. That way, you can continue enjoying a consistent upward trend. Set all your important benchmarks and use data to watch as your business grows and you reach even your biggest goals. About Recurly If you are ready to take the next step with your subscription-based business, it’s time to partner with Recurly. The world of subscription services continues to expand every year, and Recurly can help you stand out from the crowd. They offer the insight you need to refine and streamline every step of the recurring billing process for your business. From optimizing the subscriber experience to invoice management, Recurly is the best subscription management and billing platform to help you grow your business. They have helped manage over 40 million subscriptions and have been a leader in the industry for more than a decade. Their range of smart tools and data-driven solutions can help you scale and increase the lifetime value of each customer. Whether you want to run a churn calculation or implement a new pricing model, trust Recurly to help you do it. Get access to essential analytics and tools to grow your subscription business at https://recurly.com/ Original Source: https://bit.ly/3crZdHa

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4 Ways to Give Customers a Subscription That Fits Their Needs

Every customer is different. This is especially true and important for your subscription-based business. You can’t have a one-size-fits-all approach because every subscriber has unique expectations. Instead, you can offer the flexibility and customization that helps your customers find the solutions they need. When you partner with the right subscription management and billing platform, you have access to the tools and features that can help you do just that. Here are four ways to use your platform to give customers an experience that fits their needs.

Offer Different Pricing Models for the Perfect Match You shouldn’t stick to a single pricing model for your subscription. Rather, you want to give your customers options so they can choose an option that fits their needs. For example, tiered pricing is a good option for offering a basic subscription with the main features of your product or service at a lower price alongside premium options that include additional benefits for a higher cost. Or you can add a usage-based model, so customers only pay for what they use. There are so many ways you can help your subscribers find the perfect price point and subscription package. All it takes is the right billing platform. Create a Better Customer Experience with Targeted Features There are many different features you can integrate into your subscription experience to help create the perfect user experience. For starters, you can offer free trials so new customers can try out your service risk-free. Offer discounts and personalized deals to loyal subscribers to build loyalty and satisfaction. You can even offer a pause function, so customers don’t have to cancel their subscription when they simply want to skip a month or two. All these benefits can help improve the entirety of the customer experience. If They Cancel, Find Out Why “Churn,” or the rate at which your business loses subscribers over a given period of time, can be a helpful indicator for your business. When you run a churn calculation that returns suboptimal results, you should find out why. For voluntary churn, when customers cancel their plan, you should survey those who have canceled intentionally. That way, you can understand how to improve and serve future customers or even entice former subscribers to restart their subscription. If you know why subscribers are leaving, you can adjust your plans, pricing, or features accordingly. Allow Them to Pay the Way They Want with Multiple Payment Integrations With so many different payment options, people like to stick to the method they know and love. Instead of only offering one way to pay, you can help your subscribers use their favorite form of payment or currency. Partner with a subscription management platform that gives you access to a wide variety of different payment gateway integrations. Your customers are sure to enjoy the convenience of paying with their preferred payment method. When you show your subscribers how much you care and strive to always meet their needs, they’re more likely to return the devotion with loyalty to your company. About Recurly With more businesses introducing subscription-based models every day, you need help standing out. That’s why you should consider partnering with Recurly. With over a decade of experience, Recurly is a subscription management and billing platform that can help you streamline and grow your business. They can help you keep up with the latest innovations in the world of recurring billing. With all their smart tools, you can successfully implement and manage a dynamic subscription system for your business. Recurly has helped manage over 40 million subscriptions across a wide variety of industries. Whether you own a growing SaaS company or want to introduce a subscription option to your beauty brand, Recurly can help. From testing alternative pricing models to improving the results of your churn rate formula, Recurly makes it easier than ever to build a thriving subscription-based business. Create the subscription experience your subscribers need with Recurly at https://recurly.com/ Original Source: https://bit.ly/3y1tXXM

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3 Important Aspects of Reducing Involuntary Churn

If you manage a subscription-based business, then “churn” is always on your mind. Churn is the rate at which you are losing subscribers over a given period of time, and the results of your churn calculation can help you stay up to date on your business’ overall performance. There are two types of churn: voluntary and involuntary. While many people focus on voluntary churn, involuntary churn is just as important. Here are some essential things you need to know about involuntary churn and strategies for reducing it.

