What is Subscription Fatigue and How to Tackle it?

In this era of growing number of subscription businesses, subscription fatigue has become a commonly occurring phenomenon among customers. In the simplest words- subscription fatigue is when customers feel tired and overwhelmed of having too many subscriptions at the same time. While the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic raised the number of subscribers for digital store owners substantially, subscription fatigue became prominent for a while now. A recent study by Deloitte stated that 47% of the U.S. consumers experience subscription fatigue. No doubt that it can actually impact the recurring revenue potential of your business up to an extent.

But the good news is there are a few ways to minimize its effects-

1. Offering Premium Content

Subscription fatigue is driven by the factors such as unutilized membership with multiple subscription services, customers getting tired of similar contents over multiple OTT platforms, auto-debit of subscription amount from bank account every month which reminds another unutilized month customers have paid for, and others. Providing your customers with premium, exclusive content can make them choose your products over others for the obvious reasons. According to a recent survey, over 60% of adults prefer to have access to exclusive products or services. In order to come up with such offerings, not only you need to focus on the quality but keep track of the offerings provided by your competitors as well.

2. Widening your Target Audience

This can be highly effective in minimizing the effect of subscription fatigue in your business. If the demography you cater to is broader and diverse, then the probability of losing customers due to subscription fatigue will automatically get lowered. For instance, despite announcing a price hike in 2019, the customer base for Netflix continued to soar. You can diversify your audience by bringing in a variety of products for people with different age groups, belonging to different demographic regions, or having different language preferences.

3. Using Predictive Analysis 

Predictive analysis may come to your rescue by stopping your customers from unsubscribing before it’s too late. Nowadays, most of the recommendation engines are capable of increasing the customer retention rate by using predictive analysis. With the help of such recommendation engines you can offer your customers the most relevant content which can invoke their interest and eventually make them continue with your services.

4. Innovating Pricing and Subscription Plans  

Now, this may turn out to be quite challenging as most probably all of your competitors are doing the same. To come up with an attractive subscription model, there must be some exclusive features which customers will be able to get only on your platform. Extending the trial periods, offering add-ons after they take subscription for a specific time, or free of cost upgradation may work for a while. Research showed that developing brand loyalty is substantially higher when the discount availed on the first order or subscription is between 5% and 20%. You may consider having a good subscription management platform to handle these smoothly.

5. Giving Option to Pause 

If your customers pause taking your services instead of unsubscribing, there is a lesser chance of losing them permanently. By simply providing an option to pause, you can tackle subscription fatigue among your customers for the time being. Nearly 70% of the global consumers have at least one OTT subscription and if they don’t unsubscribe your services, there is a higher chance of them coming back once their subscription fatigue is over.

6. Engaging Subscribers with Timely Notifications

Notifying idle customers about recent product launches, new offers, discounts etc. can help in increasing customer engagement significantly. If your customers get timely notifications, they will not feel disconnected from your brand. Furthermore, certain products or services may catch their attention to keep them in the long run. 

Tackling subscription fatigue is not impossible, and once you master the art, it will help you in improving your business output considerably. The Muvi Subscription Billing Management Solution offers a scaled version of the top-rated subscription-related functionalities including predictive analysis and insights, smart-record keeping and other exclusive features. You can take a 14-day free trial to know more about its benefits and how it can help you engage and manage your existing subscribers while earning you subscribers’ loyalty.