Here’s a Google Document with the 50 most-common tactics to improve subscription retention rates.  Click here.

While these tactics can reduce churn when implemented in the right situation, NONE OF THEM MATTER IF THIS ONE THING IS MISSING!!!

Subscription team members think in terms tactics.

 Meanwhile a CEO thinks in terms of strategy.  And if your recurring revenue has plateaued for many months or is declining, you have a strategy problem, not a tactical one.

This week I was on a Zoom call with the team at a $350-million recurring revenue subscription business, delivering a Be Unleavable Recurring Revenue Diagnostic report.

This company had been a $500-million business in 2022. Investors brought in a new CEO this year, and because of her past experience, her first call was to me. She knew I could help turn this ship around and invited me to present to her leadership team.

During the presentation, I highlighted examples from various industries, illustrating the significant gaps in their subscriber messaging. The resistance was immediate: “That’s not what we do around here.” “Our messaging is about building a premium brand.” And my favorite: “What we need to do is _________,” with each team member suggesting their favorite tactic.

The team was stuck arguing over tactics instead of addressing the massive strategy gap causing their performance issues and repelling their best subscribers.

Here’s the strategic shift the new CEO is now implementing to turn the company around:

Replace product-focused communication with subscriber-focused communication.

This CEO knows this shift can completely change the trajectory of recurring revenue. Flipping the focus from the product to what subscribers gain from it changes everything about the results these tactics generate.

When you focus on your product—your videos, training, monthly deliverables, or SaaS product—implementing more tactics around your products drives subscribers away. Think of the guy at the party who only talks about his orchid collection. It might be interesting at first, but eventually, you want to escape.

If your subscribers are quitting, your team might be delivering the “orchid guy” experience. Instead, identify what your users get from your subscription, create customer avatars, and make all your communication about them.

This flip takes a few weeks to implement—not because it’s hard, but because it’s a different way of thinking that takes time for teams to embrace. But I’ve seen it over and over: after we replace the “orchid guy” approach, we are about to make their recurring revenue growth exponential with subscriber-focused communication.

Then, instead of needing 50 retention tactics, maybe 3-5 will be enough to tighten things up once we’ve implemented the subscriber focused.

What have you found stops subscribers from quitting?

Be Unleavable,

About Robert Skrob

The problem with subscription membership programs is that members quit, I fix that problem. For more than 20-years I have specialized in direct response marketing for member recruitment, retention and ascension in diverse subscription members environments including non-profit associations, for-profit publishers/coaching, subscriptions and SAAS companies. For an evaluation of your current churn rate and how I can improve it, contact me here. I discover there are often two or three quick wins you can implement within a week to lower churn immediately, let’s talk about your quick wins.