Why You Should Focus on Involuntary Churn Involuntary churn occurs when you lose a customer due to a transaction failure and their subscription is not renewed as a result. This can happen because of an expired card, a payment decline, or a subscriber’s bank blocking the transaction. It is important to focus on involuntary churn because these customers aren’t intentionally choosing to end their subscriptions. They might not even know the renewal failed and their payment was declined. That’s why you need a subscription management platform that can help you reduce the amount of involuntary churn your business faces. Unmitigated involuntary churn can cost your business a lot of money, but implementing the right strategies can help you reduce unnecessary overhead. Ways You Can Reduce Involuntary Churn When you partner with the right subscription management platforms, you will have access to various involuntary churn reduction techniques. Here are three of the main strategies and how they can help your business. Intelligent Retries Sometimes, all it takes is a second try. The right subscription management platform will automatically retry renewal payments under certain conditions. With access to years of data from thousands of transactions, an intelligent retry system can draw upon past failures and predict how and when to retry the current card the subscriber has on file. This can automatically reduce the amount of involuntary churn your business experiences. Dunning Campaigns A customized and personal dunning campaign can help bring subscribers back into the fold after multiple failed retries. Dunning simply refers to the process of contacting customers to notify them that their payment was not processed. This is key when a subscriber is unaware that their payment failed. Even if they were aware, your personalized dunning campaign could help remind them to update their card information so they don’t lose the benefits of their subscription. Prevention Measures Preventing involuntary churn can be just as effective as addressing it after the fact. An account updater tool can do wonders for your prevention strategy. A subscription management platform that works with major card companies to keep payment information up to date with every change can help prevent payment declines and decrease involuntary churn. The Opportunity Involuntary Churn Presents It makes sense to focus on voluntary churn—you want to understand why customers choose to cancel their subscriptions and how you can solve that problem. However, you don’t have to neglect addressing involuntary churn at the same time. The opportunity that involuntary churn presents is hard to deny. It’s a simple and straightforward way to increase your growth and revenue. If you can prevent transaction failures and card declines, you can help improve the overall success of your business. About Recurly With more businesses introducing subscription-based models every day, you need help standing out. That’s why you should consider partnering with Recurly. With over a decade of experience, Recurly is a subscription management and billing platform that can help you streamline and grow your business. They can help you keep up with the latest innovations in the world of recurring billing. With all their smart tools, you can successfully implement and manage a dynamic subscription system for your business. Recurly has helped manage over 40 million subscriptions across a wide variety of industries. Whether you own a growing SaaS company or want to introduce a subscription option to your beauty brand, Recurly can help. From testing alternative pricing models to payment gateway integrations, Recurly makes it easier than ever to build a thriving subscription-based business. Get access to the tools you need to address involuntary churn at https://recurly.com/ Original Source: https://bit.ly/3HysoUv

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Gift Subscriptions: A Powerful Tool for Direct-to-Consumer Brands

As a direct-to-consumer (DTC) brand, it’s important to stay flexible and offer your customers benefits that keep them coming back. This goes double for any subscription-based DTC brand. You must be innovative and stay one step ahead of the competition. It doesn’t matter whether you sell pet food subscriptions or beauty box collections—you should be selling gift subscriptions. Partner with a subscription management platform that lets you integrate gift plans and see how they can enhance your offerings.

Discover the Gift Subscription Essentials Gift subscriptions are exactly what they sound like. They allow your customers to purchase a subscription option and send it to someone as a gift. The two main types of gift subscriptions are cards and plans. Cards are similar to a gift card in that your customer purchases a set amount, and the recipient gets to choose the subscription they want with the card. On the other hand, a plan is selected by the customer and given to the recipient ready to go. For a beauty box DTC brand, this could look like either a gift card that the recipient would redeem and then choose what to get in their box versus a ready-made box chosen by the gift giver. Why Should You Offer Gift Subscriptions? There are a few different benefits to offering gift subscriptions. They can help boost your growth and revenue as a DTC brand. Turn Fans Into Sources of New Business A gift subscription can help turn enthusiastic fans of your brand into sources of new business. Instead of just word-of-mouth advertising, their love of your brand brings new customers into the fold when they gift a subscription. You could even see an increase in revenue from the gift purchases. It’s an excellent chance to impress new subscribers and retain loyal customers. Build Relationships with Current and New Subscribers Relationships are at the heart of every DTC brand. A beauty box doesn’t just want to be known for high-quality skincare and makeup. They want to be the welcoming brand supporting their customers and playing a vital role in their well-being. By building personal relationships and connections, you become more than just a brand. When an existing subscriber gifts a subscription to a loved one, they create a new bond by sharing their experience. At the heart of that bond is your brand. This helps them grow closer to each other and your products or services. Lower Customer Acquisition Costs Usually, finding and attracting new customers involves a high cost. However, with a gift subscription, the work is done for you. The gift-giver is doing all the advertising and attracting you need. A new subscriber who comes from a gift subscription has a lower and more manageable acquisition cost than a new customer who comes from organic traffic. How You Can Implement Gift Subscriptions There are many ways to offer gift subscriptions to your customers. You can simply put them up for sale on your website. Use your billing platform to give your customers bundle options. For example, they can purchase beauty products from your online store, and you can include a code for a month-long subscription they can use or gift to a friend. You could also include discounts in your emails to subscribers that they can send to loved ones to use. There are so many ways for you to implement gift subscriptions. Find what strategies work for your business and use it to your advantage. About Recurly Are you ready to take your subscription-based business to the next level? It’s time to partner with Recurly. Subscription services have become a mainstay in nearly every market, and Recurly can help you keep up with the ever-changing world of recurring billing. Their subscription management and billing platform offers the tools you need to successfully implement and manage subscription services for your business. With over 40 million subscriptions under their belt, Recurly knows what it takes to succeed in the recurring billing industry. Their host of tools, services, and analytics can help fuel growth for your business and improve the results of your churn rate formula. From testing alternate pricing models to incorporating payment gateway integrations in multiple currencies, Recurly makes it easier to build a thriving subscription-based business. When you’re ready to take the next step for your company, Recurly can help. See how Recurly’s platform can help you set up gift subscription plans at https://recurly.com/ Original Source: https://bit.ly/38HjOWl

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5 Underrated Features Your Subscription Management Platform Should Have

You’ve started your subscription-based business, and you’re ready to accelerate your growth with a management and billing platform. But where do you begin? While there are many different markets in the world of recurring payments, there are some universal features that can help upgrade almost any type of subscription you plan to offer. The obvious ones include the ability to change pricing models and reliable payment options. However, there are also some underrated features to be on the lookout for, and they might be able to transform your entire business. Here are five elements that could fly under your radar but your subscription management platform should offer.

