To run a successful subscription program, you have to be prepared for continuous optimization and strategic implementation.
Wrapping Up
The ultimate goal is not just to attract subscribers, but to build lasting relationships driving customer loyalty and advocacy. By implementing these five tactics, you can optimize and elevate your subscription program to increase revenue and reduce churn.
Looking to turn your subscription program into a performance channel?
Let’s look at five powerful tactics to optimize your subscription program and boost customer retention.
1) Call Out Subscription Savings on Your Buy Box
Using cross-outs over the original price and displaying the subscription price has been proven to help with subscribe-and-save conversion. Customers are most likely to commit to a subscription when they can see they’re really getting a good deal. Featured: Moon Juice’s SuperHair PDP By displaying the original price with a cross-out and showcasing the new discounted price, you anchor the customer’s perception of the product’s value. The discounted price becomes the reference point, making the offer more attractive and enticing.
2) Add a Subscription Upsell Button in Your Shopping Cart that Highlights Savings
Incorporating a subscription upsell button in the shopping cart can help nudge more customers to subscriptions. We’ve also seen that, when the savings is over $3, showcasing the dollar amount they’ll save instead of the percentage can sometimes drive higher conversion. Featured: First Day’s cart Displaying the exact dollar amount of savings (e.g., $5 off vs. 20% off) utilizes psychological pricing strategies. Consumers tend to respond positively to specific numbers, as they appear more concrete and tangible. The specific dollar amount here reinforces the idea of tangible savings, making the offer more appealing.
3) Show Add-On Options Front & Center in Your Customer Portal
Encourage customers to explore additional products and customize their subscriptions by placing add on products front and center in the portal. Stores with upsell carousels have reported increased add-on and swap usage, as well as a reduction in skips. Featured: Clevr’s Subscriber Customer Portal Presenting add-ons in an easily visible and accessible way nudges customers toward consideration and increases the likelihood of conversion. Like the items for sale in the checkout line of a grocery store, add-on products in the customer portal are strategically placed to capitalize on customers’ tendencies to make last-minute purchase decisions.
4) Enable Partial Out of Stock Fulfillment
Don’t let a single out-of-stock item hold up the entire subscription. Optimize fulfillment by setting up partial OOS fulfillment, allowing customers to receive the available items while waiting for the rest to come back in stock. Minimizing delays with partial fulfillment reduces some of customers’ wait time and frustration, since they don’t have to wait for the whole order to be restocked before receiving already-available items. Featured: Dose’s Out of Stock email notification & Stay Ai’s settings This has been shown to reduce churn by helping to maintain customer trust and satisfaction — and it’s better for efficient inventory management, too. You can always adjust the settings to require a minimum order value to make sure partial OOS fulfillment is both practical and cost-effective for your business.
5) Set Up a Canceled Subscription Flow in Klaviyo
When a customer cancels their subscription, it doesn’t mean it’s the end of the road. Set up a canceled subscription reactivation flow in Klaviyo to win back these customers. Featured: Stay Ai’s Klaviyo Quick Actions URL Builder Send reactivation emails at intervals of 30, 60, and 90 days after cancellation, reminding customers of the benefits they enjoyed with your product and the subscription program. Include compelling content and quick action reactivation links that enable customers to reactivate in just two clicks.
