Ahead of our ‘Subscriber Retention Special - Q&A’ webinar on Tuesday, 12 May (not yet registered? Register here), I thought I would whet your appetite with a top tip from each of our panelists:
- Repair any cracks. While it’s important to examine positive subscriber behaviours, it’s equally crucial to identify what is letting you down. Review churn statistics and exit surveys to spot noticeable gaps that need attention. These might be painful to fix but can also be your biggest wins. (Susanne Kinnaird, head of digital reader revenue, Newsquest)
- Segment audiences by behaviour, not just demographics. Demographic segmentation alone rarely explains why subscribers stay or leave. Behavioural data such as reading frequency, content preferences and interaction with newsletters or apps provides far more actionable insight into subscriber engagement. Segmenting readers based on engagement patterns allows publishers to identify loyal audiences, detect early signs of churn and tailor retention strategies more effectively. (Will Perkins, account director, CDS Global)
- Remember, you are a consumer too! It’s easy to get absorbed in dashboards, reporting and complex journeys. I try to always take a step back and think like a customer: how did that email after a purchase make me feel? What did a brand do when my order went wrong? Which brand did I recommend to a friend, and why? When working across many brands, we’re not always going to be experts in every market, but we can be experts in how we make customers feel, and that’s something that we can all relate to. (Rosa Sherwood, head of CRM, engagement and loyalty, Our Media)
- Preserve the relationship wherever possible. Even if the full subscription cannot be retained, the minimum objective should be to maintain some ongoing connection with the reader. (Mike Halstead, managing director, HH&S)
- Every touchpoint matters. Outstanding customer experience is achieved through well-designed processes, and the people who bring those processes to life. When the customer journey is constructed thoughtfully and interactions are delivered with professionalism, empathy and consistency, retention becomes a natural result. (Claire Ruzicka, head of customer experience, Air Business Subscriptions)
- Engagement isn’t just an email onboarding series sent in the first few weeks of a subscription. That’s a start but there’s so much more. Firstly, it’s not all about CRM. Email has been increasingly saturated; other channels that can be used for retention include onsite messaging – be it overlay, exit banners, native ads etc – push notifications, in app messaging, utilising existing products such as newsletters natively or through ad placements, the print magazine to expose readers to digital content and so on. Secondly, engagement should be always on, with interventions if a subscriber’s engagement declines or changes. The first 30 days are important to build habit but so is every day after. (Emma Robinson, head of customer experience, New Scientist)
- Don’t forget involuntary churn. Some brands are losing subscribers and hard-fought revenue that could be saved with some attention and effort. (Tracy Larner, subscriptions director, William Reed)
- Before you give, ask. Reps with only price to play with discount every time. Give them levers and they negotiate. A referral call with a prospective subscriber converts faster and longer. (Andy Burden, founder, Substribe)
You can hear more insights from our experts and put your questions to them at the webinar – look forward to you joining us on the 12th.
You can catch James Evelegh’s regular column in the InPubWeekly newsletter, which you can register to receive here.