Keep Involuntary Churn Low with an Automatic Card Updater Involuntary “churn”—the number of subscribers lost to card declines and expirations—can slow down growth. With an automatic card updater, you don’t have to worry about involuntary churn. Instead, your subscription management platform can do the work for you. Look for an automatic account updater that works with the major card companies to track changes made to payment methods. This helps keep a subscriber’s account information up to date and cuts down on the rate of involuntary churn your business faces. Look for a Platform that Makes Coupons Easy Offering discounts to customers sometimes gets forgotten in the world of recurring billing. After all, the main draw of subscriptions is a steady and predictable revenue source. It is still important to let your subscribers know that you care and use a management platform that enables you to send out coupon codes and implement discounts. Offer coupons for one-time purchases outside of a customer’s subscription or offer potential new subscribers codes for a free trial of your service. There are so many creative ways you can use a feature like this. Find a Service that Offers Customizable Communications It is essential to add a personal touch to your subscription. Turn simple communication aspects like email alerts into an opportunity for connection with customizable content. Instead of a robotic block of text, your subscriber will get to read a message you crafted. This personal connection is too often overlooked. With the right subscription management platform, you can customize notifications to your subscriber base, helping bring you closer to your customers. Don’t Forget an Analytics Dashboard Sometimes, you don’t know you need data until you want to use it. The bigger your business gets, the more you wish you had an organized place for all the data you need to make crucial decisions. An analytics dashboard is the perfect solution. Browse all the essential stats, churn numbers, revenue, and results to get a clear picture of how your business is doing. It isn’t the flashiest feature but is one you will definitely want. Protect Your Customers and Your Business with Fraud Detection Services Fraud detection benefits both your customers and your business. You’ve built your business on serving your subscriber base, and you can take that to the next level with built-in fraud detection. Partner with a subscription management platform that offers fraud-fighting capabilities by choosing a third party with experience in the industry, offering you and your customers peace of mind. Make sure to keep this feature high on your wish list, so you can rest easy knowing your customers are protected. About Recurly Are you ready to take your subscription-based business to the next level? It’s time to partner with Recurly. Subscription services have become a mainstay in nearly every market, and Recurly can help you keep up with the ever-changing world of recurring billing. Their subscription management and billing platform offers the tools you need to successfully implement and manage subscription services for your business. With over 40 million subscriptions under their belt, Recurly knows what it takes to succeed in the recurring billing industry. Their host of tools, services, and analytics can help fuel growth for your business and improve the results of your churn calculation. From testing alternate pricing models to incorporating payment gateway integrations in multiple currencies, Recurly makes it easier to build a thriving subscription-based business. When you’re ready to take the next step for your company, Recurly can help. See what features Recurly can help your subscription business integrate at https://recurly.com/ Original Source: https://bit.ly/3wrhjjP

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4 Ways to Improve Interaction with Your Subscribers

Interacting with subscribers is an essential part of any subscription-based business, no matter the industry. Interactive customers are more likely to post about your products on social media or voice their needs and desires, including ways they think your business can improve. When you get them talking, you can gain helpful insights. The trick is to build an interactive customer base with a variety of techniques. If you create a personable brand with the help of an innovative subscription management platform, your subscribers are more likely to interact with your emails, posts, and surveys. Here are four ideas to help improve your customer interaction.

Invite Feedback by Sending Out Email Surveys Sending an email survey directly to your subscribers’ inbox is an excellent strategy for increasing interaction and discovering more opinions about your service. To start a customer’s lifecycle on the right foot, send a survey after their first billing cycle. Offer them a bonus of some sort if they fill it out, or provide a free add-on to their mystery box or a discount on the next month of their subscription. If they are willing to fill out a survey after only one billing cycle, they will be more inclined to do so in the future. That way, you can always have a sense of what your customers enjoy about your service and what could be improved. Don’t Be Afraid to Get Personal and Interact On Social Media Social media isn’t just for sharing new product releases and promoting sales. It can also be a way to interact directly with your subscribers and get to know them on a more personal level. Whether you oversee the social media profiles yourself or partner with a social media manager, comment and reply to subscriber posts involving your brand or product. This humanizes your brand and makes you more approachable online. It’s an excellent way to build trust and get honest feedback about your products. Integrate and Test New Subscription Strategies It’s always important to test out new strategies. Sometimes your subscribers can get used to the same old options and processes, and their interaction levels can drop. If you are constantly striving to improve your service, it can help keep them involved. The right subscription management platform can help you integrate and test these new strategies. When they see you offering these improvements, they’ll feel more inclined to connect and interact with your brand. Custom Dunning Emails Can Drive Interaction From Unexpected Places Some common business strategies can be transformed into a personal connection that drives interaction. “Involuntary churn” happens when a card declines or expires, resulting in a lost subscription for your business. “Dunning” is the process of contacting these customers to inform them of a failed transaction. With the right billing platform, you can customize your dunning emails with a personal touch that might catch their eye and drive interaction beyond updating their card information. About Recurly If you’re looking for new strategies to grow your subscription-based business, there is no better partner than Recurly. Subscription services have exploded in popularity over the past few years, so you need a subscription management and billing platform to help streamline every step of the journey for your customers. As a leader in the recurring billing industry, Recurly has over a decade of experience managing over 40 million subscriptions. Recurly offers your business a wide range of smart tools and data-driven insights to help fuel your growth and improve the results of your churn rate formula. Whether you want to implement trial subscriptions, incorporate alternate pricing models, or integrate payment gateways for multiple currencies, Recurly makes it easier to take your subscription-based business to the next level. When you want to stand out from the competition, Recurly can help. Find the data and tools you need to increase subscriber interaction at https://recurly.com/ Original Source: https://bit.ly/3Mithl5

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Building a Relationship with Online Readers Through Subscriptions

Subscriptions have been a part of the online reading experience for as long as your newsfeed has been around. As the world continuously moves further into the digital space, more and more content creators and online publications have opted for recurring billing options. With this strategy, you can build relationships with customers in an online space that most modern readers are already familiar with. As this relationship grows, so does the lifetime value for each customer. Here are some of the most important benefits you can offer your readers by providing subscription options that they might not get from other publications.

