Managing your customer subscriptions made easy
Subscriptions are a real plus in a commercial offering as long as they are in line with your customers' expectations. And these expectations are changing. How can you develop your subscriptions without creating a "gas factory"? Find out all about the issues surrounding subscription management in our dedicated section.
Be as close as possible to your customers' expectations
Usage-based billing
Consumers are increasingly used to paying only for what they actually use. And this possibility, synonymous with fairness, is fast becoming a criterion for choosing between offers. The one with the most flexible pricing will win. You can charge on a per-use basis, or offer a basic package to which you can add a choice of pay-as-you-go options. Your customers will make your services their own, with the feeling of being tailor-made. And you, in turn, will sell more to your existing customers. Which will increase your margins, rather than chasing after new customers without optimising your existing customer base.
Pay as you go...
The scary thing about subscriptions is the commitment aspect. If the customer suddenly wants to stop, what room for manoeuvre will he have? And after how long will this interruption be effective? GTCs (General Terms and Conditions of Sale) that are too rigid in this respect will scare off potential customers. What's more, they can have a perverse effect.
... on a pro rata basis
When the subscription is only topped up from date to date, for example, it encourages wait-and-see behaviour. Your customer will wait until the next deadline to update their options. For formulas based on the number of users, for example, when your customer has a new recruit and wants to adjust his formula accordingly, it's a shame if he waits until the 5th of the following month. In that time, their productivity suffers. And on your side, it's a service they need that you won't have sold them. Allowing formulas to be updated over time means billing on a pro rata basis for the service consumed. And everyone benefits:
- your customer, who uses what they need when they need it, without waiting.
- You as the service provider. By meeting your customers' tailor-made needs, you make it easier for them to access and use your services.
... or by allowing upgrades
The terms and conditions of a long-term commitment can also lead to losses, on both the customer's and the supplier's side. Making it possible to update subscription packages means, in particular, allowing customers who have started on a monthly package to switch to an annual package, and vice versa. This greater flexibility is synonymous with freedom for the consumer. And it's a real lever for optimisation for you as a service provider.
Be more competitive and strategic in your management
Be able to adjust your prices
In a competitive market, it's important to be responsive. When your competitor offers a cut-price package, you need to react by offering an innovative package of your own. Even if subscription-based offers seem more complicated to change, it's essential to work at it if you want to stay in the race.
Modulating your offers
The price element is an interesting variable to change, as is the content covered by the packages. Over time and in line with industry practices, it is crucial to be able to modify your packages at will to stay ahead of the game.
Knowing how to anticipate
As a subscription provider, you have a role to play in reminding your subscribers of their deadlines. Used to your services, they don't necessarily remember that they will end next month, the anniversary date of their subscription. So it's up to you to send them renewal reminder emails, well in advance to avoid the inconvenience of a service interruption.
Keep up-to-date
For your part, keeping track of payments associated with subscriptions can quickly become complex. While some payments are often made in cash at the outset, subsequent direct debits may be made under SEPA (Single Euro Payments Area). This means that it can take up to ten days before you know whether the payment has been made. These are significant delays for your cash flow and your customer relationship management. Ideally, you should be able to identify unpaid invoices as early as possible so that you can react accordingly.
Use a tool designed to
Whether it's to better satisfy your customers, to make your offer more competitive or to make back-office administration easier, subscription management software is essential. Without it, you'll have to allocate human resources: a full-time post or two, responsible for manually administering data that quickly becomes unmanageable. You won't be immune to management errors, and your responsiveness is likely to be at its lowest. With dedicated online software like ProAbono, you have a clear and exhaustive overview of the status of payments at a given moment, and can afford to modify and increase the complexity of your offers. The benefits, both operational and strategic, are obvious.
Subscription-based offers offer interesting business models, where flexibility and responsiveness are key to staying competitive. With a dedicated tool, there's no more administrative headache. You can manage your subscriptions as you go along, to the great satisfaction of your customers.
Article translated from French