Let's say you have a business, but it isn't just any business. Now, is it? No, you've decided to make a subscription-based business in which your clients pay a certain amount at timed intervals for access to the service you provide. It could be anything, from ping pong advice to accounting solutions, to even entire software suites made to help a business run all by itself. You've set yourself up, you've created your service, and now, you have a dedicated customer base that's interested in supporting you for the foreseeable future. Besides acquiring new clientele, a huge focus of your business is to maintain the current subscribers you have.
But then, how can you do that best with your newly found income stream?
Family shopping by Tetiana Vozniak
Make sure payments are quick, secure, and easy
If you don't have a quality payment processor already, now is the time to make sure you have that down pat. Essentially, you're looking for a service that your clients can trust with their financial information, and that won't make any mistakes. Billing should be prompt, straightforward, and at more or less the same time every month/quarter/year that you're billing. The most successful continuity subscription merchants ensure that money flows quickly and hassle-free to their accounts. Getting paid should be as smooth as butter. The less time you spend dealing with people who have been overcharged or not charged at all, the more time you’ll be spending with your clients who need help with the actual service itself.
Expand your services
Now, you don't need to keep expanding the software or service you're selling itself, but those who subscribe to you should have a consistent stream of content to view, so they feel like they are continuing to get value month after month. Even something as simple as a weekly article explaining new happenings in your sphere of influence is fresh and welcome to your subscribers. Consistent updates, even if only by text, help give an air that you have your pulse on the industry and are ahead of the curve. That leads to your customers becoming a lot more comfortable with you, and comfortable customers tend to renew their subscriptions. Make sure to engage with customers and increase your reviews. You can use services like ReviewNerds to increase your review count.
Qualified and worthwhile support
Chances are your services won't work as intended, or clients won't know how to best make use of them. It's at this point that they'll be looking for your support team for answers. Make sure that support is easy to find and get in contact with. Email and phone numbers work great, but the real thing customers want is instant messaging with someone who knows what they're doing. You can outsource your support staff. Make sure they spend time understanding your services and how things work under the hood, instead of serving as switchboard operators who just link to your FAQ.
Conclusion
Having a subscription-based business isn't exactly a bed of roses. It has challenges, just like every other kind of business. The main difference here is that your customers expect excellent service and continued interaction, thanks to the fact that they will be paying consistently. The moment your customers feel like the value you provide is less than the money they pay, you've got yourself a problem. This is why you must reinvest for your customers, and reinvest for yourself.
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