Retaining members in an ever-evolving digital world can be risky business. It is vital to businesses, big and small, to retain current customer subscriptions and memberships. Acquiring a new member can cost a business 4-25 times more than it would to retain a current member! At all costs, you must focus on customer retention and subscription management. Your existing customers need to be reminded of why they initially signed up, they need to be reminded of the value they are getting based on their customer expectations.
How Do You Measure Customer Value and Customer Need?
Upon initial customer acquisition, you have to create a way to gain insight into your new customer. You need a plan for your subscription management solution goals. At eCard we’ve developed a subscription management platform that helps you retain your customers and collect failed payments. Your customer relationships begin as soon as they subscribe.
New Member Surveys
- Why did you sign up for our service/product?
- What are your goals with our service/product?
- Within the first year, what do you want from this subscription/what are your goals with our service/product?
- How would you define your customer lifetime value of this service/product?
Existing Member Surveys or Check-ups
In 6 months, do a customer retention survey that focuses on the answers most collected from the questions above. Surveys are a great way to gauge customer experience and to collect customer information. These surveys will have better follow through with a little reward. Your customer feedback is valued and you want to collect it from members who have something to tell you, good or bad. Some customer incentives for a long customer lifecycle are:
- At the 1 year anniversary, fill out a survey on our service/products, you get a t-shirt or water bottle.
- Fill out a survey with a referral, you get $10 off a billing cycle when referral signs up.
- Any new member referral, you get $10 off the next billing cycle.
- Loyalty programs are always a hit with your long term existing customers.
Customer Retention through Communication
Your customer retention plan should include a detailed way to communicate with your customer subscriptions or members. Make sure you have a system where relationships can be tracked, noted and maintained as your own employee lineup may change. Your customer information page should include real time data to include phone calls, texts, messages and emails. 83% of members would like to be reminded about appointments and classes. So, remind them! Any mass mailings such as newsletters, class notifications, health tips should all be tracked and analyzed for content and customer base. You want to make sure you’re bringing value each time you make a contact. Communication is not a one stop solution. It’s gaining your customer trust through customer payments and one conversation at a time.
Social Media Marketing for Customer Retention
According to datareportal.com, there were 4.62 billion people using social media in January of 2022. That’s a pretty large customer potential pool! Your subscription management software should be able to manage your business in this digital marketplace, no matter how many users you engage. Facebook is a great place to have a user page where your subscribers can engage and discuss their experiences with your brand. Allowing your members to connect on a Facebook group page where they can share tips, opinions and connect with each other on a deeper level. 37% of members say a lack of engagement caused them to not renew their membership. Instagram stories are a fun way to engage and stay relevant and keeps your products in their mind and in a recurring revenue stream.
Sharing Your Cause
Make sure your customers know that your business serves a bigger purpose. Engaging in community service and acts of service are a touching way for your customers to be a part of your story. Encouraging your customers to come out and volunteer for 10% off or $10 off their next month is a great way to get current customers to be long term customers. Share your mission with your members through email or social media. This reminds your members that they are connected to something bigger than just a product or service.
Recurring Billing Software is Key to Recurring Revenue
At eCard, we make recurring billing software an easy option for any business. Our subscription management tools help your business handle the month-to-month subscription model so you can sit back and enjoy the recurring revenue of a system that works for you! We encourage our clients to allow multiple payment gateways or options to make payments. Offering monthly, quarterly, discounted lump sum annual payments allows you to work with your customers budget. Offering different levels of membership also helps your product to fit into their life. Your recurring payments are more likely to be upheld when they are customized to a customers’ billing solution needs. One flat monthly fee for all is a hard sale to a wide market of consumers. Offering free and “paid” trials can be another way to grab new customers and retain existing ones.
eCard Transactions Failed Payment Technology Protects You
Having access to a recurring billing platform that deals with failed payments helps you to seamlessly collect payments without additional employee hours and mental anguish on your staff. Losing a member over one failed payment is never the solution. Allowing your members to pause, skip or change payment plans mid membership helps you to manage your customer subscriptions through retention.
Account Updater for Customer Retention
Our Account Updater will automatically update card change information across 20-30% of your membership cards and 7-8% each month after. 90% of credit cards expire every 3 years. Without Account Updater from eCard, you can expect to lose 5-10% of your members from just an expired card! Your subscription business is our business! We want to help you keep, engage, and most importantly serve your customer base.
