Almost everyone subscribes to something: Netflix, Hulu, Spotify, NY Times, season tickets to sporting events, and so many more.
An entirely new economy and revenue source emerged when subscriptions came on the scene: the Subscription Economy. Consumers are no longer content with the old way of doing things – getting up in the middle of the night to secure tickets, spending a fortune buying tickets last minute, finding a good deal that turns out to be a scam or missing out on events they were very excited to attend. They’re looking for a solution that will allow them to attend the events they want to without stressing over getting tickets on time or to the right event or worrying because something came up and they can’t attend the event anymore.
The subscription economy has seeped into every facet of our society – you can subscribe to makeup boxes each month, prepared food packages, wine, you name it – it’s out there. Today, 78% of adults have subscription services and that number continues to increase as people look for ways to own less stuff.
Subscription services have increased exponentially – especially over the past year. With a pandemic raging across the world and quarantines being enforced, subscriptions inevitably experienced an uptick that doesn’t seem to be slowing down.
The fact of the matter is that consumers like subscriptions. And that’s great for you because it means consistent, reliable revenue.
How Can I Use Subscriptions For Events?
We all understand the idea of season tickets and that seems like a pretty straightforward use of subscriptions in the event space. However, there are so many other ways that different venues and event planners can incorporate subscriptions into your offerings.
The key is creating a subscription that is designed for ultimate consumer freedom and flexibility, something that they are able to tap into anytime, anywhere, and to whatever extent they want.
Create something that gives your customers control. Control over pricing, use, and preferences.
There’s no ‘one size fits all’ with event subscriptions. Each event category may require different types of subscriptions. Venues tend to have an ever-changing list of events of all sorts happening so it may be smarter to offer a subscription to one event per month, for example. Perhaps a local artist offers their fans/followers a subscription to exclusive content each month, or a private event only for subscribers.
We’d love to help you build your first subscription. Schedule a demo to see how Passage can work for your event!
Do I Really Need to Offer Subscriptions?
The short answer is yes. We’ve seen a 435% increase in the Subscription Economy in the past nine years and it’s not slowing down anytime soon. If you can find a way to incorporate a subscription into your business, we highly recommend it.
Not only do the consumers want it, but it also offers you consistent, reliable income as the event producer. Even more than that, it helps build loyalty among your consumer base, gives them a reason to keep coming back for more, and keeps you on the forefront of their minds.
Subscriptions can help you create a relationship with your customers and form a bond with them. Consumers tend to become more involved and interested in companies they patronize rather than companies they buy a ‘one-off’ product from.
How Do I Come Up With An Offering?
The #1 thing to keep in mind when creating a subscription offer is: what pain point does this address?
When brainstorming ideas start with your customer’s pain points and issues/problems that you can solve with a subscription.
For example:
Life happens and things often come up causing us to miss events we’d been planning on attending or attempting to reschedule things. What if there was a way to allow your customers to still attend the events they love?
One way to address this pain point with a subscription offering is to create a subscription that allows your customers to attend 1 event at your venue per month for a set fee. This could show up as a ticket in their inbox redeemable for any one event happening at your venue within a 30-day period.
With Passage Subscriptions you can eliminate the need for your customers to go to outrageous lengths (like waking up at 5 a.m. to be the first one to get a ticket) to attend the events they’re interested in. They will be thanking you for making things easier for them and it will keep them coming back for more.
What About Pricing?
That’s totally up to you. You may decide that you want to offer several tiers of options to appeal to everyone, or that you really only need one option. Maybe you even want several different types of subscriptions with different levels of commitment – this could allow customers to receive exclusive deals or content or to simply donate to your organization or a specific artist on a regular basis. The most important thing to keep in mind when pricing your subscription is what your customer will be willing to pay for that offering. Maybe it’s even worth doing some market research to hear directly from them what it’s worth.
How Do I Set Up Subscriptions?
We’ve created a great resource for you to walk you through the process of setting up your subscriptions. Click the button below to learn more, or contact our support team for more personalized help.
