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Are Client Disagreements Burning You Up?
A Spicy Guide to Handling Disputes Like a Chilli Pepper Pro
Client disagreements are a nightmare.
Even if you think you can handle them, they can completely catch you off-guard. They can get worse and worse. They can completely disable your abilities to think about anything else.
Client disagreements are just like eating chilli peppers that just keep getting hotter and hotter.
When was the last time you ate a chilli that was waaaay too hot for you? You sweat bullets. You reach for the nearest beverage (hope it’s not wine!). You might even hiccup like crazy.
And all the time, you wonder – why, why, why, do you put yourself through this?
Right now your tongue might be metaphorically on fire as you try to navigate the heated world of client dissatisfaction. Because client disagreements are PAINFUL.
As business leaders, we know that client disagreements are inevitable.
But much like the world’s spiciest chilli peppers, these disputes can range from mildly irritating (think jalapeños) to downright catastrophic (hello, Carolina Reaper).
The key to keeping your finance and revenue numbers in check—and your taste buds intact—is understanding the different types of disagreements and their potential impact on your business.
So we’re gonna take you through a little guide – the Scoville scale of client disputes – and learn how to handle them like a chilli pepper connoisseur.
With Bluefort’s end-to-end digital operating platform, you can streamline and hyper automate your processed, to put an end to disagreements, and actually impress your clients.
Grab your glass of cold milk and let’s go!
The Scoville Scale of Client Disagreements: From Jalapeño to Carolina Reaper
Jalapeño-Level Disputes (2,500 – 8,000 SHUs): Minor Miscommunications
These little disagreements usually come from simple miscommunications or misunderstandings. Though they cause a little discomfort, they’re usually resolved fast, with open communication and transparency.
Damage level: Tingling tongue, a few burps.Cayenne-Level Conflicts (30,000 – 50,000 SHUs): Unmet Expectations
Okay, it’s getting a little hot in here. Clients feel their expectations haven’t been met. This can involve project scope, deliverables, or timelines. This level means you have to be proactive – don’t wait till things blow up. Stop the problem where it is.
Damage level: Get your hands on the strongest antacids you’ve got and start popping those bad boys like chocolate buttons at Easter.Habanero-Level Hassles (100,000 – 350,000 SHUs): Contractual Disputes
Whew, NOW we’re getting spicy. Contractual disputes usually have something to do payment terms, service level agreements, or other legally-binding things. This is where customer disagreements can have a big impact that requires mediation or legal intervention to resolve.
Damage level: Your friends film you gasping with eyes bugging out, knocking over the stuff on the table in desperation…and the film goes viral. Ghost Pepper-Level Grievances (855,000 – 1,041,427 SHUs): Ethical Concerns
Man do things escalate fast when there are ethical concerns. We’re not saying you’re unethical! We’re saying there’s a perception of that. It could be a lack of corporate social responsibility. It could be questionable business practices. Maybe you have partner who has gone rogue. These client disagreements MUST be sorted rapidly before your company’s reputation is ruined.
Damage Level: You’ve got third-degree burns going in and out and you are not taking visitors.Carolina Reaper-Level Rifts (1,569,300 – 2,200,000 SHUs): Major Breaches of Trust
The Carolina Reaper of client disagreements involves major breaches of trust, such as fraud, theft, or other serious misconduct. These disputes can lead to financial ruin, the dissolution of the business relationship, fines, and even prison.
Damage Level: You are now dead. And no one goes to your funeral.
Sounds familiar, right? The thing is, even if you’re on top of all your company’s processes, you’re going to have client disagreements.
In fact that’s probably why you’re reading this article now. So let’s get to what can be done about it.
The Cooling Remedies: How to Tame the Heat of Client Disagreements
What are some cooling remedies for managing these fiery situations?
1. Transparency
Be upfront and clear with your clients about project scope, deliverables, and timelines from the outset. Get everything in writing.
2. Active Listening
Ensure you fully understand your clients’ expectations and concerns. Know their definitions for the words you use (ie how do you both define “timely”?) Actively listen to their feedback, and work together to find solutions.
3. Regular Check-Ins
Schedule regular check-ins with your clients to discuss progress, address any issues that arise, and keep that strong working relationship going.
