Why are consumers suddenly so in love with subscription services? After all, they’ve been around a long time. The difference is that 20 years ago, everyone who subscribed to a newspaper or magazine got the same newspaper and magazine. Fast-forward to 2018, and technology allows companies that offer subscriptions to tailor them to individual subscribers. They can even tailor their customer support to individual customer preferences. Customization is the exciting new pivot around which modern subscription business turns. There’s more than a little bit of psychology going on here. Customization can help customers be more satisfied with their choices.
“According to research on the psychology of consumer control and customization, we prefer personalized experiences because we want to feel in control of our lives and we want to reduce our information overload,” wrote digital content marketer Nicola Brown. “When we see our names on products, in ads, and in things like email communication, we may not actually have more control of our relationship with those brands, but we feel as though we do.”
Of course, once you’ve attracted customers, you need to keep them. Brown notes that with so much competition and high churn rates in the subscription world, strong content marketing is necessary to build long-term customer loyalty. Subscription companies must communicate with their subscriber base in a regular and timely way, with precisely the information and offers subscribers are seeking. A multichannel content marketing approach, carried out on a strong subscription management platform, is one of the most valuable ways to keep subscribers engaged and in control and help them feel they’ve made the best possible choices. Self-service features are key.
Allow Subscribers to Manage Their Accounts
To customize the subscriber experience, you’ll first need to capture the information. Subscription DNA’s membership management software allows you to quickly capture vital user information along with your custom fields for membership, event registration, sweepstakes, small, large or enterprise groups, licenses or seats. From here, you can use that information to personalize and customize the experience, whether group or individual.
Subscription DNA’s secure subscriber portal allows subscribers a variety of self-serve functionality for managing their own subscriptions, including account profile, payment methods, transaction history, and more, so subscribers can feel in control of the process. In addition, Subscription DNA’s web services API allows subscription companies to quickly develop their own solutions and push/pull their subscriber data on demand, into their application.
By giving customers more control of their subscription, you’re allowing them to feel as if they’re taking charge of the way they spend their subscription dollars. And there’s no better way to personalize a customer experience.