UK consumers reassessing subscriptions

It's hardly surprising that in times of economic turmoil and uncertainty that consumers begin to re-evaluate their monthly expenditure. I am sure we have all been looking at each line item in our household budget and wondering where we can save a few pounds, but it looks like "subscriptions" and "memberships" are one of the first things that get cut.

Recent analysis shows the following 3 key trends in the UK this year compared to last year.

• 22% increase in "Cancel subscription" searches

• 44% increase in "Cancel TV licence" searches

• 98% increase in "Cancel membership" searches

This is of course the dichotomy of subscription model products. They're super easy to setup, but also just as easy to remove...

So if you've begun to see this trend erode your subscription model business, what can you do to stem the exodus? How can you improve both your UX and CX to encourage customers to stay?

1. Don't Make It Difficult To Cancel

This might sound odd, but if someone really wants to cancel, they will find a way and if you make it really difficult, they will just get annoyed. The last thing you want to do is break trust or appear to be using subversive tactics. Remember that you want them to come back when the time is right for them.

2. Ask Why

The more you learn about why people are cancelling, you might be able to do something to stem the tide. If you identify a consistent trend to cancellations, why not take pro-active steps to address the issues of "lookalikes" of this audience? This won't just help with customer retention, but surprise and delight in the process, building trust.

3. Make An Offer

This is where short term pain for long term gain might kick-in. NOW TV do this very well when you try to cancel. They make offers as you move through the cancellation journey. This is a great surprise (to those that don't know they do this to everyone), and often results in retention - at least for a short while.

4. Gone But Not Forgotten

Just because you have lost a customer, it doesn't mean they're gone forever. You can of course market to them utilising the zero party data you have available via CRM, and also continue the conversation through other means such as programmatic display, YouTube, or other retargeting means. You need to begin to nurture them back through the Awareness, Consideration & Conversion journey again - though this time, you'll know a little more about them to personalise the experience.

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