Subscribed: Why the Subscription Model Will Be Your Company's Future - and What to Do About It

by Tien Tzuo

So what’s changed about the monthly subscription services today? Well, the smart ones realize that if they really want to retain their subscribers, they need to focus on building a great service, without relying on lame tricks like hiding the cancel button. “If you are in the subscription business for the long term, especially in an age of lightning-fast communications among dissatisfied customers, you want to follow the golden rule,” says Robbie Kellman Baxter, author of The Membership Economy. “Make it easy for customers to leave if they want to. You can certainly ask them why they’re leaving, or try to win them back, but don’t get in their way—the digital equivalent of blocking the exit with a hulking security guard.”