Dose #85: Industry-Specific Industry Tips

Matt here with your weekly Subscription Prescription 💊

There are opportunities all around on how to improve your subscription program. In this week’s dose, we dive into industry-specific ideas, including supplements, pets, cosmetics, CBD, and autoship goods. We’ll also get into why more data is better for your business. No matter the industry, you’ll find some exciting ideas to consider.

How much time do you spend poring over subscription data?

How do you know what data to pay attention to?

Would you use a system that lets you ask questions and get data-backed answers as responses?

On December 20th, I’m teaming up with a new AI tool called Magic Dash to do this very thing. I’m doing LIVE subscription audits with AI to find what ails your program.

Don’t miss out on this unique opportunity to learn more about what you should pay attention to on subscriptions - with or without AI.

This week’s dose is a full interview you can find on YouTube: https://youtu.be/W0piuVkjZcc

Or listen on your favorite podcast platform:

Why Get Specific by Industry?

Sometimes, simple things - like collecting the name of a pet during the purchase process - can change the trajectory of your subscription program.

I get a lot of questions related to a ‘coffee brand’ or ‘pet food brand,’ so this week’s format is meant to make it easier to both digest and explain for you.

Read it all if you can, however, because the examples of why something works in cosmetics might apply to your brand as well.

Let’s go!

Supplements

There are two overarching kinds of supplements: commodities and unique. A commoditized (or common) supplement is something like Vitamin C, Amino Acids, etc. - they get made and sold by everyone from Amazon to your local drug store.

Unique supplements are unique to your brand, either from formulation, application, backstory, etc. Think of Joe Rogan’s AlphaBrain or an elite cyclist formulation as examples.

If you’re selling commodities in supplements, there are ways to get creative and stand out (without getting into a price-slashing contest). You can use bundles (commonly used together), unique acquisition strategies (influencers + content, and specials to drive action.

What’s even more powerful, however, comes back to what makes it easier to sell a unique supplement: use cases.

The reasons WHY someone buys is the most compelling angle to sell on. Consider the elite cyclist formulation example - you make ads and content and copy targeting cyclists. You can go very deep here.

Who is buying your Vitamin C? Why are they buying it? Getting more specific in your targeting will increase conversions AND improve retention.

Keep in mind that most supplements have a life-changing outcome. Whether that’s prolonging the life of a knee joint (me now taking glucosamine), multivitamins, or shredding pounds, people are highly motivated to find the right solution.

Learn to lean into that kind of marketing. Your solution matters to people.

Pets

Pet owners are like parents - they are willing to spend a lot for their pets. To them, their pet is a person with a life and personality that is unique.

Do you market accordingly?

One of the simplest hacks in the pet industry is asking a few questions like name, breed and age. It lets you customize the shipment by putting their name on the shipping label or email notifications.

It’s personalization but for the pet.

One of the reasons I love Herbsmith is their ‘Curate the Bowl’ experience. They ask for a lot of information and send relevant product recommendations because of it. 

Think of what you could include if you understood more about the pets your customers are buying for. New puppy owners could get a booklet of games to play in each shipment. Older pets could have ideas on activities to keep them engaged and entertained.

More compelling, more valuable. Know the customer better.

Cosmetics

Cosmetics has some overlap with other industries, but an important factor to consider is the type of buyer.

Is this a replacement product for something they’ve tried before? Is this a new offer entirely? Is this for people who know cosmetics well or for people who are new to the routine?

Understand your customers and who’s buying. It will let you position offers in a more compelling way.

Cosmetics are heavily influenced by big brands that invest in unboxing experiences. They want you to feel special, unique, and pampered. Surprise and delight can go a long way, and there is more than one way to do it right for your customers!

CBD

CBD is a space I know well, having worked with a lot of companies to improve their subscription offerings. There are two main issues facing CBD companies: big discounts are common, and trouble differentiating yourself.

Every brand claims to have a unique or higher quality advantage in how the product is sourced, refined, or even distributed (be it gummy or oil).

Instead of focusing on quality, you can find differentiation through user experience. 

Few subscription brands explain usage well, and CBD is rife with this. Depending on your sensitivity to CBD you take a different amount. Some people are taking two drops, some one, etc. Explaining usage gives you an opportunity to convert people that are unsure of what to buy and how much.

You can deepen this advantage by speaking to specific uses. Similar to the outcomes mentioned on supplements (and will dive deeper into below), you can position your product as the ‘best sleep solution for people tired of Ambien’ for example. That’s specific.

If you sell a lot of different products, focus on the clear winner(s). You can always upsell the rest of the product line during purchase or after the fact. But sell the winners, and craft a website that supports the winners.

Autoship Products

This is a category that I love and see developing farther into the future. For example, I have a subscription to BullFrog Spas for cleaning chemicals and replacement filters.

Best part is that I no longer worry about when to use these products. I have them scheduled to arrive when I need to use them. They show up, I put them in.

This is the beauty of autoship for replacement or replenishment items. You can lean into the ‘set and forget’ mentality as a benefit. ‘Don’t worry about when to replace, our filters come every 6 months when you need to replace them.’

Keep timing simple and specific.

Subscription Boxes

One of the oldest subscriptions in ecommerce is the subscription box. If you’re looking for tips here, then I highly recommend our recent interview with John Roman of BattlBox.

The goal of any great subscription box is to create surprise, delight, and value. Customers are regularly evaluating if the box is worth the subscription. Understanding the big reasons why someone is subscribed can help you figure out ways to keep delivering value.

You can go deeper with content that engages the audience, before, during, and after the unboxing.

I would also highly recommend connecting with Sarah Williams - she is the queen of subscription boxes and her content + masterclass do not disappoint!

Getting More Data (and why that matters)

The biggest thing to focus on, regardless of industry, is focusing on data that lets you know existing subscribers better.

Once you know who’s buying from you, double down on how you’re marketing for them.

You can do this before purchase with quizzes - people that are willing to give you information about a problem related to what you sell is a micro-commitment that can lead to a sale.

Think of it as a smart way to learn more about the quality of traffic your site is seeing. You can recommend products out of these, but you’re also demonstrating an understanding of the problem your customer is seeking to solve.

You can go further with post-purchase surveys. Asking a customer why they subscribed - or not - lets you learn a lot more about what someone plans to do with the product.

These kind of actions bring you insights for better messaging and better offers based on feedback from current purchasers.

Think about the outcome! You’ll sell more when you do.

Conclusion

Data is always a good step in the right direction, but if you’ve learned nothing else from this dose, it would be to focus on use cases and outcomes.

Knowing more about who is buying and why will let you sell to more people just like them.

That’s it for this week’s dose! If you have any questions, please hit reply and ask away. Stay tuned for Dose #86 next Tuesday!

- Matt Holman 🩺

The Subscription Doc