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What a roller coaster this past year has been.

From the Ukraine War, to the passing of Queen Elizabeth II, the World Cup, Depp-Heard trial and the Oscars slap, Google’s Year of Search report reminds us just how much has happened.

Through all this, we’ve detected a steady movement in the subscriptions industry too, which will affect marketers in 2023 and beyond.

The subscription is no longer just a business model. It is the customer’s lived experience of the brand, and as such is part of the brand’s identity itself.

That fact should guide marketers in their approach to 2023. The question is how.

Brand connections happens every day

The first thing that marketers should consider is that the subscriber’s experience with the brand happens every day, at every touchpoint opportunity. A subscription brand is so much more than a logo or product. It is the basis for the customer relationship, continuously in connection with the customer. How smooth or rocky that relationship is will determine the success of the subscription.

Don’t disrupt the experience

This naturally follows on to the next vital point: make sure that the customer’s connection to the subscription or service is frictionless, seamless, and uninterrupted. Optimizing the payment process and preventing failed transactions is key here – don’t give subscribers a potential “out” or a reason to reconsider their connection to your brand.

It’s time to stop looking at failed payments as just a product/financial issue, and see it for what it really is: a direct impact on your brand’s ability to acquire and delight more customers and bring more revenue. If the overall experience is not the best, then your marketing efforts will not be their best either.

Marketers can’t build a budget for 2023 without healing a broken payment flow

Imagine a well of fresh delicious water. You fill a bucket and bring it to the tank. Again and again. But if there is a hole in the tank, and if that hole is big enough, it doesn’t matter how many buckets you fill; you’ll lose water faster than you can bring it, and the level in the tank won’t rise.

This is the story of acquisition versus retention. And it’s every marketer’s job today. It’s not enough to just bring water (acquisition); you have to make sure the tank doesn’t leak.

In other words, if you spend $100 acquiring a customer, and lose $50 when an existing customer churns, then each customer costs more overall and your customers’ lifetime value drops.

What causes a leaky tank? Bad customer experiences, failed transactions, and disrupted relationships with the provider. These all damage the brand’s reputation and customer loyalty, and ultimately, it’s the revenue that suffers.

Revenue fueled 2023 = DTS

It’s time to reconfigure the subscription model to a DTS (direct to subscriber) philosophy – meaning that the way to retain customers is by creating positive, comfortable, and effective connections with them every step of the way.

A lost customer is never just one loss. A disappointed customer won’t stay quiet; they take others with them. That is the leak that must be prevented. Especially in a time of inflation, when people are more sensitive to cost, the conversation about conserving customers is even more valuable. Acquiring customers in economic downturns is tough. Satisfying existing customers with seamless subscription experiences is easier if you have the right technology at your fingertips.

The key to the power of DTS is technology that prevents friction and helps you to delight customers again and again.

The marketer’s goal is always growth. 2023 will be the year of DTS experiences beyond acquisition – will you join us?