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How to Deepen Customer Relationships Through Subscription and Membership

Shep Hyken interviews Robbie Kellman Baxter, bestselling author and founder of Peninsula Strategies, LLC. They discuss how any company in any industry can utilize a subscription model to the benefit of their customers.

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Top Takeaways:

  • Companies can find success by identifying a specific problem and then solving it for their customers forever, turning it into a “forever transaction.”
  • Everyone is in the subscription/membership business whether they know it or not. Even if there is no traditional subscription involved, customers “renew” by returning to do business companies they like and trust.
  • A subscription is a tactical decision about pricing, whereas membership is the mindset that a customer is going to be with you for a long time through a formalized relationship.
  • Thinking of your customers as members, opens up new opportunities to deepen and extend new and existing relationships with your best customers. This can happen even without incorporating subscription pricing.
  • Offering a subscription model can create a more convenient experience for your customers.
  • To move from a one-time transaction to a subscription, you must first step back and figure out your product or service’s goal as it pertains to customers. Build your subscription around meeting that goal or solving a problem for your customers.
  • After someone subscribes or becomes a member, you must teach them to make your product or service a habit. If the customer is not engaged or getting value, they will not renew.
  • Shift your focus from customer support to customer success. This means not only solving customer issues, but helping them use, value and succeed with your product or service.
  • Focus on your customers’ long-term well-being and success. This will help you build a formal relationship with recurring revenue in any company and any industry.

Quotes:

“A subscription is a pricing decision. It’s a tactic. Membership is the mindset that the customer is going to be with you for a long time. It makes the entire organization think differently about marketing, products and services. Pricing is just a small part of this very powerful business model.”

“Think of your customers as members. Ask yourself what ‘forever promise’ you’re making to them and what long-term problem or goal you’re helping them solve or achieve.”

“What becomes really important in any subscription business is how to onboard a new member for a long-term relationship. It’s not enough to get them to sign up. You must teach them how to make your products and services a habit.”

“By focusing on your clients’ long-term wellbeing and helping them achieve their goals or solve their ongoing problems, you can build a formal recurring revenue relationship in just about any industry and with organizations of any size.”

About:

Robbie Kellman Baxter is the founder of Peninsula Strategies, LLC, a management consulting firm. She is also the author of the bestselling book The Membership Economy. Her new book is called The Forever Transaction.

Shep Hyken is a customer service and experience expert, New York Times bestselling author, award-winning keynote speaker, and your host of Amazing Business Radio.

This episode of Amazing Business Radio with Shep Hyken answers the following questions … and more:

  1. What is the difference between membership and a subscription?
  2. How can I switch to a membership or subscription model?
  3. How can I deepen my relationships with my customers?
  4. What is the difference between customer support and customer success?
  5. How does subscription create a convenient customer experience?

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