An Added Sense of Exclusivity for Readers First and foremost, a subscription option gives your customers access to exclusive content. Whereas free articles or stories might be accessible to everyone, your select publications aren’t. This exclusivity adds a sense of intrigue for non-subscribers and a feeling of pride for your current subscribers. You know your content is worth reading, and customers are willing to subscribe to get access. A Superior Reading Experience Awaits Subscribers With the right subscription management and billing platform, you can offer a superior experience for your readers. Instead of generating revenue through ads, you can provide an ad-free reading page for subscribers. Not only that, but you can offer many different subscription options. Provide opportunities to pause their plan or easily make changes to payment methods and not experience a break in their content feed. At the end of the day, the customer experience is just as important as the content, and you can create a superior experience with your subscription management service. Give Your Readership a Close-Knit Community Whether in a comment section or on social media, readers will talk about their favorite articles. When readers subscribe to your publication or newsletter, they feel a sense of community with each other. This can help bring subscribers together and turn their subscription into more than just access to articles. Pricing Models Tailored to Their Needs Online content subscriptions don’t have to be a one-size-fits-all option. Instead of a flat rate, you can partner with a billing platform to offer different subscription options that meet different customers’ needs. You might publish an online literary journal and want to provide usage-based billing that offers different prices based on how many stories your subscribers want to read each month. There are many options and partnering with the right subscription management system can help you create the best experience and a more curated relationship for your audience. About Recurly If you’re looking for new strategies to grow your subscription-based business, there is no better partner than Recurly. Subscription services have exploded in popularity over the past few years, so you need a subscription management and billing platform to help streamline every step of the journey for your customers. As a leader in the recurring billing industry, Recurly has over a decade of experience managing over 40 million subscriptions. Recurly offers your business a wide range of smart tools and data-driven insights to help fuel your growth and improve the results of your churn calculation. Whether you want to implement trial subscriptions, incorporate alternate pricing models, or integrate payment gateways for multiple currencies, Recurly makes it easier to take your subscription-based business to the next level. When you want to stand out from the competition, Recurly can help. Visit Recurly to set up your subscription service now at https://recurly.com/ Original Source: https://bit.ly/3JLHdCn

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How to Incorporate Bundles as Your Subscription Service Grows

As a subscription-based business, the key to sustainable growth is providing value to your customers. That way, they always want to renew their subscription and keep using your service or products. One way to provide value is through bundled offerings. There are many ways to bundle your subscriptions, but it should always be done with the customer in mind. How are you providing more bang for their buck? Does this bundle give them more of what they want? Here are three ideas for bundles that can provide more value to your customers with the help of the right subscription management platform.

Bundles that Enhance Your Product Enhancing bundles are like visiting a restaurant that provides their sauce and seasoning options on your table. It allows you to make the main course fit your exact taste. Similarly, you can offer a subscription bundle that includes services or products that may not warrant an entire subscription on their own but work great as add-ons and bonuses to your primary subscription offerings. Take the example of a pet food subscription service. The main reason customers would subscribe is to get food for their pet delivered to their home. In this case, your business could start offering a $5 add-on of vitamins to mix in with the kibble. Customers can even choose from a wide range of benefits and flavors to enhance their furry friend’s dinner. These types of bundles help customers easily see the added benefits that enhance their subscription. Offer Combined Services for a Bundle Full of Value A bundle of combined services is like wrapping up different subscription options into one offering. This is closer to an all-you-can-eat buffet. You get every course for one price. A bundle like this provides value in multiple ways. Firstly, your subscribers don’t have to deal with many different payments or accounts. Secondly, they can enjoy a variety of subscription benefits at a lower price than if they were to sign up for them all individually. To continue with the pet food company example, it would look like this: The pet food company partners with a dog walking business and a grooming salon to offer three services in one discounted package. Each business gains new subscribers from different yet related markets. Plus, the subscribers get to enjoy the benefits of all three services. Adjacent Bundles Reducing churn can be a benefit of bundling services. “Churn” is the rate at which you lose subscribers, and adjacent bundles can help improve the results of your churn rate formula as your business grows. Adjacent bundles provide extra value by allowing customers to get services and products that might not be obviously related but can still enhance their daily lives. If the parent company of the pet food brand also owns a meal prep service for humans, offering a bundled subscription of both services would qualify as an adjacent bundle. These two subscriptions operate in two different industries, but many pet owners might see the value in combining the two services, especially if they already use one and are interested in trying the other. About Recurly When you want to take the next step in growing your subscription-based business, choose Recurly. Subscription services have exploded in popularity over the past few years, and Recurly can help you manage every step of the recurring billing process. Their subscription management and billing platform has been a leader in the industry for over a decade. They have helped manage over 40 million subscriptions and can provide that same expertise and service for you. With Recurly, you gain access to a range of smart tools and data-driven insights that can help you scale and increase lifetime value for each customer. Whether you want to run a churn calculation or implement a new pricing model, discover how Recurly can help you achieve success in the world of subscriptions. Get the help you need to manage your bundle subscription offerings with Recurly at https://recurly.com/ Original Source: https://bit.ly/3tjHiZ8

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How to Create a Smooth Subscription Sign-Up Process

Congratulations! You have a new customer who is ready to sign up for a subscription. The next step in their journey is providing all the information you need to get their subscription up and running. From pricing tiers and custom plans to name, address, and payment details, the sign-up process can often feel time-consuming and sometimes confusing. You don’t want to lose your new customer at this stage, so you must create a smooth sign-up process. Your recurring billing model means it’s important to maintain a positive relationship with your subscribers, and signing up for a subscription is the first step in developing that connection. Here are four tips for creating a smooth sign-up flow for your new customers.