4. Contract Clarity
Make sure your contracts are clear, concise, and easily understood by both parties.
5. Ethical Business Practices
This goes without saying, but be ethical! Integrity is everything. On the flip side, deal with clients who have good reputations too.
6. Open Dialogue
Both sides must be able to say difficult things. But it increases trust, and helps solve disagreements before they get worse.
7. Professional Mediation
When direct communication isn’t enough, bring in a professional (or professionals) that both sides trust.
8. Automation
Implement automation tools that will take care of the end-to-end process. Automation streamlines communication, project management, and reporting. It cuts down misunderstandings, creates timely updates, and provides a high level of service for your clients.
Client disagreements can range from mildly irritating to downright fiery, just like those chilli peppers that some of us adventurous (misguided) people like to try.
By understanding the different types of disputes and their potential impact on your business, you can navigate these situations with grace and skill—and keep your taste buds (and finances) intact.Want to see how hyper-efficient processes and automation can help cut down client disagreements?
Let’s chat further.
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SMBs and Scalability: Is it Doable?
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Are You an SMB with Small Budgets and Resources? Here’s How to Get More From Them
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They’re stuck with tasks that are outside of their talent and expertise. And they’re far more likely to quit. Ánd employee turnover is disruptive and expensive for an SMB. 3. Inefficiency in your operations - Limited resources create operational problems. Everything from data entry, sales strategy, invoicing, reconciliation, and compliance are slowed down and prone to mistakes. That boosts costs and leaves you vulnerable to upsetting customers. 4. Limited tech - Outdated tech creates more problems than it solves. You might have a Frankenstein situation with multiple solutions and none of the information flowing between them. That puts you at a huge disadvantage to any competitor that has their tech solution specifically geared toward driving efficiency and keeping an eye on rivals like you. 5. Struggling customer service - Good relationships with customers is so important because each customer counts. But it’s hard to keep up with all queries, returns, and problems in a timely way. 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Data entry, scheduling, tracking and processing usage, invoicing, and emailing take the joy of your day. They also stop you from doing what makes most of your talent and passion. But automation takes care of these things for you. Let’s look at invoicing. Automation takes the contract terms, monitors for any changes and usage, creates reminders for your customers, correctly calculates the invoices on time, sends them, and collects the payments for you. How much time would that save you? And how much of a cash flow situation would that improve? And that’s just one function. A better CRM You know how important customer relationships are to your SMB. And that requires consistent management. Your SMB might struggle to keep track of all interactions with every customer. Things might fall between the cracks. When a customer feels neglected or ignored, when you reach out with sales tactics, it turns them off. 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Which means that sales opportunities will be missed. Maybe not all, but some. And that is costly. Automation is built to combine customer data and CRM to spot sales opportunities, and this goes beyond personalized marketing. The system will take contract terms, customer usage, competitor offerings, and customer behavior and engagement, to spot what types of products and offering combination would better suit each customer’s situation. So if the solution noticed the customer wasn’t using a particular product, or there’s a new product that would better meet their needs, the system will create a special offering, and channel it to the customer at the best time. All sorted out for you. It’s a proactive approach that not only revs up your sales, but makes customers happier, because who doesn’t love something created just for you? Better financial management It’s challenging for an SMB to keep up with the financial side. With subscriptions, manual invoicing alone takes up a huge chunk of an accountant’s time. And they’re also expected to: chase sales and customer service for contract terms and usage create and send invoices change any incorrect invoices collect and chase payments reconcile back to the ledger recognize revenue create reports for strategic decision-making predict cash flow trends assure financial compliance prepare for audits pay inbound invoices All this accurately and on time. And take reliable numbers to stakeholder meetings. That’s a lot for a small team with no tools. But automation can take care of all these tasks and ensures it’s all on time and error-free. And on top of that, you’ve got numbers you can take to the bank. And your business will stay compliant, so those vulnerabilities to fees, fines, and lawsuits are no more. Automation can completely change how your SMB operates and bring you all these benefits. But we know you’ve still got one big concern about it. The Problem of Money It’s likely that you love the idea of automation, but you’re worried about the