Source: Pixabay
Happy Friday the 13th, everyone! We hope you have had a productive week and are ready for the weekend. In today’s edition of Five on Friday, Parks Associates announces the top 10 U.S. subscription OTT services for 2019, we share ways customer experience impacts retention, magazines are getting more attention via mobile and video, Google’s most recent algorithm is causing problems, and a subscription job opportunity from the NBA.
Parks Associates: Netflix is Most Popular OTT Service in 2019
With the end of the year around the corner, we want to know who the favorite streaming video services are. Can you guess? Parks Associates knows! They recently announced the top subscription video services for 2019, and most of the OTT subscription services come as no surprise. There have been a few new subscription video services that have been a hit this year, while some that have fallen flat and others have shut down altogether (e.g., FX Plus).
Parks Associates’ list was based on the estimated number of subscribers through October 2019, which excludes Disney+ and Apple TV+, because they launched in November. Had Disney+ been on the list, it would have been fourth. Disney+ has been listed by many as a major disruptor to direct-to-consumer OTT services. It will be interesting to see where they place on the list next year.
The top contender for an OTT subscription service this year was Netflix. In the third quarter of 2019, Netflix raked in 60.62 million subscribers in the United States and 158 million globally. Amazon Prime Video’s subscriber count is roughly half of what Netflix has in the U.S., and they came up second on this list.
Here’s the 2019 list:
- Netflix
- Amazon Prime Video
- Hulu (specifically, their SVOD platform)
- HBO Now
- CBS All Access
- STARZ
- Showtime
- MLB.TV
- ESPN+
- Sling TV
Popularity of such OTT services will only continue to grow. In a recent report, Marketing Charts said that 74% of U.S. households use an SVOD service, up from 69% last year, 64% in 2017 and 59% in 2016. Of the 1,100 households surveyed, 69% said they subscribe to more than one service. What will 2020 hold for OTT?
Source: Bigstock Photo
The Way to Subscription Success is through Customer Experience
We’ve all had bad customer service experiences that have turned us off going to a restaurant, store or a business. But what happens when the experience is digital? Do subscription companies offer the same product or service to everyone? Do offerings change from one region to another? Providing a quality customer experience is the key to subscription success.
Source: Bigstock Photo
Digital Commerce 360 reports that nearly 42% of users say that they have stayed subscribed to subscription services beyond the first month because that service has offered personalized or tailored experiences to their own tastes. For example, Netflix and Hulu give you the opportunity to rate titles, and they track your browsing and view history within the application to make recommendations of things you’ll like. Can’t decide what to binge watch this weekend? Go to your favorite SVOD service and look at the list of recommended titles.
This doesn’t extend to just video services. Kindle Unlimited serves up recommended titles each time you to the Kindle library. Spotify curates playlists for users every day, so they always have something new to listen to and, if you don’t notice them within the app itself, check your email. Spotify will email you when artists you like or have listened to release new music. Stitch Fix allows you to turn away items and tell your personal shopper why you liked or disliked an item, to allow you to better customize your next box. You can even ask to stay with the same stylist or to try someone new. Some subscription offerings, like Imperfect Foods, allow you to pick absolutely everything in your box. Talk about customization!
About 68% of customers who cancel their subscriptions do so because the customer service is poor. This could mean that there aren’t good customer relations, or there just isn’t a plan in place for keeping long-term clients. SuperOffice reports that 86% of buyers are willing to pay more if the service provided them with a better customer experience. Investing in customer experience efforts can drastically increase your revenue and your profits.
Magazine Audience Grows to 2 Billion, a 24% Increase Since 2014
MPA, the Association of Magazine Media, has released a study on magazine media and audience trends over the last five years. Media Post reports that magazine media has reached a total audience of 2 billion, and it engages customers more than non-magazine brands. The study went over 135 brands, which made up about 95% of the American adult reader reach. The study also points out that 81% of the time, audience are more engaged with magazine media sites versus non-magazine branded websites.
Source: Bigstock Photo
“Magazine brands have evolved into true multimedia platforms that grab and hold the attention of audiences,” stated Linda Thomas Brooks, president-CEO of MPA.
Overall, magazine media’s total audience has grown by 24%. The two biggest categories of growth include mobile web audiences and video audiences, which saw growth of 122% and 425%, respectively. This points towards a shift from bigger screens, like desktops or laptops, to mobile devices, which has been a predominant switch in a lot of industries in the last five years.