Keep a Progress Bar at the Top of Each Page This may seem simple, but it is a feature that can instantly help build the relationship between your business and a new subscriber. A progress bar that shows how far along the customer is in the sign-up process and how far they have left to go is an easy way to show that your business values transparency. A seemingly endless flow of forms, on the other hand, can be frustrating. With a simple progress bar, subscribers can know what to expect, and their experience can be that much less stressful. Only Require Essential Information in the Initial Form You don’t want to overwhelm your new subscriber by asking for information that isn’t relevant to their purchase. They might get scared away if you try to have them answer too many different questions and fill out unnecessary forms. Take a curated, online news subscription service, for example. They might want to ask new customers about their interest to recommend relevant articles on topics that each individual customer has expressed interest in. Or, they could ask new customers to fill out a survey about other news outlets they have enjoyed to get an understanding of their customer base. But are these questions essential during the sign-up process? Perhaps, they could be better left for a follow-up email. It’s all about determining what information is essential to begin their subscription. Make Sure the Screen Is Clear of Extra Information You want to make sure your sign-up forms are as simple as possible. Partner with a subscription management and billing platform that allows you to integrate visually pleasing forms that are easy to understand. Banners, upsells, and extra links are better left for other pages. Not only does a simple form of necessary information make the process easier on the customer, but it also helps avoid any mistakes. It can be easy to input the wrong address or phone number during a long or tedious sign-up process. Make it easy to stay on track with a focused design. Don’t Be Afraid to Have a Little Fun Once you have implemented these first three tips, you can experiment with fun and light-hearted additions that make your sign-up process unique. You might include a pun about your business on the confirmation page. Or you can make the address examples be for entirely fictional places. You can have doodles on your progress bar to represent your customer. There are so many unique ways to stand out, even after simplifying the subscription process. Most importantly, keep each step simple and straightforward, but don’t be afraid to sprinkle in a bit of humor here and there. About Recurly When you want to take the next step in growing your subscription-based business, choose Recurly. Subscription services have exploded in popularity over the past few years, and Recurly can help you manage every step of the recurring billing process. Their subscription management and billing platform has been a leader in the industry for over a decade. They have helped manage over 40 million subscriptions and can provide that same expertise and service for you. With Recurly, you gain access to a range of smart tools and data-driven insights that can help you scale and increase lifetime value for each customer. Whether you want to run a churn calculation or implement a new pricing model, discover how Recurly can help you achieve success in the world of subscriptions. Build a smooth sign-up process with the help of Recurly at https://recurly.com/ Original Source: https://bit.ly/36pNGoO

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Deals for Subscribers That Keep Customers Coming Back

When customers aren’t given incentives to stay engaged, their active subscription can soon become a canceled subscription. To understand ways your company can improve its services or offerings, you might ask recently canceled customers to fill out a quick survey. It also gives you a chance to offer a special deal to get them reengaged. Your “churn rate,” or the rate at which you lose subscribers, can often be improved simply by alleviating common customer concerns. To help your churn calculation return positive results, try offering deals to help retain subscribers. If one of these deals helps address their primary concern, they can be more likely to stick around.

A Discounted Subscription Price for the Next Three Months The most straightforward problem can also be the easiest to solve. If your customer’s biggest issue is the price, a short-term discounted price is a great way to keep them on board. The duration of this price all depends on your product and its original price. Three months is a reasonable amount of time for the customer to reevaluate how to fit the subscription into their budget. This deal is an excellent way of letting you acknowledge customer concerns without lowering your price point for too long. A Free Trial of a Higher Subscription Level A subscription is all about value. Customers want to know they are getting what they pay for. When the cost of the subscription outweighs the benefits, your churn rate formula will likely begin to show an increasing number of canceled subscriptions. If your business offers different subscription tiers, offering the customer a free trial of a higher subscription level might change their perception of value. If they are allowed to use extra amenities in the gym or receive the deluxe skincare mystery box, they might see a better return on their investment. The higher tier could be just what they need to make the value outweigh the cost. A Free Gift Subscription Trial for Friends and Family This deal is an excellent option for subscriptions that are community-driven by nature. If a customer hasn’t used their account recently, they might change their mind if their friends and family join the community. For example, someone might cancel their gym membership because they can’t find enough motivation to make use of it. If the gym offered a free month pass to that member’s friends and family, it might give them enough incentive to stay. This deal also has an extra benefit of additional members joining after their free trial. A Pause Function Sometimes, people just need a short break. They don’t want to cancel their subscription entirely, but without another option, their subscription can come to an end. With the right subscription management platform, you can introduce a pause function and offer it as an option instead of cancellation. Their profile and all their account details will stay ready to go when they are prepared to resume their subscription. This can make it easier and more enticing for customers to come back and continue their subscription. About Recurly Recurly is ready to help you take your subscription-based business to the next level. From box of the month clubs to pet food subscriptions, businesses in every industry are implementing recurring billing strategies. Recurly has been a leader in the subscription industry for over a decade, helping to manage over 40 million subscriptions. Their billing platform can help your business thrive with a range of smart tools to help implement solutions, scale globally, and increase your customer’s lifetime value. Your subscription-based business might face challenges, but Recurly can help you overcome them. From iterating new pricing models to solving problems based on the results of your churn rate formula, Recurly strives to offer continued support throughout your subscription journey. Make Recurly your top choice for helping your company find success in the modern business landscape. Improve your subscriber retention numbers with help from Recurly at https://recurly.com/ Original Source: https://bit.ly/3Bq8bwO