cost. After all, your budgets and resources are already stretched. And making the leap is a lot easier than you think when you consider ROI. Here’s what you get in both the short and long-term (insert links to relevant articles on the site): Lower costs - Automation reduces the need for additional staffing related to the automated processes (even if you scale). It minimizes payroll and sales expenses. It spots cost-saving opportunities thanks to data analysis. Efficiency gains - everything runs more smoothly, and all repetitive tasks are taken care of. An end to revenue leakage - because invoicing is correct and timely, you’ll never suffer from the revenue leakage caused by forgotten invoices and under-invoicing. Better sales - opportunities are spotted and created, so your inbound revenue is higher Higher customer satisfaction and retention - personalization and data insight give your customers the experience they want and stick around for. You won’t have to rely on high-cost acquisition because your churn will be lowered. Saving money and boosting inbound revenue in both the short and long-term is an irresistible prospect. If you can see the value, which solution should you choose? What Dynamics 365 Business Central + Bluefort Automation Does for You Business Central is the perfect ERP system that automates so much for SMBs. It's also flexible and it grows with you. Bluefort are experts in automated recurring revenue. We can implement Business Central for you with all the customization you need to get the most out of everything the platform automates. We're here to help you: free your time and resources cut costs and churn build your customer base bring in more revenue expand your business make your life a lot easier. D365 Business Central and Bluefort are a comprehensive solution that delivers the best that automation has to give to your SMB. By implementing these powerful tools, your SMB can not only reduce churn but also foster long-term customer loyalty and growth. Conclusion The constant pressure of running an SMB with stretched budget is stressful. There are so many challenges you must solve, without the resources that you need to do so. But it doesn’t have to be like this. You can get so much out of automation. Like enhanced efficiency, cut costs and churn, higher customer satisfaction, optimized processes, and better productivity. You’ll get a sense of predictability and stability, and the time you need to focus on the future. If you’re ready to take the next step and find out how Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central + Bluefort can change your SMB for the better, book a discovery call today!
7 Strategies for SMBs to Tackle Customer Churn
Customer churn is dangerous problem, particularly for SMBs with memberships or subscriptions. It can cause substantial financial loss and damage that an SMB could struggle to recover from. This article covers what churn is, what causes it, and how it impacts a business. It then gives seven strategies SMBs can action to cut churn. It also shows a step SMBs can take to have these strategies performed for them. In this article: What is customer churn? Causes for churn specifically for SMBs Dangers of churn for SMBs 7 strategies for tackling churn How Dynamics 365 Business Central and Bluefort can help For a subscription-offering small or medium-sized business (SMB), every customer counts. That’s why every time you lose one, it feels like a big deal. And when you lose a few? You can go into damage control mode. It’s no wonder; churn can cost you both money and growth. Customer churn is something that an SMB will always have to worry about, unless they have the right strategies and tools to tackle it and turn things around. This article will talk through what churn is, the causes, the impacts and strategies you can use to negotiate churn once and for all. Let’s dive into the details. What is Customer Churn? Churn is a measurement of the loss of customers over a certain amount of time, usually annually or quarterly. Here’s how it’s calculated: Choose a time period to evaluate and find the original and end number of customers over that time. Then use this formula: Number of Lost Customers / Total Customers at the Start of Time Period) × 100 = Churn Rate An SMB needs to keep an eye on the rate, because churn is like a leak in a boat. First it can feel like a little dribble. But eventually there's a tipping point and it's too late to stop. The first step to tackling churn is understanding what it is. And the second step? Knowing what causes churn. 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Mistakes and bad customer service: When an SMB’s resources are stretched, mistakes happen in things like invoicing or contract terms. Customer service might be stretched, or not available 24-7. Their reality doesn’t meet the expectation: We can fully intend to fulfil promises when we make them. But circumstances change. And then you’re stuck, unable to fulfil, which breaks trust. According to YouGov, 31% of consumers have switched brands because a company was lying about product performance The good news is that all of these problems can be tackled and solved. But before that, it’s important to look at the impacts of churn. If these causes of customer churn aren’t tackled, what are the problems your SMB is vulnerable to? Dangers of Churn for SMBs Churn can damage your SMB’s health and sustainability. Churn makes your customer acquisition cost go through the roof because you miss out on the benefit of repeat purchases. This forces you to acquire new