Last Updated on Jan 21, 2021 by James W
There is no one size fits all ecommerce business model that everybody should be doing. This is a good thing as you can find a way that works for your particular business. But, it can also make things more difficult as the best way forward is not always so clear.
Some ecommerce stores are best when they follow the old standard way of being an Amazon clone but with more specialized products. Others are best when they follow a subscription business model. And those that can do so are in for a real treat as this is a great way to compound your earnings.
There are some challenges to do this so in this article, I will go over several things to keep in mind to see if your store would do well with this model.
The key to having a subscription based store
If you could boil down to one word the requirement to having a successful business based on a subscription model then it is surely “loyalty”. You have to have a fan base more than a customer base.
This requires you to have the user experience front and center beyond just having a great product that people can get behind. To properly start a subscription based site, you’ll need to improve User Experience for Ecommerce and make it easy and intuitive for people to use it.
Choose the right model
Not all subscriptions are the same. Some are more like memberships that a user pays monthly to unlock certain benefits. Others are more of a curation of items and the third is more like a replenishment of the items needed to keep using a product.
A curation based subscription is currently one of the most popular types. These are better known as a subscription box. These are wildly popular because they take a lot of the decision making out of the hands of the user. Every month a box arrives with the variety of items that will excite the customer. If they have a dog, then it can be a variety of dog treats and toys that their specific breed enjoys.
A wine lover will get an assortment of wines every month to try a variety and learn more about wines they didn’t know before.
There is an infinite amount of options from snack foods from a particular area to cleaning products. There is a subscription box for everybody.
When you think of replenishing types of subscriptions think of things like cartridges of gas for soda makers that come every month. Or, batteries for the electronic devices you sell. It can be anything needed to continue to get the most out of a product.
Lastly, you may have people pay a monthly fee for greater access to a service or product. This is the most difficult to implement across the various types of sites. If it is product based then what would the members be gaining access too? A service based site is best for this model.
