Study: Payment experience critical for subs growth
May 14, 2024
Findings from subscription management and recurring billing solutions specialist Recurly’s study, The Payment Experience Is Critical To Subscriber Growth And Retention, sound the alarm on pervasive payment challenges flatlining consumer subscription growth, with 100 per cent of surveyed businesses acknowledging the detrimental impact of failed payments.
“We know the moment of payment is emotionally charged, but it’s not about the payment itself,” says Lina Tonk, CMO of Recurly. “The most successful businesses know it’s about the consumer experience and the value being provided. Choosing a strategic and mature billing and payments partner is imperative to nurturing subscriber relationships and fortifying subscription growth.”
Payment challenges create adverse effects on customer relationships, brand perception and subscriber value. According to the Recurly study, issues with payments led to 61 per cent of respondents reporting revenue loss, 53 per cent observing damaged subscriber relationships, and 45 per cent witnessing a decline in brand perception. Just a mere 7 per cent had confidence in their capacity to deliver superior subscription billing experiences.
With 65 per cent of companies conceding that payment failures decrease customer lifetime value, the study emphasises the need for sophisticated monetisation strategies and an enterprise-grade subscription management platform that prioritises flexibility and scalability to accelerate growth.
Key recommendations within the Recurly study include:
- Prioritising both acquisition and retention to facilitate growth in subscription businesses.
- Investing in the right technology platforms that drive efficient operations and leverage data for insights.
- Adopting advanced churn mitigation techniques to preserve customer relationships and brand value.
These recommendations were informed based on the responses of more than 160 people in senior management positions at US and UK direct-to-consumer companies that participated in the study. The study, conducted by Forrester Consulting, highlights that while a significant percentage of subscription businesses struggle to anticipate and react to subscriber demands, the industry is poised for explosive growth when there’s an intentional focus on the payment experience.