Subscription-based businesses have been growing steadily, yet many companies are still challenged in maintaining their subscriber base. Statistics show that the median churn rate (the rate at which customers stop doing a business) for the industry is 10.54%. 

The success of your subscription company depends on your subscribers’ retention. If your subscribers aren’t in it for the long run, competitors can easily take over. This will prevent your subscription company from being stable and thriving in the industry. 

Your subscription company will have better chances of succeeding if you follow the tips below in retaining subscribers: 

1) Maintain High Standards

With the number of subscription companies operating today, customers can easily switch brands if they’re unhappy with your services. Subscription boxes cost money, and customers won’t continually pay for mediocre products and services. 

Retain subscribers by maintaining high standards in your operations. For one, you can invest in fulfillment services to improve your order accuracy. Selery Fulfillment and other fulfillment solutions can print, package, and deliver aesthetically pleasing subscription boxes without compromising quality. This service is a smart investment, especially during peak season. 

You should also incorporate Lean or Six Sigma methodologies in your operations to ensure high-quality inbound and outbound inspections. This is a steep learning curve, but it’s essential to increase the consistency and efficiency of your operations. 

 2) Personalize Orders

Subscribers love to receive personalized products because it allows them to connect to the items. This response impacts the gateway of the brain and enables them to reflect positively on the products they receive. 

With this in mind, prioritize personalizing orders to retain subscribers. You can start by offering your subscribers choices, depending on the nature of your subscription boxes. For example, if your subscription boxes have pet products, allow subscribers to choose the size and breed of pet. If your subscription boxes curate apparel, let subscribers pick if they want to receive clothes or eyewear every month. 

Personalized orders will make your subscribers feel valued and heard—things that’ll make them love your company more. Just make sure that your subscription boxes have variety, so customers will always have options. 

 3) Offer A Downgrade Option

Speaking of options, consider giving customers the ability to downgrade. The pandemic has likely affected the finances of your subscribers and will make it challenging for them to continue to afford your subscription boxes. Rather than just accepting this status quo, do something about it by offering different types of subscriptions suited for different budgets. 

If your subscription boxes cost USD$45 a month, create another that costs about half of that price. The downgraded version of your subscription box should be different than the expensive version, but both should have high-quality products. For instance, you can reduce the number of products included in the cheaper version or pack it in a smaller box.  

Once you’re set to offer downgrades to subscribers, spend resources to market it. With this option, subscribers will likely choose to downsize their subscription instead of canceling outright. And who knows? They might avail of the full-sized box if their financial position improves. 

 4) Offer Rewards

Customers spend hours earning money, which is why they’d prefer subscription boxes that offer value. They’ll eventually discontinue their subscription if they find out that they can get whatever you’re offering from other businesses at a lower price. 

Another way to retain subscribers is to offer them value, namely rewards. This will surely bring more value to their hard-earned money as they can get ‘something’ aside from the products and services promised in their normal or basic subscription.

Here are some great rewards you can offer to your subscription box subscribers: 

• Access to provide groups: Does your business create and maintain a tight-knit community online? Is there a platform for subscribers to share thoughts and just talk about your subscription boxes? If you answered yes, add new customers, so they’ll feel they belong. 

• Action-based rewards: Include another gift on a subscriber’s subscription box whenever they leave comments or reviews about your business. This will motivate them to continue their subscription. 
• Implement referral programs: Give discounts to subscribers who can refer new customers. Referral programs can help you foster brand loyalty and earn more subscribers—it’s a win-win for your business! 

Aside from offering rewards to your existing subscribers, it’s also important to offer rewards to individuals showing signs that they’re about to cancel their subscription. For example, if a subscriber has been late on payments for months, offer them cash backs and coupons.  

Moreover, you can also offer rewards to individuals who recently canceled their subscriptions. Just because a customer discontinued their subscription doesn’t mean you already lost them forever. Give them something to be excited about, so they’ll be encouraged to re-subscribe.  

 5) Be Social

Creating meaningful relationships with your subscribers is essential but challenging when running a subscription box business. This type of business doesn’t require a brick-and-mortar store, making it challenging for subscribers to relate to the business providing the service. Over time, this can falter customer loyalty and can become the reason why they’ll cancel their subscriptions. 

Use social media to connect with your subscribers. Pick two to three social media platforms and use these to communicate with your subscribers. Inform them about your latest offerings, give them clues on what’s included in their next box, and encourage them to leave reviews and suggestions. 

As long as regularly maintained, social media can become your key to creating meaningful relationships with your subscribers. This relationship will foster trust, communication, and commitment—things that can motivate subscribers to avail of your services for years. 

Retaining Subscribers Isn’t A One-Time Feat 

Retaining customers is a long process, so don’t expect that you can immediately see results overnight. You need to stay consistent with your efforts to see positive results. 

Aside from implementing the tips mentioned here, don’t forget to monitor your strategies to see if you’re actually making progress. Constant monitoring is essential to assess whether your strategies are working, need improvement, or should be completely changed. With this data, you’ll know where and how to spend resources to retain your subscription box subscribers!