Opinions expressed by entrepreneurial contributors are their own.
Streaming services have become essential and are yet to lose their luster in the “must have” category of entertainment essentials. People stay at home more and more tired of work and always popular Work from home options. The resulting popularity of streaming services has led to significant increases in subscription costs and usage of many streaming services.
Great programming trends and high demand for these streaming services fuel its popularity — but, like all things, there’s another side to the coin. For example, there is growing concern that the sheer number of such services may lead to consumer fatigue and rejection. But is it true? We will see In-depth on subscription fatigueHow it affects the media industry and what mistakes companies make that can end their sweet ride.
The Secret of Subscriptions
The concept of subscription goes beyond regular payments. It becomes essential to understand how it differs from other recurring revenue models such as leases, rentals and memberships. A subscription is a payment for the future delivery of a product or service that includes some variation.
Related: How to identify and launch a subscription model in your existing business
While many businesses may use the term “subscription” to describe their model, it’s important to distinguish it from other types of recurring revenue. For example, loans, leases, and monthly payments provide people with access to a hypothetical product or service that do not qualify as subscriptions. A true subscription model can only succeed based on the habit strength and usage patterns it creates among its customers.
Nir Eyal, an author who has studied habit-forming products, has identified four key steps that successful companies incorporate into their customer experience, which he calls “Hooked Model.”
- Trigger: Encourages people to use the Service
- Action: Habitual behavior
- Variable Reward: Satisfies the users need for the service
- Investment: Makes the service more helpful when used.
Mistakes by companies
After a closer look at the “hooked model”, it becomes clear that many companies make common mistakes when launching subscription services.
1. Too many steps
A subscription service that is more complex than other solutions is likely to fail. For instance, people often stay away from such platforms and apps because finding the right movie can take time. Sometimes, the time it takes to find a movie exceeds the time it takes to watch it. For example, Netflix has a wide selection of options, which is quite different from the DVD rental service that initially made the company successful.
In the early days, customers had to open the red envelope, remove the disc and insert it into the player. There is no need for judgment or choice as you have seen what you have chosen. Netflix has since capitalized on ease of use as a competitive advantage and is now experimenting with a “Play Something” feature that allows users to start watching something quickly. The service also allows you to line up shows in a queue to save valuable thought processes.
Related: Man Sues Netflix For $1 Million After Seeing His Photo In Documentary Depicting ‘Stone Cold Killer’
However, Netflix differs from offering a curated selection that caters to viewer preferences. Ultimately, consumers want to see content that appeals to them and anything that makes that difficult will negatively impact the success of a subscription service. That’s why they should combine quality content with maximum ease of use to avoid provoking user fatigue with subscriptions, which we’ll discuss later.
#2 Reduced variability and lack of innovation
The primary reason people turn off subscription services is because of reduced variability. When the number of attractive offers decreases and physical alternatives increase, customers lose interest and look for alternative services, often cheaper ones.
The good news is that a solution exists to maintain interest in a subscription service and increase conversion ratios. That can be achieved by encouraging users to enhance the service through their usage, which brings us to the investment phase.
#3 No Accumulated Value
Although many companies overlook this step, it remains crucial to the success of a subscription service. During this stage, users add something to the product that enhances it. This increases the chances of returning to the platform again and again. This principle is known as retained value and can manifest in different forms depending on the nature of the service.
Examples of how subscribers can add value to a product over time include providing data, publishing content, attracting new users, building connections, and establishing reputation. Additionally, many platforms and apps leverage the “hooked model” to ensure that their subscription service continues to improve as users engage with it.
What is subscription exhaustion?
Subscription fatigue occurs when consumers become overwhelmed with the number of platforms they subscribe to. As a result, it becomes difficult for people to track all of them. Also, the constant flow of monthly payments can adversely affect their finances.
In some cases, such fatigue is known as Customer churn, where users unsubscribe and switch to other services. That can be especially problematic for subscription-only companies, as it can result in lost revenue and customer loyalty.
Subscription fatigue in the media industry
While subscription fatigue is a problem for all companies operating on this principle, it is especially true in the media industry. Apart from the sheer number of entertainment platforms, you may also face the problem of content fragmentation. That means users must subscribe to multiple services if they want access to all the shows and movies they’re interested in.
For example, you must subscribe to Netflix to watch shows like Stranger Things, The Crown, and Orange is the New Black. If you want to watch shows like The Handmaid’s Tale, subscribe to Hulu. And if you’re going to watch The Boys, you need to subscribe to Amazon Prime Video. And this doesn’t even cover the problematic issues when one is watching a series on Netflix and additional series shows (years later) on Hulu. what??
Combined, these can lead to higher monthly costs, especially if the user wants to access multiple streaming services, as mentioned above. As a result, subscription fatigue has led to several new trends in the media industry. For example, some streaming services now offer packages where customers can subscribe to multiple services at a discount.
Others are experimenting with ad-supported models, where people get free access to content in exchange for viewing ads Ensure better customer experience. This may eventually serve as a great solution to the current problem. But what more can companies and consumers do to improve this situation?
Solving the problem
To combat subscription fatigue, companies can offer bundles and other discounts to make access to many of their products more accessible to interested users. They should probably take the time to experiment and test many different business models. Business models may include advertising-supported models or pay-per-view options to give users more flexibility in accessing content. And if you’re one of those users, it’s important to be careful about the subscriptions you sign up for and regularly review whether they’re worth the monthly fee.
Consider which options to subscribe to and prioritize the ones that benefit you the most — and consider skipping the ones you use infrequently. However — you’ve already figured this out — unsubscribing can be challenging. If you’re no longer interested in BET Plus or another streaming service, you can find out How to cancel your BET+ subscription On the Howly Consulting Services website.
Subscription fatigue is a growing problem for consumers and companies alike. While subscriptions offer many benefits, the sheer number of them can be overwhelming – leading to a decline in customer loyalty.
Subscription fatigue is particularly relevant in the media industry, as the fragmentation of content across multiple streaming services can frustrate many users. However, by working together, businesses and consumers can find ways to make subscriptions more manageable and sustainable over the long term.
—————————————————-
Source link