customers, which costs five times as much as retaining a customer you already have. This demands you beef up your already limited marketing budget, which means less budget for another part of the business, like product development, training, infrastructure, or employee quality. And there’s no guarantee it’s going to work either. Churn wears away your long-term inbound revenue streams. You need a predictable income; it’s absolutely key to your financial stability. But when a customer leaves, you lose the Customer Lifetime Value too. That’s the amount you would get from them over a long period of time. That lost revenue will force you into hyper-work mode, struggling to catch-up and find that inbound revenue money somewhere. You may struggle to be able to focus on anything else. In fact, it can impact your overall operational efficiency because marketing, sales, and customer service now must scramble and figure out what to do, then spend extra time doing it. That’s less time and focus on building a strong customer experience and long-term relationships with them. It can also siphon off mental and emotional energy, so you haven’t got the ability to problem-solve and make decisions. SMB workers are particularly susceptible to burnout so it’s important to be careful about anything that can cause it. You’ll also be vulnerable to reputational damage. When customers leave a business, they have a tendency to tell friends and family, and write online reviews. Without a good reputation, you’ll get stuck in a loop where you can’t attract the new customers you need to help improve your reputation. Any of these impacts can have a big effect on the stability of your SMB. And if you’re suffering from multiple impacts, you probably already feel unstable. What can you do to put your SMB back on the path to stability and cut down customer churn for good? 7 Strategies for Tackling Churn As an SMB, you need to be able to take action to solve a problem fast. Here are the 7 most important strategies you can use to improve your customer churn rate: 1. Don’t ignore your data. Use it. Customer data sits there in your system waiting to be used. It can provide invaluable insights into customer behavior, buying patterns, segments, and engagement levels. And specifically, it helps predict churn by spotting at-risk customers (and larger patterns) so that you can proactively take care of issues before customers go. 2. Make it personal: Customers both value and expect a personalized experience. They will give loyalty to a brand that makes them feel valued and understood. Using that data, you can create entirely unique in everything from communication, offerings, pricing, customer service, loyalty programs and everything in between. 3. Roll out the red carpet: Customers should feel beyond valued and appreciated. Invest in your customer service rep (or team). Give them the training and resources they need to make sure that every customer problem is either anticipated or sorted out right away. And tap into the value of customers’ feedback - that information is gold because they’re telling you what they want. It also reinforces brand positivity. 4. Mean what you say: Sometimes black swans happen. Unexpected events can stretch your SMB’s resources, push back deadlines, etc. That can’t be helped. But when it comes to regular communication about your products and services, mean what you say. Don’t overpromise on product offering, launch dates, performance, or whatever else. It instantly destroys trust and once they leave it can be hard to get them back. When you treat trust as something that’s non-negotiable, it will never backfire on you. So when things go wrong, communicate with your customers and offer solutions. Don’t wait till they contact you wondering what’s happening. 5. Reward loyalty: We live in a world where we don’t see a lot of loyalty. And when we do, there isn’t a lot of reward for it. So be different from most SMBs. Reward your loyal customers with specialized discounts, exclusive offers and products, and early access to your new offerings. The more special and appreciated you make your customers feel, the more likely they are to stay. Why would they go anywhere else? 6. Stay flexible with subscriptions: Subscriptions are a great way to build long-term relationships with your customers (link) because you stay in constant communication with them. They’re regularly exposed to the value of your products and brand. When you do offer subscriptions, give control to the customers who want it. Flexible subscriptions allow them to change or pause when they need it so that they won’t have to cancel outright. It’s an extra that helps avoid churn. 7. Keep an eye on your competition: It can be hard to cut down on churn if you don’t know what your industry landscape is like. What are your competitors doing? What advantages do they have over you? What are weaknesses? And how are you different to them. Competitors can be ruthless. They’ll comb through your social media and the comments people leave on it. They’ll study your reviews. They look at message boards to find what people are saying about you. Then they scoop down and poach those customers with what they’re looking for. Can you do the same back? After looking at this list, you might be thinking, “My resources are already stretched to the limit. How on earth am I supposed to add all these to the pile of work we already have?” And you wouldn’t be wrong. It is a lot of work. Unless you have a tool that can do everything for you. How Dynamics 365 Business Central and Bluefort Can Help Imagine a