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3 Mistakes to Avoid with New Subscribers to Help Increase Retention

If your company wants to craft a subscriber experience that helps you create “forever customers,” every new subscriber’s first impression is incredibly important. When a new customer subscribes to your business, it is essential that their initial interaction with your company makes them want to stick around as an engaged subscriber. A comprehensive subscription management and billing platform can help you make a great introduction. After all, first impressions are everything. With that said, there are a few mistakes you’ll want to keep in mind to avoid making the wrong impression on new subscribers. Steer clear of these three mistakes to cultivate a positive subscriber journey.

Lacking a User-Friendly Onboarding Process No matter what industry you are in, you need a user-friendly onboarding process for new subscribers. It’s never too early to help customers understand the ins and outs of their new subscription. Your welcome email is a great place to include a step-by-step process with all the details they need to set up their account. You can also have an FAQ section full of questions previous subscribers have asked. This ensures new subscribers can get oriented to their new subscription smoothly. Say you have a pet food subscription business. The welcome email can inform new subscribers how they can choose the food they want, how often it is delivered, and how much food is included. It’s also a good idea to give new customers instructions on how to change all these details by updating their preferences when they need to do so. A detailed, user-friendly onboarding process can help you ensure new subscribers won’t feel lost or frustrated during their first interaction with your company. No Immediate Value for New Subscribers Alongside your subscription, you should add extra value for your subscribers while they wait to receive their product. This value will make them even more grateful they subscribed and give them a good opinion of your service right away. A lack of value leads to high “churn rates” or the rate of canceled subscriptions. Provide immediate value, and your churn calculation will likely show that you are keeping a good number of subscribers. Take the pet food subscription example again—there are a few good ways to offer new subscribers immediate value. When they start their subscription, you can send them a coupon for 25% off a pet toy purchase. You could also send them a small eBook on the basics of pet nutrition and what to feed their furry friends for a healthy life. These extra incentives provide additional value on top of the pet food the customer will soon receive. Instead of the subscription benefits starting when the product arrives, they begin immediately. They Need Easy Access to Customer Service and Personalization Options Making it easy to contact your customer service department is a great way to build trust between your company and new subscribers. They will appreciate being heard and having quick access to help when they need it. The faster you address their concerns, the more satisfied they will be with their experience. As well as customer service access, customers want easy access to personalization options for their profile. They might want to adjust their email preferences or change the name on their account. Make all these logistical tasks as easy as possible. A simple link in the first email can make it easy for new subscribers to quickly find what they need. About Recurly Recurly is ready to help you take your subscription-based business to the next level. From box of the month clubs to pet food subscriptions, businesses in every industry are implementing recurring billing strategies. Recurly has been a leader in the subscription industry for over a decade, helping to manage over 40 million subscriptions. Their billing platform can help your business thrive with a range of smart tools to help implement solutions, scale globally, and increase your customer’s lifetime value. Your subscription-based business might face challenges, but Recurly can help you overcome them. From iterating new pricing models to solving problems based on the results of your churn rate formula, Recurly strives to offer continued support throughout your subscription journey. Make Recurly your top choice for helping your company find success in the modern business landscape. Avoid common mistakes and grow your subscription-based business with Recurly at https://recurly.com/ Original Source: https://bit.ly/3HPTTrK

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Why a Personal Touch Helps Create Loyalty in Your Subscriber Base

Loyalty is crucial in any subscription-based business. The world of recurring billing is focused on keeping and retaining loyal customers. Subscribers who connect with your business in a meaningful way are less likely to let cards expire and subscription renewals fail. Loyalty also translates to higher customer lifetime value. But how do you build this loyalty? By following these three steps, you can help create loyal customers and increase the lifetime value of your subscription plans.

Create an Onboarding Plan to Start on the Right Foot Onboarding is your first step to delivering the value you promised before your subscriber hit purchase. It’s your first and best tactic to drive repeat purchase—onboarding has the highest correlation to retention and it’s all about driving engagement. Say you’re a gym and you succeed when your customers see results, keeping them returning to the gym and renewing every month. Your onboarding journey may consist of a welcome email, a survey to understand their goals, and then relevant workouts sent weekly to help them reach those goals. Going a step further, and to drive potential upsells via your onboarding journey you offer weekly 1:1 coaching sessions as part of an add on or an elite plan. This part of Subscription management, creating segmented offers and upsell paths, should start from day one. Following this type of approach you’re consistently delivering value, ultimately retaining that customer for longer and potentially increasing LTV by driving add ons and upsells. Create Memorable Moments by Celebrating Milestones As part of your onboarding journey you can set or gather milestones—if we continue with the gym analogy maybe it’s inches or weight lost or number of sessions achieved at the gym. Using this type of “surprise and delight” tactic you’re building a connection between that subscriber and your brand, a connection that results in staying power. Another example might be a pet subscription product business. A pet food subscription service can provide a great example to see the benefits of this strategy. Asking for information on the type of dog to tailor box items, or at a minimum for the subscriber’s pet’s birthday during the onboarding experience can go a long way toward building brand loyalty. Every year send a “Happy Birthday” email with a coupon code or some free goodies in their box. Create a Lifecycle Marketing Plan to Constantly Connect with Subscribers Onboarding is only the first step in delivering on the value promised. Engaging your subscriber throughout their lifecycle is critical to retaining customers. This type of lifecycle marketing can reduce voluntary churn, keeping your customers from hitting the cancel button. A second type of churn, involuntary churn, a key part of your churn calculation is also critical to consider when setting your lifecycle marketing in motion. Ensuring you have things like an account updater and personalized dunning flows can mitigate involuntary churn. Dunning isn’t only when a payment fails, it can also be used to drive conversion for your free trial customers as part of a trial conversion flow. And lastly, planning out, as mentioned in the last section, moments of surprise and delight throughout your subscriber lifecycle by leveraging promotions for items your subscriber may enjoy, special discounts, and early access to features deliver repeat value that drive repeat purchase. About Recurly If you are ready to take the next step in evolving your subscription-based business, Recurly can help. In all kinds of markets, from pet food to software, businesses are introducing subscription-based models to build recurring revenue streams. Recurly has been a key part of the recurring payment industry for over a decade and has helped manage over 40 million subscriptions. Their expertise features a range of smart tools to help your company adapt quickly, scale globally, and increase customer lifetime value. They understand the difficulties you face and remain a partner throughout your subscription journey. Whether you are iterating new pricing models or want to optimize your churn rate formula, make Recurly your top choice to help your business thrive in the modern business landscape. Discover how Recurly can help you make a personal connection with customers at https://recurly.com/ Original Source: https://bit.ly/33U0sdC

