While acquisition continues to be a big focus for companies, the challenge now is building a lasting relationship that keeps on giving. To truly unlock the potential of your customer base, you need to keep them engaged. But how?

During our virtual event, How to turn subscriber engagement into revenue, Dylan Hoeffler, VP of Product Marketing, and Chad Cain, Director of Sales Engineering at Recurly, explore the importance of continuous consumer engagement and share five actionable tactics to turn it into revenue. 

Watch the full event on-demand, or keep reading to get the insights. 

Why subscriber engagement matters

Subscriber engagement is the key to building a loyal customer base. Engaged consumers are more likely to renew their subscriptions, make repeated purchases, and build a stronger connection with your brand. 

Loyalty translates directly into increased revenue and a higher customer lifetime value. By focusing on engagement, you also reduce churn rates and enhance customer satisfaction, creating a win-win situation for your business and subscribers.

How to drive subscriber engagement

Subscribers are more likely to engage with you when they get:

  • Frictionless experience across all touchpoints of their subscriber lifecycle

  • Personalized communications based on engagement and data

  • Contextual messaging based on product actions and engagement

Creating a strategy to engage subscribers requires a multi-faceted approach. Here are five tactics to help transform engagement into revenue:

Drive acquisition with timely messages at checkout

One of the most effective ways to capture new subscribers is through strategic messaging at the moment of purchase—when customers are engaged and ready to commit. Use this opportunity to offer incentives like discounts or exclusive content to encourage conversions. 

For example, you can create a customized prompt that recognizes users who abandoned their cart, offers them an incentive to sign up, and, with a single click, brings them back to their previous position in the checkout flow without starting from scratch.

Boost engagement with relevant recommendations

Once you have subscribers, the next step is to keep them engaged with personalized content, products, and services. Tailored recommendations based on their browsing history or past purchases can make your approach more relevant and engaging.

Advanced algorithms and machine learning can help provide these personalized suggestions, making customers feel valued and understood. For instance, if a subscriber is a sports fan, you could recommend additional NFL content as the next step in their journey.

Increase upsells with personalized prompts

Upselling is a powerful tactic to increase revenue, and personalizing prompts can make this even more effective. Use data analytics to understand your subscribers’ preferences and purchasing behavior to offer tailored upsell suggestions that complement their existing purchases. 

This approach not only increases the average order value but also enhances the overall customer experience. Customers are all about the benefits. In fact, 4 in 5 subscribers want to be rewarded with lower subscription prices (82%), discounts (81%), and upgrades (80%).

Picture this: A prestigious hotel chain uses a prompt based on customers' upcoming hotel stay information to offer add-ons like champagne on arrival or early check-in. With one click, subscribers could add these extras to their accounts.

Combat voluntary churn with cancel alternatives

Voluntary churn happens when consumers deliberately choose to cancel their subscriptions. To mitigate this, it is key to offer alternatives at the point of cancellation. With a cancel-save journey, you can intercept subscribers about to cancel to gather valuable feedback and include options to pause the subscription, switch to a lower-tier plan, or get additional perks for staying. 

Did you know? 70% of subscribers will reconsider canceling if given a loyalty discount or incentive. 

Reduce involuntary churn with in-app payment notifications

Involuntary churn occurs when subscribers are unintentionally dropped due to payment issues, such as insufficient funds or outdated card information. To prevent this, you can implement in-app notifications about failed transactions or upcoming payments. Additionally, offering multiple payment options and an easy update process can enhance user experience and retention.

Turning subscriber engagement into revenue involves a combination of strategic acquisition tactics, personalized recommendations, targeted upselling, and effective churn management. 

Curious to know how Recurly can help you turn engagement into revenue? With our new lifecycle engagement tool, businesses can implement one-click subscription changes for both highly engaged subscribers and consumers at risk of churn. All, without waiting on engineering resources.

Let’s dive deeper.

A sneak peek into Recurly's lifecycle engagement tool

Recurly offers an all-in-one lifecycle engagement solution that packs personalized, real-time calls to action, interactive prompts, A/B testing, and out-of-the-box configuration options. 

This solution, combined with our revenue recovery capabilities, allows businesses to increase average revenue per user (ARPU) and combat churn, through personalized subscriber journeys. It's designed for business teams eager to drive high engagement and lower churn. With a simple content management UI, changes can happen in real time, without developer resources required.

See it for yourself.