If you've considered starting a new subscription-based business or adding a subscription-based service or product to your DTC business, then now is the time to do it.

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What is the subscription economy?

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When considering the subscription economy, think of all the services and products that are bought through a subscription scheme. Traditional buying is casual, whereas subscription-based businesses are based on the frequency of use. Think of the big music and video companies, such as Apple Music, Netflix, or the like, which sells a service via a subscription model each month.

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It isn't only tech companies that are thriving in the subscription economy.Monthly food packages are becoming more and more common, as are takeaway subscriptions, lifestyle products, and even clothing.

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Entering the subscription economy

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So, you've done your research and seen how much the subscription economy has grown over recent years, catapulted by the pandemic and online purchasing behaviors. Where do you start though, and what should you look out for? In this article, we provide a tried and tested subscription business checklist for you to follow.

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The ultimate subscription DTC business checklist

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To help you get started, we've put together a comprehensive checklist that will guide you as you get your subscription business off the ground. Here's what you need to know.

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Have you defined and set your marketing strategy fundamentals?

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First and foremost, you need to get the marketing basics right. Make sure you have all of the following in place:

• Have you defined your persona?
• Do you know who your competitors are, and have you done extensive research on them? This is a critically important one.
• How is your product or service differentiated against all the other similar products or services out there (what's your Unique Selling Proposition)? What makes you really stand out? It's important you communicate this through your marketing strategy.

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Where are you driving traffic to your website or app from? Have you considered multiple sources?

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It's important that you don't rely on just one source when it comes to driving traffic to your website or app, no matter what your DTC business is. Have you considered all digital marketing platforms - social media, search engines, community platforms, etc?

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Do you have a paid media campaign?

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While creating organic content is important, not only from a brand perspective but also for search engine optimization (SEO), you need to carefully consider a paid media campaign to run across both search and social media. This involved setting targeted adverts on the likes of Google and Facebook. When people are searching for your product or service, you need to make sure that you are front of mind, linking them directly to whatever landing page forms part of your customer acquisition strategy. Facebook ads are very effective here.

Make sure that you partner with the right media buyers who have sufficient experience in scaling budgets on these paid media channels.

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Are you using influencers and affiliate partners?

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Think beyond traditional marketing, and consider using influencers and affiliate partners to promote and push your brand. There is arguably no more effective marketing strategy than word of mouth, so get the big names behind your brand.

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If you are limited on budget, because they can be expensive, offer them a complimentary service or product in return for exposure.

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Are you optimizing your content marketing strategy for customer acquisition?

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It's important that you optimize your marketing content to not only reach your target audience but to actually start a conversation with them. What's key here is that this comes across as authentic, and not a hard sell.

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Have you created a freemium subscriber list?

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When it comes to the trial of your product or service, you need to offer your audience an opportunity to try it out without committing to becoming a paying consumer. Think about Apple TV’s free trial, or Netflix’s one month 'give it ago for free' strategy. If they like it, they'll be happy to continue as a paying customer.

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Have you set up a remarketing strategy?

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You need to have a remarketing strategy in place to turn an interested audience into a paying one. How is your media buyer or marketers using remarketing? Are they targeting those who visited your website on social media? Are they following up on those who have shown interest in your product or service?Facebook ads are also very effective in this regard.

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Are you employing good SEO and UX tactics?

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It's important that you continually improve your website UX (user experience) and your SEO (search engine optimization). Are you testing different elements on your website (a green CTA button versus a red one) to improve customer acquisition? You must continually experiment to refine both of these important elements of digital marketing.

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Are you listening to the needs of your customers?

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Listen carefully to the needs of your customer. You need to have a communication strategy in place whereby customers can communicate a need or problem with you.Are you running surveys, is it easy for them to leave you feedback? When you do receive this feedback, make sure you adapt your marketing or business strategy accordingly.

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These are the people who are ultimately buying into your brand, so listen to them.

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Are you re-engaging with your paying subscribers?

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How are you communicating with your paying subscribers? You need to keep them up to date with new features, updates, or other key information that may be of interest to you. By re-engaging with your customers who can upsell other products or services.

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Are you decreasing your customer acquisition cost (CAC)?

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You need to be aware of your customer acquisition costs (CAC) and focus on decreasing this as much as possible. How much are you spending on marketing, and how many customers are you acquiring? This is the key metric that will determine whether or not your business is sustainable in the long term.

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Are you gather data to improve your strategy?

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It's important to always be gathering data so that you can improve your strategy.You need to track everything from customer acquisition costs (CAC) to customer lifetime value (LTV). By understanding these key metrics, you can make decisions that will improve your business in the long term. You must invest in data science skills within your team.

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Are you generating predictable recurring revenue and building customer loyalty?

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By tapping into a customizable subscription program that’s unique to your business, you can generate predictable recurring revenue and build customer loyalty. The good news is you don't need to reinvent this one, as the work has already been done here.

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You can power your subscription program with Bold Subscriptions, a platform that allows you to generate recurring revenue for your business by adding subscriptions to checkout. Take a look at the many other features and signup here.

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[Note: This post contains affiliate links. Read our full affiliate disclaimer here.]

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All you need to get your subscription business up and running

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There you have it, your checklist to get your subscription business off the ground.If you tackle each item in this list, you'll have a successful subscription-based business in no time.

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Goodluck!

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