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What Is Churn, and How Does It Affect Your Subscription-Based Company?

As a subscription-based company, your business is centered around one thing: your loyal subscribers. You want to gain as many subscribers as possible, but the inevitable result is that every company implementing recurring billing strategies will have customers who end their subscriptions. This is what’s known as “churn.” You can’t keep 100% of your customers—some subscriptions simply come to an end. However, if you understand churn and its effect on your business, you can keep these cancellations to a minimum. Here is a breakdown of everything you need to know to keep your churn percentage as low as possible.

The Basics: What Is Churn? Churn sounds like a scary thing to happen to your business, but it isn’t. Put simply, churn is the percentage of canceled subscriptions you company receives in a certain amount of time. That time frame is up to you when you are making your calculations. Calculating your churn rate allows you to see how many customer subscriptions ended in a week, month, quarter, or even year. Once you have your timeline defined, you can investigate and see how many subscriptions expired or were canceled due to a failed payment or transactional error. This is what’s known as involuntary churn—cancellations caused by billing issues such as declined or expired payment methods. It could be caused by something as simple as a customer not updating their payment information when their card expires. Involuntary churn is important to analyze because it accounts for the customers you may have lost who didn’t have any intention of canceling their subscription. Fortunately, this type of churn can almost always be avoided with the right strategies. By focusing on elements you can control, like making sure your customer’s account information is updated, you can lower your business’ churn rate. Why You Should Spend Time Analyzing Your Churn Churn impacts many important aspects of your business. From your monthly recurring revenue to your customer’s lifetime value, it can be costly to lose customers. Plus, it can be even more expensive to bring new customers on board. Spending time digging into your churn numbers can help you understand their impact on your business, especially when it comes to involuntary churn. Once you begin to understand the reason for your churn, you can begin to improve your business strategies and decrease your churn numbers. What You Can Do to Improve Your Churn Numbers Eliminating all your company’s churn is impossible. However, you can take steps to improve the churn your business faces. To start, a billing platform with smart tools that can update credit card information and track payment expiration dates can reduce the amount of involuntary churn your company experiences. With the right tools, you can even identify cards that are likely to fail in processing a successful transaction. If the failed transaction was out of the customer’s control, the solution could be as simple as trying to process the payment after the initial failure. If the customer’s payment failed due to insufficient funds, you can partner with a subscription and billing platform that uses machine learning to determine different days or different times of day to retry the card. With all these options, your company can recover a higher percentage of the subscriptions you might have lost as a result of involuntary churn. No matter what strategies you use, be sure to partner with a reliable recurring billing platform to help you test and iterate these potential solutions to find the best option for your business. About Recurly If you are ready to take the next step in evolving your subscription-based business, Recurly can help. In all kinds of markets, from pet food to software, businesses are introducing subscription-based models to build recurring revenue streams. Recurly has been a key part of the recurring payment industry for over a decade and has helped manage over 40 million subscriptions. Their expertise features a range of smart tools to help your company adapt quickly, scale globally, and increase customer lifetime value. They understand the difficulties you face and remain a partner throughout your subscription journey. Whether you are iterating new pricing models or want to optimize your churn rate formula, make Recurly your top choice to help your business thrive in the modern business landscape. Find out how you can improve your churn numbers with help from Recurly at https://recurly.com/ Original Source: https://bit.ly/33xc4Uj

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4 Types of Businesses That Are Switching to Subscription-Based Models

You might have noticed that more businesses are now making subscriptions an essential part of their business model. Magazines might have dominated the subscription market in the past, but it is now full of everything from software to clothing. You may think that your business shouldn’t offer subscriptions, but the expanding use of recurring payments proves that almost any business can utilize subscriptions. With a subscription management platform, you can make the switch easier than ever. Here are four markets taking advantage of subscription-based solutions and how they can inspire you to try it too.

