The latest research from Paywizard indicates a proactive and informed approach is key to retaining and winning back wayward subscribers
London, 30th August 2016 – To stem customer attrition Pay-TV operators today have to ensure they move beyond simply providing a good service and collecting payment, and instead use insights gleaned from subscriber data to pre-empt customer defections and even win back those who have already left, according to a new research-based whitepaper from Paywizard, the specialist in subscription, billing and CRM for pay-TV.
In the paper, entitled Seize the Moments: Easy Exit, Welcome Return, Paywizard demonstrates that increasingly pay-TV customers are demanding a better experience at each of the key ‘Decision Moments’ along their subscriber journey – including the ‘Leave’ and ‘Win Back’ phases of the customer lifecycle.
The report highlights the need for pay-TV providers to dig deep into their subscriber data to establish the type of proactive customer relationship management (CRM) that prevents wavering clients from leaving and arms operators with the business knowledge necessary to woo back those who insist on terminating service. To show exactly how to achieve this, Paywizard will be at IBC 8-12 September to demonstrate how a subscriber management relationship platform enables operators to respond more effectively at each Decision Moment.
The Paywizard study, which compiled results from a series of focus groups conducted in partnership with research firm Decipher, reveals that if pay-TV providers effectively manage consumers in danger of leaving – or those that have already left – the relationships remain salvageable.
Feedback from participants in the study demonstrated clearly that actions aimed at preventing customer dissatisfaction, maintaining loyalty and treating subscribers as valued clients went a long way toward stemming churn; and providing fair, straightforward and amicable leaving processes often encouraged those who did leave to eventually return. Examples that focus group participants noted included:
- Ensuring that cancellation is painless and leaves the door open to return: “It was so easy that I went back. If it had been a nightmare, I wouldn’t have returned.”
- Giving unexpected bonuses to build the loyalty of customers that analysis indicates might feel undervalued: “If you feel appreciated by the service, you’re more likely to stay”
- Pre-empting any complaints and grievances due to service problems, which could start a subscriber down the road to cancellation: “I had a tech issue and my provider went ahead and credited me for that month before I even asked. That was great for winning my trust.”
Bhavesh Vaghela, Paywizard’s Chief Marketing Officer, notes that operators have to be proactive when it comes to the last two Decision Moments. “Effectively managing the ‘Leave’ and ‘Win Back’ moments is all about identifying and assessing those subscribers who essentially have a foot out the door or have already gone through it, understanding their circumstances, and then dealing with them in a way that maintains the customer relationship and goodwill.
“That means putting in place solutions that enable operators to tap into all available subscriber data so they can take informed actions. This can involve determining why a customer is leaving and making them a tailored offer that will keep them – which could be a lateral change in package or upgrade that better meets their needs, or even a downgrade that suits their current circumstances. The two weeks before a cancellation takes effect can be crucial, as there is still time for operators to turn the situation around.”
He adds: “You can’t stop everyone from leaving, so if a subscriber cannot be swayed to stay, it is critical to make sure they leave on good terms by enabling an easy exit. After that, insight into their previous behaviour as a customer can provide the background you need to tempt them back with a personalised offer that is an improved fit for them and/or better value than what they had before.”
The new paper, Seize the Moments: Easy Exit, Welcome Return, offers an analysis of the research along with expert advice for pay-TV operators on the last two Decision Moments. It is available for download here. Operators can also see first hand at IBC (Stand F32 in Hall 14) how the latest version of Paywizard Agile, the subscriber relationship management platform, enables them to identify and respond to the key points in the customer lifecycle though its new Decision Moments dashboard.
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For further information, please contact:
Darcie Farrell
+44 20 7486 4900
Notes for Editors
The research on Decision Moments was conducted with focus groups in the first half of 2016. The aim was to identify the critical customer engagement points most likely to evoke positive or negative emotional reactions and to impact customer relationships between operators and subscribers – including the long-term success of those relationships. The eight consumer Decision Moments identified by Paywizard and validated by the focus groups interviewed for the research report are:
- ‘Find’: Deciding on a service to sign up to, that best suits the consumer’s content and cost requirements
- ‘Join’: The process of signing up, as easily and quickly as possible
- ‘Consume’: Seamless viewing of appealing content, at any time, location and on any device
- ‘Upgrade’: Flexibly upgrading your services package, as and when you like
- ‘Downgrade’: Flexibly downgrading your services package, when it suits
- ‘Bill’: Receiving accurate, clear and timely bills, using a favoured payment method
- ‘Leave’: Cancelling a subscription with as little hassle as possible
- ‘Win Back’: Rejoining a service again, at any time, without re-registering.
About Paywizard
Paywizard has been supporting subscription-based businesses for over 18 years. Our experience is real. Helping over 100 Pay-TV operators including: ITV, Setanta Sports, BT Sport, BoxNation.
We know what it takes to acquire, grow and retain paying customers. This insight is deeply embedded in all that we do.
With over ten million customers acquired, our Paywizard Agile Platform delivers advanced subscription, billing and CRM with performance marketing modules.
When combined with our consulting services and expertise, we’ve helped our clients deliver inbound acquisition rates of up to 90%, outbound campaigns driving up to 25% conversions, and churn reduction programmes achieving turn-around figures of up to 60%.
Ultimately we deliver personalised experiences across each customer moment. The result: happy and engaged customers.