The three biggest categories of growth across magazine brands are Women’s Fashion and Beauty, which saw a growth of 66%, Business and Finance, which grew 47% and Epicurean, which grew 34%. Other aspects of the study included brand affinity, reader loyalty, time spent and interactions. They also took a look at the number of social actions users took across various social media platforms versus the number of posts by publishers. Magazine brands fared better on Facebook and Instagram than non-magazine brands. The results for magazine versus non-magazine on Twitter were similar.
Google Changed Its Algorithm Again – Fight Back with SEO Best Practices
Source: Bigstock Photo
If you are a content publisher, you might find yourself scratching your head at Google’s most recent changes to its algorithm. The changes were made in mid-November and, while Google claims the changes were just a routine update, not everyone agrees. According to Inc., when Google made this change, traffic to a lot of publishers’ sites dropped dramatically. Search Engine Land shares some additional detail about neural matching and local ranking changes.
“When the strategy you’ve been using to drive traffic to your site suddenly stops working, it’s a big deal,” wrote Jason Aten for Inc.
In usual Google fashion, the tech giant isn’t sharing a lot of details, but Aten was kind enough to share SEO best practices you can use to ensure your site is still getting search engine traffic and leads. Here are a few broad tips we find helpful:
- Quality content is the ultimate goal and that’s what Google is looking for.
- Keywords aren’t as popular as they once were. Google is using tools that try to understand natural language, so they can avoid pinging on repeated words and more on how words and phrases would sound naturally.
- Take a holistic approach to website design, including selection of content. Consider site speed, inbound links, social channels as referral sources, etc. All of those things together will improve your search engine ranking and attract visitors.
Here are some additional SEO resources to check out for the latest tips and tricks:
NBA Subscription Job Opportunity
Direct-to-Consumer Subscription Retention Lead
NBA and NBA League Pass
New York, NY
Source: NBA
Job Summary:
The Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) team focuses on growing the NBA League Pass business globally by using data-driven insights and decision making. The group works dynamically within a matrix organization to align efforts across Marketing, Product, Finance, Strategy, Analytics and Partnerships, among others.In this role, you will own increasing retention throughout all stages of the NBA League Pass subscriber journey, including time of purchase, onboarding, engagement and win-back. The ideal candidate will have strong experience, and a passion for ideating and executing customer retention tactics across a subscription business. The candidate should also be technically proficient with the ability to establish, track and communicate KPIs unilaterally to all business stakeholders.
Major Responsibilities:
- Partner cross functionally with multiple internal & external teams to align on overall retention strategy / tactics to increase NBA League Pass subscribers & revenue
- Work collaboratively alongside data and analytics team members to establish KPIs to be used in measuring progress along retention efforts
- Understand which user behaviors lead to long-term subscriber retention and promote them throughout the customer journey
- Extract qualitative insights on reasons why subscribers may churn from Voice of Customer surveys and user focus groups
- Leverage quantitative & qualitative insights to create and execute new customer retention strategies via establishing a hypothesis, testing, learning, and implementing.
- Communicate key findings, progress and updates unilaterally across departments and regional team members.
- Establish best practices for customer communication around periods of high-churn (end of free trial, end of season, auto-renew, etc.)
- Research and become fluent in best practices, new technologies, vendors and platforms aimed at increasing retention (credit card auto-updaters, user engagement tools, etc.)
- Assist in the development of revenue and expense budgets for League Pass, specifically as it pertains to retention efforts.
- Work with third party customer service representatives to understand key learnings from customer service issues and their impact on the business both domestically and internationally.
- Hire, develop, and lead a small team over time dedicated to reducing churn amongst League Pass subscribers
Required Skills/Knowledge:
- Minimum 5 years prior work experience, preferably with experience at a premiere subscription media, technology or content company
- Proven track record working cross functionally with multiple teams to drive key business results
- Strong experience in managing multiple projects, setting priorities and meeting deadlines in a fast-paced work environment.
- High level of interest and passion in both subscription businesses and customer retention
- Proficiency in Excel, PowerPoint, and MS Word applications
- Experience with digital research products and business intelligence tools a plus
- Demonstrated excellent communication, organization and interpersonal skills
- Ability to work cross-functionally in a global, matrix organization.
- Proven ability to influence cross-functional teams to execute on goals.
- Ability to work independently and follow process with strong attention to detail and accuracy International experience or knowledge highly preferred.
- International experience or knowledge highly preferred.
Education:
Bachelor’s degree required
Nearest Major Market: Manhattan
Nearest Secondary Market: New York City
Job Segment: Business Intelligence, Technology