At-Home Fitness Equipment with Software Subscriptions Gym memberships came first, but subscriptions for at-home workout plans have revolutionized the fitness industry. Companies offer fitness equipment like dumbbells and stationary bikes alongside subscriptions to personalized training routines to help subscribers use them regularly. Selling hardware alongside your software subscription is an excellent way to boost sales and prevent “churn.” A churn calculation describes the rate at which customers are ending their subscriptions. Customers are more likely to continue their subscription when their software subscription helps them use their fitness equipment more often. Health and Wellness Brands Offer Easy Refills If you sell products that people use daily, look no further than health and wellness brands that offer subscriptions for examples of how to implement a similar strategy. Razors, hair care, vitamins, and skincare products all need to be restocked regularly. This makes subscriptions incredibly easy for these companies to implement. Many companies even offer a discount if customers decide to subscribe instead of simply making a one-time purchase. Customers buy these products regularly anyways. Why not sign up for the subscription? If your business specializes in daily essentials, you can easily implement this subscription style. Software for Business Solutions Software as a service (SaaS) is one of the biggest markets for subscriptions. In a world where technology solutions are constantly evolving, it makes sense for developers to continue to adopt a subscription model for the support they offer with their services and products. Businesses use their software every day, so a subscription-based process is a natural solution. If you are selling software, subscriptions can be a great option for establishing a steady stream of income. With this income, you can offer continued support and updates to your product as they are developed. Apparel for Fresh Wardrobe Selections Each Month Clothing companies are evolving with the market by offering subscription boxes that feature some of their best products delivered to customers every month. Some companies deliver complete outfits, and others stick to what they do best, offering packages of socks or underwear. Either way, they fulfill the promise of making you excited to open a new box of fresh clothing and accessories. Just because your product doesn’t necessarily run out every month or require ongoing support doesn’t mean you can’t enter the subscription world. Offering unique products that customers are sure to enjoy can keep them looking forward to a new box every month. About Recurly Recurly is the ultimate solution for subscription-based businesses. From streaming services and news outlets to software and consumer goods, the most innovative companies are introducing subscription models to build recurring revenue streams. With over 40 million subscriptions under their management, Recurly has been a driving force in the recurring payment world for over a decade. Their enterprise-class account management system and billing platform allow companies to adapt quickly, scale globally and increase customer lifetime value. Recurly understands that startups and established companies alike can face difficulties. So, they don’t just work behind the scenes—they stay involved to help you increase subscriptions and grow your brand. Whether you want to optimize your churn rate formula or introduce a new payment gateway, Recurly is the top choice to help your business be the best it can be. Find out how Recurly can help you move into the subscription landscape at https://recurly.com/ Original Source: https://bit.ly/3qhzhBj

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4 New Ways to Price Your Subscription-Based Business Model

With subscriptions becoming more and more common, the original subscription-based services, like newspapers and gym memberships, seemed to be ahead of their time. Now, innovative companies across a wide range of markets have switched to a system of recurring billing for their products. From streaming services to meal kits, clothing, cosmetics, and so much more, subscriptions are a great way to build a steady revenue stream, interact with customers, and simplify payment processes. However, there is more to a subscription-based business model than simple monthly payments. New patterns of payment are becoming the status quo. Here are four innovative subscription pricing models you can adopt to drive customer growth.

A Tiered System for When You Have Extra Features to Offer When you offer multiple versions of a product or service, such as basic and professional options, a tiered pricing model is a good subscription offering. Car washes are an excellent example of the technique. They might offer three types of washes and advertise the most expensive one as the best value. Customers might be more inclined to purchase a higher-tiered option when they associate greater value with a higher tier. Even if you don’t plan on selling many of the highest or lowest tiers, the middle tier can serve as your most tried and true tier. Plus, with a variety of options, new customers could be more likely to subscribe, knowing that they can adapt their subscription in the future if their preferences change. A Usage-Based Price So Customers Can Pay for What They Use A pricing model centered around usage is a great way to attract both low-budget and high-budget customers. It is also an effective way to prevent “churn.” A churn rate formula refers to the rate at which customers are leaving a particular subscription. One of the main reasons customers cancel their subscription is that they don’t use the product as much as they want. A usage-based pricing model allows customers to pay only for what they use. This pricing model could help your business retain customers by offering greater flexibility. Pay-Per-User for Companies That Buy Employee Subscriptions A pay-per-user pricing model is best for B2B companies. If you are selling a product to another business, it makes sense to offer pricing that matches how much of your product they plan to use, even if it’s one company making the purchase for all their employees. This is a method that some software companies have adopted. They will charge subscribers according to the number of accounts created to use their software. If you adopt this pricing model for your business, consider including additional benefits at the higher price points to increase value and accommodate more users. A Fixed Rate for Ultimate Simplicity While a fixed-rate model isn’t exactly new to the subscription landscape, sometimes, a single price point might be the best strategy for your business. Customers crave straightforward pricing, and they want to know what they are getting when they buy your product. A fixed rate for a subscription accomplishes that perfectly. If you know your product or service will sell based on its inherent value, price it accordingly and focus on ensuring the customer knows exactly what to expect from their subscription. This pricing model may not be revolutionary, but simplicity can feel fresh if customers are overwhelmed by too many options. About Recurly Recurly is the ultimate solution for subscription-based businesses. From streaming services and news outlets to software and consumer goods, the most innovative companies are introducing subscription models to build recurring revenue streams. With over 40 million subscriptions under their management, Recurly has been a driving force in the recurring payment world for over a decade. Their enterprise-class account management system and billing platform allow companies to adapt quickly, scale globally and increase customer lifetime value. Recurly understands that startups and established companies alike can face difficulties. So, they don’t just work behind the scenes—they stay involved to help you increase subscriptions and grow your brand. Whether you want to optimize your churn rate formula or introduce a new payment gateway, Recurly is the top choice to help your business be the best it can be. See how Recurly can help you take advantage of different pricing models at https://recurly.com/ Original Source: https://bit.ly/3yEhRme