The Subscription StartUp Guide introduces you the essential steps you need to go through to quickly create a successful subscription business. This could be a membership club that complements your current sales of products or knowledge. Or it could be a dedicated subscription model where your entire business is run via subscription.
Subscription StartUp – Development of the Concept
In the development stage of your subscription business, there are a total of 20 steps you have to go through. In the following, I will describe the essential steps to get started QUICKLY.
The first thing you need to do is to focus on your business idea. How will you monetize your subscription? You need to define all the ways in which you can create value for your members. What benefits can you give them so that they continuously gain value from their membership? It is a creative brainstorming process that you should prioritize to spend a few hours on – preferably over a bit of time.
Once you have a long list of benefits, decide on the model you want to use: What benefits should members have in the beginning of their membership and which ones will you use to reward their loyalty? Also consider if there should be one membership package only or several to choose from? If more than one, what should the different packages be called?
What Should my Membership price be?
The next step is to price your membership. Remember that it is important that the price is set at a level where you quickly get traction in the market and get members to subscribe. Partly to start making money, partly to get feedback from your members. You need this in order to develop and further optimize your membership business.
It might be a good idea to introduce a lower introductory price and possibly also an initial free period of, let’s say, 2 weeks. When you later on raise your prices, it will help to retain the members who signed up for the introduction price. If they unsubscribe, they will have to pay a higher price upon later re-enmmission.
Which Subscription System Should I Choose?
It is super important that you choose the correct technical platform and payment system for your particular business. It is not only expensive but also time-consuming if you later have to change. There is also no guarantee that you can migrate data such as addresses and credit card details into the new system.
Some subscription platforms are best suited for courses, online products, consulting hours, etc. This applies, for example, to Simplero. Other platforms and systems are suitable for connecting to webshops with physical products.
How Do I Get my first Members?
The first thing you need to do is decide which type of client you’re aiming for. Your choice is decisive for which marketing channels you should use, how your website should look, how you should communicate, etc. It is very beneficial to seek a professional marketing consultant to help you on this matter if you don’t possess the knowledge already yourself.
Next, you need to ensure an effective onboarding process. Your members need to understand how they use their membership, discover the benefits, and quickly start getting value from their subscription. You can do this through an automated email flow that automatically starts when a member signs up.
In the onboarding process, it is important that you create a relationship with your members right from the start. It may therefore be a good idea to give your new members a call. It also allows you to get feedback on how they’ve experienced the enrollment process.
How Do I Retain my Members?
The most important thing in a successful subscription business is that you can retain your members for the longest possible time. The way to do this is partly by creating as strong a relation as possible with the individual member and ensure that they continuously get high value from their membership.
This is where the reward of loyalty is important. If your members feel that you value and appreciate their loyalty, their satisfaction increases. And that increases the likelihood that they will be members for even longer. Which gives you an even better business.
And should anyone resign, don’t forget to ask the reason. That way, you know how to improve your business and it gives you the needed knowledge to create an effective win-back strategy.
How Soon Can I Get Started?
It doesn’t have to take months to get your subscription business created and up and running. I have experienced students on our 1-day Workshop course launched less than three weeks after the course.
To learn more about how to create a succesfull subscription business, take a look at my Best Seller book. You can order it right here
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