The subscription-based business has been around for over a decade. If we say that the first print newspaper was based on subscriptions, it won’t be wrong. Or regular milk delivery was a part of the subscription, then you have got this right too. Even earning through rent is also a form of subscription, regardless of their term of use. From this, you can even date back the subscription-based billing model to over a century, to times, when travelers rent out motels or vehicles for a brief time.
The reason behind the success of subscriptions among the users or customers is due to its flexibility. In other words, they can cancel it anytime, simultaneously, this allows common users to enjoy the product instantly instead of waiting to own or buy it. Moreover, a subscription is considered less risky than owning property or a device, when you know you won’t be using it for a long time.
Subscription-based billing models consist of multiple types traditionally the Flat rate was considered ideal, however, in the 21st century Tier based, hybrid or boxes are most common.
Here in this article, we have discussed some essential features of subscription-based business models that make them ideal for the business operating in 2021. In addition to this, we have identified some industry-specific businesses that are thriving even with 1000 to 100,000 subscribers and able to acquire a major chunk of global and local customers.
What Does Subscription Management Software Can Do For Your Business?
When it comes to businesses, the Subscription-based model offers countless features. Such as, it allows them to reach and retain the targeted customer base. This means the more user-centric you are the more you have a loyal customer base. However, Subscription management Software can do more than that, first, they can optimize prices, PCI compliant payment gateways & processor helps in expanding business globally. Also, the automation of operations can reduce churn rate, through proactive notifying or reminding the subscribers. Lastly, detailed matric and reporting make scaling super easy.
And, among many, you will find Zoho Subscriptions highly reliable, because, it can integrate with virtually all applications offered by Zoho, along with a number of third-party applications. Secondly, it is cloud-based, so you can enjoy it right after you bought your subscription and set it up. If you can’t handle the process then you can acquire the services of Zoho Consultants or certified Zoho Partners like Techloyce, for Zoho Subscriptions implementation, customization, and integration.
Read: Improve Your After-Sale-Customer Services With Zoho CRM
Examples
1. Entertainment
The first one on our list is Netflix, it is considered one of the pioneers of entertainment service providers who adopted a subscription-based billing model and offer their services through tiers. This initiative helped them to narrow down their customer base and drastically improved the quality of customer experience through original content. Later, Amazon Prime, HBO Max, Disney Plus, Hulu, and Apple TV Plus came to share the limelight.
In addition to entertainment, the Gaming industry has also seen a sudden boom in revenue since adopting the subscription-based model. If we have to name a few then Xbox, Player Station, GameSpot, EA, and Goole Play are on the top. For starters, they offer a free trial, and later upon subscription, the subscriber can avail full access to all products.
2. Car Subscription
In addition to entertainment, you can also offer a tangible product-based subscription just like Audi, BMW, Jaguar, and Mercedes-Benz have done. This helped them is making good use of the vehicles, that were sitting around and utilized them to create a stream of revenue from outdated car models.
3. Design & Social Media Management
Whether you are an established entrepreneur or new to freelancing you can use Canva to create a number of creative designs from gigs to online and offline platforms. Moreover, with premium, and enterprise subscriptions, you can gain access to the hidden resources that freemium doesn’t offer. Another alternative to Canva is Crello.
On the other hand, with minimum investment in HubSpot Marketing Hub, Zoho Social, and Hootsuite you can create and publish content on multiple social platforms.
4. Research Journals & News
Besides the entertainment industry, the educational sector is also relying on the subscription model. The only difference is, they offer a flat rate in exchange to free access to their recourses. And the giants of the scholarly community include Elsevier, Scopus, EBSCO, and Sage.
Along with the research sector, the news sector is also trying to survive the wave of digitalization with the help of subscription-based billing. It includes The New York Times, CNN, Guardian, etc.
5. Contract Management
The Best thing about the subscription-based model is, you can create a subscription for small services as well. Just like Bonsai. It is a contract management SaaS application that allows freelancers, and businesses to automate contract management. This means if you can’t buy the Zoho Project, monday.com, or other middle tiered SaaS application that you can buy one.
6. Food Subscription
Another rising industry in the subscription ecosystem is food. The most attractive thing about this is, you can order a single meal, easy-to-make meals, organic boxes, at reasonable prices right at your doorsteps. Some of the rising stars are Mosaic, Yumble, Freshly, and Sunbasket that are offering $4 to $35 subscription plans per meal.
7. Fitness
Last on our list is the fitness industry and some prominent names include ClassPass, SoulCycle or and Equinox. Unlike others, ClassPass offers a subscription that includes access to all gyms classes. With this, you can attend any class while paying for the reasonable membership charges.
Also Read: This Is How AI Can Help Start-Ups To Avoid Failure
Parting Words
In a nutshell, subscription-based businesses are on the rise, by making everything accessible to everyone. Even you can live in your dream house or apartment by paying a reasonable price throughout your stay. On the other hand, if you are a travel enthusiast then you can subscribe to airlines and enjoys complimentary benefits such as priority onboarding to special drinks, and access to the VIP lounge, etc.
However, if you are hunting for subscription management software then Zoho Subscriptions has got you covered. It can integrate with over 40 plus Zoho applications, in addition to dozens of third-party applications offered by Techloyce. Moreover, with automated invoicing and billing, you can charge your customers fairly and automatically.
On the other hand, the AI-powered bot keeps a close watch on credit card information and send a notification to subscriber days before the expiry. And, the automatic reminder reduces the involuntary churn.
For more information or customization of Zoho Subscriptions, reach out to Techloyce.
