The streaming industry continues to transform how we consume media and enjoy entertainment. Modern-day customers are always on the lookout for ways to stay entertained, especially in the comfort of their homes, and streaming subscriptions offer a vast array of content at their fingertips. According to Forbes, video services...
Successful subscriber acquisition means you have figured out which acquisition channels produce the most high-value subscribers for your business–an accomplishment that every recurring revenue business strives to achieve. To reach this state, a subscription brand must understand what attracts consumers to their business–is it the promotional offers? The free trial?...
For a SaaS business model, revenue recognition is one of the most important accounting requirements; you often bill for services to be rendered far into the future, so the time that revenue is recognized can have a major impact on your quarterly and annual revenue models. In this article, we...
The subscription economy continues to bloom–and as the industry thrives, the competition becomes more challenging every day. Understanding what it takes to sustainably accelerate subscriber and business growth is key to setting your business apart. How can your brand stand out and become an industry leader? At Recurly, we are...
The recurring revenue model has taken the business world by storm. According to research from Ernst & Young, more than 90% of technology organizations are in the process of moving to a recurring revenue model—or have plans to do so. However, only 55% consider themselves ready for the shift,...
Artificial intelligence (AI) continues to transform the ecommerce industry, and subscriptions aren’t an exception. With new technologies come new challenges, and business owners must understand how to incorporate AI into their current strategy and product offerings. In this article, we’ll share everything you need to know about artificial intelligence and...
With a portion of our customers’ subscriptions initiated on their websites and the rest in the Apple App Store or Google Play, they only have half the picture of business performance. At Recurly, we understand how critical subscription analytics are, so we set out to solve this problem. Introducing app...
Increasingly, consumers are signing up for subscription products and services through app stores hosted by Apple and Google. In fact, over 50% of subscriptions were initiated through merchants’ apps hosted on either the Apple App Store or Google Play last year. While we all love seeing continued growth for subscription...
One of the most underrated but important aspects of the subscriber experience is the relationship you create with your subscribers. This year, an expertly-crafted subscriber experience maintains its position at the center of high customer satisfaction (which translates to high customer lifetime value), loyalty, and improved retention rates. If you’re...
From a product perspective, consumer preferences mean everything. With this kind of knowledge, you create a product or service that your ideal consumers truly want–and keep them loyal to your brand. And every year, consumer preferences change, and that is a weighty consideration for subscription businesses especially, whose goals include...
The subscription industry has changed, and it will continue to evolve in response to the changing climate of the economy and subscriber preferences: Complexity in maturity: As the industry matures, competition, commoditization, and more factors arise that complicate the existing subscription infrastructure. Simple subscription plans have transformed into variable plans...
As we embark on another year of subscriptions, a fresh outlook on marketing is mandatory. Consumers are conducting their annual evaluations of their subscriptions, and they are deciding if your subscription service is still worth the money. Whether you’re a streaming media subscription business or a SaaS recurring revenue service,...
General Manager of EMEA at Recurly Oscar Wall and Recuro Founder and CEO Jonas Åström sat down to share the latest in subscriber growth and revenue trends in 2023. Based in Stockholm, Recuro is a strategy consulting and growth marketing firm, focused exclusively on subscription-based companies. In the webinar,...
2023 is off to a great start in the land of subscriptions, especially with the announcement of our new partnership with Recuro, a Stockholm-based leading subscription business models consultancy. Combined with the technology and professional services of Recuro, Recurly will now be able to provide subscription businesses with the...
Customer insights are a powerful way to ensure a data-driven, subscriber-centric approach across your business. These insights result from thorough analysis and interpretation of valuable information in consumer interactions and channels. Download now: The State of Subscriptions report provides the acquisition, growth, churn, and payments insights you need to...
Led by Recurly’s CEO Dan Burkhart, CMO Theresa McEndree, and Director of Business Intelligence Brian Grier, the 2023 State of Subscriptions webinar unveils the biggest, most impactful findings in the subscription industry from the past year. With these discoveries, our in-house subscription experts have predicted the year to come:...
The subscription business model continues to experience major shifts in subscriber expectations and demands, the value of subscription services, and consumer experiences. Amid challenging times of macroeconomic uncertainty and the revaluation of subscriptions, brands must get ready to grow at the same pace as the industry–expected to top $1.5 trillion...
Have you ever tried to navigate a boat without looking at a compass? That’s how it feels to run a subscription business without consumer insights. Subscriber insights make your marketing strategy more targeted, give you a better idea of what to focus on, and show you how to design...
Anticipating consumers’ needs has become the main goal for most subscription businesses, especially in challenging economic times. Quality, actionable subscriber insights are the most effective way to achieve it. The importance of subscriber insights analysis Consumer insights give you a deeper understanding of how your audience behaves and why–helping you...
Are you still using basic tools like Google Analytics to measure the success of your marketing initiatives? If so, you’re probably struggling to truly understand the ROI of your various marketing initiatives. This is because tools like Google Analytics can only measure how many people visit your website, and they...
Every subscription business aims to build a strong subscriber base and turn their customers into brand ambassadors. Valuable subscribers aren’t necessarily the customers who spend the most. Profitable customers advocate on your behalf, share valuable feedback, and actively interact with your brand. When identifying your most profitable subscribers, apply the...
