The e-commerce subscription market is enormous. It has risen at a 100% annual rate over the past five years and is expected to hit $473 billion in the United States by 2025, with the UK expected to rise another 72% by 2022. And that was before COVID-19; the pattern has intensified even further in the last year. Winning at retention is the secret to a profitable subscription company. This article will go into the fundamentals of having a successful subscription e-commerce retention plan.

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An acquisition funnel that focuses on retention

It’s not realistic to expect 100% of your customers to stay subscribed, not all of them will, but there are things you can do to help retain or entice them back if they leave. You may also take advantage of their activism to keep things moving forward.

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We use a different type of acquisition funnel at each stage to better consider the whole subscription customer journey. This acquisition funnel goes a step further than the traditional knowledge, consideration, and conversion funnels you've probably seen. We consider how to keep customers once their subscription is active and reduce churn in this model. We also consider their future lifetime value and how referrals will assist in bringing in new clients.

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Using performance media for growth hacking

The term growth hacking refers to a series of marketing tactics that are focused on sustaining your business and developing it. In the subscription e-commerce industry, you must think differently than you would in a conventional retail environment. When creating a successful media strategy, for instance, you'll tailor different messages, content, and deals to different people based on where they are in their relationship with you: are they prospects, subscribers, on the verge of dropping off, or true brand advocates?

The problem isn't acquiring new customers through traditional conversion-driven campaigns, but rather keeping them. They're more likely to advocate for you if you can keep track of them successfully. And as a result of their behavior, you'll begin to receive more referral clients through them. This method's consistency will allow you to continue to grow.

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Reducing churn rate

Prevention is often preferable to treatment. When it comes to lapsed customers, this is particularly true. You must ensure that you are delivering outstanding service while offering your subscribers the fewest possible reasons to unsubscribe.

For businesses whose consumers pay on a recurring basis, the churn rate is a key metric. You're in trouble if your average consumer doesn't stay long enough for you to recoup your average customer acquisition cost (CAC), regardless of your monthly sales.

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Why would your customer keep subscribing?

You need to give your customers reasons to stay and an incentive to support you. This is the quickest way to expand your company. We've compiled a list of ways to increase customer loyalty and inspire them to promote your company:

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• Use customer reviews to show that you're paying attention and reacting to demand. If you're a food delivery service, you're probably getting a lot of requests on social media for a particular recipe, collaborate with the original makers of the recipe.
• Give priority to your existing clients, not new ones alone. Discounts for first-time buyers vs. full price for the rest of us irritate us both. Consider strategically rewarding your loyal, high-paying customers with incentives that don't detract from your value.
• If we receive a recommendation from a friend rather than an advertisement, we are four times more likely to make a purchase. That is why referrals are so crucial to business development. People also sign up for subscription-based services because of a first-month discount. However, when this stops working, the subscriber stops working as well... To continue to attract new customers through referrals while still keeping current customers, ensure that both parties benefit.
• Concentrate on community rather than followers. Since like attracts like, make your values plain.
• Personalization can be a powerful tool for retaining customers and gaining new ones. Refer to the individual by name and their particular subscription plan through direct communications. Skin + Me, for example, a brand that provides subscribers with bespoke skincare recommended by dermatologists, includes details about the various ingredients used each month in an email, on each customer’s account on their website, and enclosed in the actual delivery of the product. Tails.com is also brilliant at using pet names on tailored pet products to drive advocacy. 

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We hope that this article   plan and the creation of ideas on how to expand your company and improve profitability. Please write me on success@trychargezen.com if you need any assistance with starting or scaling your subscription offering.

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