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Lowering CAC Through Cross-Promotions: A Guide for Subscription Brands
Competition being what it is, subscription brands seek to boost profits by lowering acquisition...
Rick Annichiarico
What would subscription brand collaboration look like?
In the name of progress, the wisdom of collaboration often stands out. One quote that resonates is by Thomas Skallcamp: “The secret is to gang up on the problem, rather than each other.” Yet, my favorite, from Franklin Delano Roosevelt, is the most fitting: “Competition has been shown to be useful up to a certain point and no further, but cooperation... begins where competition leaves off.”
If ever there was a situation where competition has taken us to a point, but can no longer be useful, the current state of the subscription industry is it. There’s a million subscription options, with tons of brands offering everything from movies, to music to games to dating apps, to learning tools, to news & media, to feminine products and dog chow.... And they’re all fighting for our attention and top dollar, creating a world of frustration, churn, missed revenue opportunities, undersold services and overall chaos.
Brands are slowly recognizing the need for collaboration, as evident in their attempts to bundle services and share spaces in app stores and other marketing platforms. But while the door is opening, they still have yet to step fully through it, as their current options are limited by costly and inefficient bundling, fixed pricing tiers, and high cost advertising strategies.
Imagine if brands could genuinely collaborate.
Imagine if brands collectively owned the marketplace, wresting control from third-party platforms. Together, they could wield more distribution power than any single platform. This would open up a realm of new opportunities for brands and their subscribers.
The future of subscription brands is undoubtedly collaborative. As we navigate through the complexities of the current landscape, envision a world where brands work together to create a seamless and efficient marketplace.
SubSuite is at the forefront of this transformative journey, offering subscription brands a platform to collaborate, optimize, and thrive. To delve deeper into the endless possibilities that collaboration brings, visit our website. Explore how SubSuite is reshaping the subscription industry, and join us on the path to a more interconnected and prosperous future.
If ever there was a situation where competition has taken us to a point, but can no longer be useful, the current state of the subscription industry is it. There’s a million subscription options, with tons of brands offering everything from movies, to music to games to dating apps, to learning tools, to news & media, to feminine products and dog chow.... And they’re all fighting for our attention and top dollar, creating a world of frustration, churn, missed revenue opportunities, undersold services and overall chaos.
Brands are slowly recognizing the need for collaboration, as evident in their attempts to bundle services and share spaces in app stores and other marketing platforms. But while the door is opening, they still have yet to step fully through it, as their current options are limited by costly and inefficient bundling, fixed pricing tiers, and high cost advertising strategies.
Imagine if brands could genuinely collaborate.
Imagine if brands collectively owned the marketplace, wresting control from third-party platforms. Together, they could wield more distribution power than any single platform. This would open up a realm of new opportunities for brands and their subscribers.
1. Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC): Collaborative marketing and distribution by brands themselves, leveraging their collective reach, could potentially reduce CAC to zero, eliminating the need for expensive advertising.
2. Churn / Lifetime Value (LTV): In today's world, the focus from brands falls on getting consumers to switch from one service to another. Collaborative pricing, however, would allow brands to offer personalized prices based on where customers value them in their service portfolio, promoting lasting subscriber relationships. More consumers would own more subscriptions for longer lengths of time.
3. Pricing / Revenue Optimization: Brands are constantly trying to find the perfect price to satisfy their core customers (those that LOVE the service before anything else), their supplemental users (those that add the service to what they already have) and their “trial” users (those that may be interested in it, if they try it and fall in love). In a collaborative environment, brands could sell at the right price to the right consumer every time, addressing the unique needs of core, supplemental, and trial users.
4. Data and Analytics: Real-time insights into consumer and market data, facilitated by collaboration, would expedite learning curves, shorten sales cycles, and add incremental users faster.
5. Cross Promotions: Cross promotions are getting more numerous, but they should be limitless. There are a ton of ways to scale through cross promotions and a collaborative platform would enable this seamlessly, adjusting pricing and options dynamically, streamlining the process and fostering flexibility without the red tape.
6. Customer Acquisition: Through collaborative marketing, personalized pricing, and real-time data, brands could optimize customer acquisition to offer the right price at the right time.
7. Testing Strategies: Brands could test partnerships, pricing tiers, features, or strategy shifts in a micro-market within the collaborative ecosystem, analyzing results before broader implementation.
8. Globalization & New Markets: Collaborative distribution would simplify and reduce the cost of entering new markets by promoting alongside popular apps with established consumer bases.
9. Happier Subscribers: Subscribers desire a seamless experience where they can secure their favorite subscriptions without constant hopping. A collaborative model aligns with this, leading to higher profits for brands.
10. Brand Value: Brands working collaboratively within a network are inherently more appealing to consumers than standalone options. The collective strength, support, and integrated services create a value proposition that surpasses individual brand offerings outside of the network.
11. Retention: In a collaborative ecosystem where brands take control of marketing and distribution, subscribers find a hub for all their favorite subscriptions. With the ability to seamlessly buy, manage, and access various services directly from their primary subscription brand, the sense of loyalty and satisfaction grows. This approach not only simplifies the user experience but solidifies the bond between subscribers and their preferred brands, significantly boosting retention rates.
The future of subscription brands is undoubtedly collaborative. As we navigate through the complexities of the current landscape, envision a world where brands work together to create a seamless and efficient marketplace.
SubSuite is at the forefront of this transformative journey, offering subscription brands a platform to collaborate, optimize, and thrive. To delve deeper into the endless possibilities that collaboration brings, visit our website. Explore how SubSuite is reshaping the subscription industry, and join us on the path to a more interconnected and prosperous future.