While winning new subscribers is essential to your subscription business, long-term success and growth are only possible if you can retain those subscribers. Minimizing churn and maximizing renewals are crucial, and doing it well requires fast access to the metrics that measure your progress and deliver insights into trends and...
When I speak with the executives of recurring revenue companies, we discuss common goals like attracting new subscribers and keeping churn rates low. I always ask how they measure their progress toward those goals — and I'm sometimes surprised at their answers. Not every business that relies on recurring revenue...
If you bill on a recurring basis, you likely already know the importance of tracking Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR). Recurly calculates this all-important subscription metric for your business as part of our Analytics offerings. While the MRR Analytics Report is the most viewed report in our product, it’s also...
It’s no secret that companies of all sizes and in every industry consider data a must-have. If you’re able to take full advantage of the data you have on hand, you can gain deeper insights into the state of the business, make better decisions at a faster clip, and increase...
Recently, Recurly Chief of Staff, Emma Clark joined Subscription Insider’s Kathy Greenler Sexton to discuss the impacts — both positive and negative — that COVID-19 has had on subscription-based businesses. If you missed out on the webinar, here’s the gist. COVID-19 has entirely reshaped the subscription landscape, as well as increased the economic uncertainty...
Subscription Billing Benchmark Report The unique challenges that come with a subscription business are many. From churn and decline rates to revenue recovery, the obstacles are all too real. Recurly is in the business of making subscriptions a competitive advantage for our merchants and to this end, our business analysts...
In a previous blog post, we’ve described the ground-breaking data science work spearheaded by Recurly’s data science team. Since that previous post, we’ve conducted various cutting-edge research projects to address our customers’ needs for data insights. One interesting project uses time series forecasting to predict future subscription volume and MRR...
Software as a Service—also known as the SaaS model—was one of the earliest adopters of the subscription model concept. There are, of course, a multitude of compelling, strategic reasons to adopt a subscription model based on access rather than ownership: more predictable recurring revenue streams (and compounding revenue); improved subscriber...
As noted in a previous post, the subscription e-commerce business is booming. This segment has grown by more than 100% per year over the past five years, according to McKinsey, and research from Shopify suggests that global e-commerce sales will hit $4.8T by 2021. Capturing and managing your e-commerce offerings...
Many key business processes today are run on a suite of SaaS business applications. From marketing automation to inventory management to accounting, best-in-breed applications have permeated even the stodgiest of industries. While these applications have created tremendous efficiencies, it’s critical to ensure that each application is using comprehensive, up-to-date data....
In a previous blog, we talked about how Recurly’s machine learning models help recover recurring invoices which initially failed and had entered the dunning process. Today, we want to share some analysis on the recovery rate for such invoices. Knowing what recovery rates are typical for your business allows you...
In a previous blog post, we outlined how Recurly uses machine learning in our Revenue Optimization Engine to predict transaction success and maximize your revenue. This unique Recurly technology is an example of how machine learning, if handled correctly, can be a powerful tool for preventing involuntary churn. At Recurly,...
SubSummit 2019 in New Orleans has just wrapped up, and the attendees from Recurly had a blast meeting with industry partners and prospective clients. Chief of Staff Emma Clark led a discussion on “Subscription Benchmarks,” and the team even found a little time to explore the Big Easy. Over the...
While many statistical trends apply to all subscription businesses, it’s important to also understand the unique challenges different subscription industries face. For example, how best to structure one’s product offerings, what discounts if any should be given to customers willing to commit long-term, and what role does pricing play? The...
Modern business software contains a wealth of customer data and has provided for much greater operational efficiency. It’s also added to the difficulty of managing and integrating data across systems. Creating custom data fields can help mitigate this by connecting data across systems. Custom fields can also be used to...
The Internet of Things is transforming how we live, work, and play. Beyond the familiar ‘smart’ devices in our homes, such as thermostats and fitness trackers, the Internet of Things (IoT) has applications in a wide-ranging realm. There are devices that can find our lost phones and luggage, monitor our...
In our previous post in this series, we talked about the difference between cancellation and churn. The post outlined the different actions you can take when a customer cancels to try to prevent them from churning and how Recurly helps to identify these customers. Because we know you can’t prevent all...
Returnloads.net is an online freight exchange in the UK. They connect haulage companies who have empty vehicles with businesses that need goods moved—helping to reduce costs along with the number of empty trucks traveling throughout the U.K. ReturnLoads is also a Recurly customer and one that’s so happy with the...
Just as a carpenter would certainly choose a hammer to drive a nail, not the blunt end of a screwdriver, so too should a merchant use the correct tool to extract data from Recurly. Today, a merchant has three different options for extracting data. Listen for events in Recurly (via...
Fitbit fitness tracker. Nest home thermostat. Philips Sonicare toothbrush. LIFX light bulbs. Caterpillar tractors. The Port of Hamburg. What do all these have in common? They’re all part of the Internet of Things, or IoT, where “smart” devices collect and transmit data, which can then be used by either the...
Guest blog post brought you by Bizness Apps, a Recurly customer providing a fast & easy way for small businesses to make Mobile Apps. Every customer payment we take in over at Bizness Apps is paid using Recurly, so it’s safe to say that Recurly...