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Subscription management covers the operations around a customer’s lifecycle, such as handling refunds, assigning credits, mid-cycle plan changes and payment methods. It differs from recurring billing, which covers the financial terms of a routine, usually automated transaction between merchant and customer.
Why is subscription management so important in recent times?
Many products and services online are beginning to adopt subscription-based systems for their billing processes.
From online streaming services to digital products, more startups and business owners are now beginning to see the many advantages offered by subscription billing.
This is due to the automation of most of their inflow and the creation of recurring revenue from different subscribers.
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Apart from the recurring revenue, subscription billing systems also offer appreciable stability to businesses.
It is also important to understand some basics about subscription lifecycle management.
Learn all you need to know about the essentials of subscription services management in this article.
What is Subscription Management?
Subscription management defines a range of operations revolving around a customer lifecycle, which includes handling refunds, assigning credits, handling adjustments to subscription models mid-cycle, payment methods, etc.
For most companies, the subscription billing workflow is automated. However, each company is automated to a different extent. Some companies can automatically bill, but no alarm will go off if the money doesn’t come through. Currently, several tools can help with this.
You’ll need tools to keep tabs on your customers, their subscriptions and processes, payments and cancellations, and invoice management.
What is the difference between subscription management and recurring billing?
Subscription management and recurring billing are linked but not the same. Recurring billing covers the financial terms of an agreed, routine transaction between merchant and customer, often automated, while subscription management handles everything else in the customer lifecycle.
Some users often make the mistake of referring to subscription management as recurring bills.
While both are linked, subscription-management and recurring billing software do not mean the same thing nor do they have the same business models.
For a recurring billing payment, there is an agreement between a merchant and a customer to monitor a routine transaction between both parties. This process is often automated.
The recurring billing processing largely covers the financial terms while the subscription handles everything else. Some popular recurring billing platforms are Stripe, PayPal, etc.
These tools allow subscribers to commit to a merchant based on a defined schedule of payment using a credit card, wire transfer, or other forms of payment.
What are the advantages of subscription management?
A good subscription tool improves customer retention and relationships, increases efficiency through automation and reporting on customer preferences and history, and raises the return on what you spend acquiring customers by helping you keep them loyal.
1. Improved Customer Retention and Customer relationships
With the right subscription billing solution, you can ensure optimal retention for your company.
Apart from being able to keep tabs on customers throughout the customer lifecycle, an efficient subscription tool offers the information required to improve customer satisfaction and detect possible reasons as to why customers might leave your brand.
Recommended reading:Tips to Improve Your Customer Retention Rate from Baremetrics.
2. Enhanced Efficiency and Automation
A good subscription billing solution also helps you generate necessary reports on customer preferences and history. Thereby giving you the insight to make the best decisions for your business.
3. Increased Returns on Investment
Most businesses spend a notable amount on their customer acquisition process.
However, a good subscription tool equips you to optimize this ROI as you get the insight required to maintain a good relationship with your customers and gain their loyalty over time.
Subscription Management Software Tools
There are several software tools available to help with subscription management. However, here are a few for you to note.
1. Baremetrics
Baremetrics is a subscription analytics tool designed for both organizations and individual brands that use a subscription billing system.
The tool offers an array of management options, by generating vital metrics and reports based on customer behavior and choices and also helping you implement the strategies you choose.
Baremetrics can be integrated with a range of payment platforms, including Recurly, Stripe, Braintree, Chargebee, Google Play, and several others.
This way, you can fully automate your management process without any hassle.
Baremetrics offers a real sandbox experience of their tool, get into the demo account here. You can also get started with the 14-day free trial offer to check out the fantastic features offered by this subscription analytics tool.
2. Chargebee
Chargebee is a subscription tool that helps handle invoicing, recurring billing, customer lifecycle management, etc.
The platform can be integrated with payment platforms to fully automate your subscription processes.
From issuing custom invoices to managing offline payments, the tool offers several options to business managers.
3. FastSpring
Established in 2005, FastSpring is a SaaS company that offers users a range of eCommerce services.
One of the services offered by the company is helping companies manage their subscription billing systems. FastSpring offers both subscription billing and management services to interested brands.
4. Salesforce
Salesforce is another holistic software tool for online business owners.
The platform incorporates a range of digital services, including subscription-management, to help online companies get optimal outcomes from their billing systems.
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Pricing Plans
Most of these management tools charge you on your monthly recurring revenue. However, these platforms also offer a free trial period to explore the tools offered by the software before you choose to pay or cancel.
In conclusion, subscription management is a vital part of managing an online business, particularly if you operate on a subscription billing system.
A good subscription tool helps you understand your subscribers better, thereby guiding you to improve your relationship with these users.
You can also monitor the trends and choices of your existing users to know what part of your business is most appealing to them.
This offers some insight to help you gain new customers and improve the overall customer lifecycle of your brand.
Some of these management tools also offer extra features. For instance, Baremetrics allows you to carry out some manual operations and segment users based on your selected criteria.
At Baremetrics, we believe in guiding you towards making an unbiased, well-informed choice. Get your free trial and see how you can power your business by using reliable analytics data.
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Frequently asked questions
What is subscription management?
Subscription management is the range of operations around a customer’s lifecycle: handling refunds, assigning credits, adjusting subscription plans mid-cycle and managing payment methods. Most companies automate their billing workflow to some extent, but you still need tools to track customers, subscriptions, payments, cancellations and invoices.
Is subscription management the same as recurring billing?
No. Recurring billing is an agreement between a merchant and a customer to process a routine transaction on a schedule, usually automated, and it covers the financial terms. Subscription management handles everything else in the customer lifecycle, so the two are linked but not the same.
Why does subscription management matter for retention?
Keeping tabs on customers throughout their lifecycle gives you the information you need to improve customer satisfaction and spot the reasons customers might leave. With the right subscription billing solution, you can act on those signals early and keep customer relationships strong.
What should a subscription management tool track?
At a minimum, it should keep tabs on your customers, their subscriptions and processes, payments and cancellations, and invoice management. A good tool also generates reports on customer preferences and history, so you have the insight to make the best decisions for your business.
Can automated billing still miss failed payments?
Yes. Each company is automated to a different extent, and some can bill automatically without any alarm going off if the money doesn’t come through. That is why you need tools that watch payments as well as subscriptions, not just billing automation.
