The subscription economy is booming, driven by a growing trend of consumers demanding access over ownership. While offering high-quality products is essential, how you manage subscriptions can make or break your success. 

Keeping a competitive edge is key if you want to stay ahead. But with 44% of subscribers canceling their service due to technical issues, how can you make sure you’re not left behind? It all comes down to delivering a seamless experience.

Let’s explore three solutions to overcome the common challenges businesses like yours face today. 

Achieving customization and flexibility in systems

42% of merchants report they face challenges with rigid subscription management platforms. Inflexible systems often lead to a one-size-fits-all approach that doesn't allow you to respond to market shifts. This makes it difficult to implement new strategies, offer personalization, or implement constructive feedback. 

These are some of the must-have features your management and billing solution should have:

  • Scalability

  • Global support

  • Data collection capabilities

  • Multiple gateway support

  • Revenue Recognition tools

Achieving market agility requires systems that are as flexible as they are powerful, making it easy for businesses to adapt quickly and stay at the forefront of market trends.

Optimizing payment processing and gateways

Not having a backup gateway can lead to failed transactions, and incorrect payment processing can cause customer drop-off and lost revenue. In fact, nearly half (48%) of subscribers would cancel their service due to billing or payment issues. 

Robust payment orchestration is crucial to keep revenue flowing. Gateways can fail, may not support certain card issuers, or are available only at specific locations. Plus, subscribers demand a wide range of payment methods and currencies to choose from, such as credit or debit cards, PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Venmo, and more.

Make sure your payment processing technology isn’t holding back your growth. The right payment system can help you build, scale, and keep ahead of consumer needs.

Streamlining operational inefficiencies

Operational inefficiencies have a cascade effect on businesses. They often create data or workflow silos that hurt your business as you continue to scale. When merchants are reliant on legacy billing systems, they often deal with redundant, inefficient methods, such as:

  • A lack of revenue recognition automation

  • Not being able to edit plans and pricing easily

  • Not having automated dunning campaigns or payment retries 

  • Redirecting resources that could focus on product enhancements

  • Not being able to fully utilize APIs, webhooks, and other integrations

In a subscription-based business, where customer retention and satisfaction are paramount, operational inefficiencies can have a direct impact on churn rates and revenue. The right billing platform can reduce manual tasks, labor costs, time wasted, errors, audit costs, and compliance issues. 

Want to learn more about overcoming tech challenges?

From keeping subscriber satisfaction high to ensuring seamless operations, businesses must stay on their toes. Merchants that are not updating their technology are missing out on key growth. 

Our guide, Get Ahead of Tech Trouble: Overcome Tech Obstacles and Retain Customers, created in partnership with Hanover Research, shares actionable insights on today’s biggest tech challenges and how to future-proof your business for success.