The consumption industry is constantly changing, and in recent years the subscription industry has gained plenty of popularity. Everywhere you turn, you can see the subscription economy booming. With this new way of doing business becoming more common, it's a good idea to have that option available for your customers. Subscriptions are beneficial for both you and your clients; It allows business owners to measure what what income will be coming in during a certain time period, and it allows your customers to receive a great service for a committed time period. It is especially useful managing things like children's programs and activities. Parents have come to expect that there will be the option to choose semester-based activities meant for recurring parents. There are several different types of recurring enrollments and subscriptions, so let's examine the various aspects of them and discuss what might work best for your business.

Benefits to the organization:

You may be wondering whether it is necessary to join the evolution of the subscription service. There are many reasons why creating recurring subscriptions for your clients is a great idea.

• Consistent Income: Putting in the initial effort to secure recurring enrolment will provide you with a set revenue that you can depend on for a long time period!

• Relationship Management: Subscriptions save you the time you would normally spend chasing down clients for payment, as well as the time spent having awkward conversations about pricing on a regular basis.

• Time: Subscriptions save your team a lot of time and enable you to spread your energy throughout different initiatives. Once you discover the power of automated subscriptions and adapt to your new system, you will be hooked on the benefits it provides.

• Discount Automation: Subscriptions prevent you from having to manually adjust individual students' payment plans!

When making decisions for your company, always remember that time is money. In saying this, if subscriptions are going to save you and your team a whole bunch of time, there's no harm in adding this option to your program to save you money.

Types:

How do you know what type of subscription service will work best for your business? As mentioned earlier, there are several different types of subscriptions and recurring enrollment options that should be taken into consideration. To successfully have recurring enrollments, you should create several subscription options that clients can choose between. Having customizable plans that work for a diverse array of clients is optimal.

• For both semester-based programs and weekly meetings/activities, you can create different payment schedules for when clients owe you a recurring payment. Potential options include 'Weekly', 'Bi-Weekly', and 'Monthly'.

• Another option would be to create membership plans that can be renewed after a set time period (e.g. every month, every year, etc.). It is extremely simple to customize and adjust subscriptions based on what you and your customers want.

Client Benefits:

Adding a subscription option to your business will be appreciated by both your staff and your clients because of its benefits! Articulating the benefits of subscriptions to your clients will help them get on board. With a subscription, customers no longer have to worry about missing a payment or an enrollment date. Another common benefit is that subscription-style plans typicaly have a lower per-class price than individual classes. You can reward clients for committing to a larger number of classes by providing a bulk price that is somewhat lower than paying for the same number of classes individually.

Customer experience can also stand to benefit from a subscription-styled system. Avoiding the awkward "missed-payment talk" with your clients will lessen the strain on your business-client relationships. Allowing clients to commit for longer periods can give them a sense of belongingness and comfort as they understand that they have a valued place in your program.

Considerations & Drawbacks:

As we already know, there are numerous benefits to adopting the subscription way of business. However, there are a few things that should absolutely be taken into consideration before a subscription plan is published.

• You need to come up with a plan about what to do in the case of a client's cancellation. Make the system easy for clients to use and ensure that they are getting what they pay for. Having an established system to pro-rate clients for missed classes will allow for mutual trust in business-client relationships.

• Since recurring payments call for a larger sum to be paid upfront, some clients may have insufficient funds to pay for all classes in one payment. Being flexible and accommodating for such clients means allowing for payments to be made in weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly installments.

• With recurring payments, it is crucial to track and file each of your charges, as it the onus of the organization to prove the validity of their charges to the bank.

• Make sure to advertise your flexible subscription plan; both current and potential customers should be well-versed in all the options available to them.

In conclusion, the subscription economy is the new way of doing business. Even if you are not one for change, this is a change that you should really consider! Take a look at all the benefits and options within the subscription industry, as there is bound to be something that works for your business!