little fairy who can swoop down, wave their wand, and take away the work for you and your team. Sounds impossible. But that’s what the right cutting-edge solution will do. Business Central is the perfect ERP system for SMBs. It's flexible and it grows with you. And Bluefort are the recurring revenue experts. We can implement Business Central for you with all the customization you need to get the most out of it. Here's what the combination brings: Better analytics: Reliable, in-depth analytics to pinpoint customers who are at-risk of leaving your business. Then it creates tailored suggestions for offers and interactions to keep them on-side. Complete revenue recognition: No matter what the terms, how often customers change their contracts, or how fast you're scaling. Personalization: Customers are analyzed and segmented giving an experience that's as personalized as possible. Each customer gets the pricing models, offerings, and communications that they want, when they want it. Feedback and loyalty: Feedback collection avoids nasty surprises. You won’t have to wonder what they want or what they’re thinking. And you can give them the bonus of loyalty programs specifically created for them and their needs. That puts you in a proactive instead of reactive position. Customer service that stands out: The tools will integrate the personalized customer experience with what your customer service teams need to ensure that any problems that arise can be dealt with fast. Flexible subscriptions and memberships: Easy subscription management, giving customers the flexibility they need to stay with your business. Accurate, timely, and optimized processes and operations: Silos between sales, finance, and customer service silos are gone. So are the delays and mistakes they cause. In their place you have streamlined and automated information flow and operations- from contract terms, to invoicing, payments, reconciliation, reporting, and compliance. You'll finally have the time to focus on creating more amazing products, building relationships, and creating collaborations. It’s not often that something that is complex, like customer churn, can be made simple with one decision. But with the right tools, you can end up working less and in a much better position with your customers. And it can get better as you scale too. Conclusion Cutting customer churn is about more than just hanging on to your customers. It’s about building the types of relationships with your base that last the test of time by consistently demonstrating the value of your products and your brand. That comes down to seeing what causes the churn in your SMB, and getting down to those strategies before too much damage is done. You can have growth. You can enjoy excellent relationships with your customers. You just need the right tools. And the D365 Business Central and Bluefort combination equips you with the way to cut churn and thrive against your competitors. Curious to learn more? Ready to tackle churn head-on? Request a Discovery Call with our team today!
From Chaos to Control
Addressing Inventory Challenges with Subscription Management Tools Retailers must continually contend with the complexity of inventory management. But when they also operate on a subscription model, they must navigate the intricacies of subscription management, which further compounds the difficulties. Is there a way out? This article explores these issues, highlighting the pitfalls of manual processes and the costly consequences of inefficiencies. It then talks through how automation can turn inventory obstacles into opportunities for customer satisfaction and growth.Retailers who have a subscription model understand the benefits it brings. But without the right tools, it brings challenges too. Especially when it comes to inventory. If you’re suffering with this scenario, you’re probably nodding your head because you understand how difficult things can get. But you don’t have to worry because we understand your dilemma. We’ve worked with subscription companies for a long time, and we know what works. This article will plunge into your biggest inventory problems, and then shed light on the best solutions about how to deliver lower costs, operational efficiency and sustainable growth. The Problems With Inventory Though subscription-based retailing gives a business a reliable revenue stream, it ups the pressure on inventory management. There are some of the biggest hurdles in the manual processes we see out there: Accurately predicting subscriber demand: Subscription retail is not like the one-off purchase of traditional retail. This is about anticipating continual demand for products/services over a long time. And this requires forecasting the number of new and existing subscribers, their needs, AND predicting how much customer churn there will be. When subscriber demand is miscalculated, that means overstocking or shortages. Personalising: Customers expect personalised experiences, which demands that retailers keep inventory that’s diverse enough to please all individual customer behaviour and preferences, but not too much that they suffer from overstock. Delivery management: Recurring deliveries require good, consistent coordination from stock to fulfilment. What makes it tricky is that customers change their agreements- they add things on, the change their orders, they downsize, they push back their renewals, or cancel early. That’s like walking a tightrope without a balancing pole. Supply chain disruptions: Everyone’s vulnerable to supply chain problems. But it’s much more difficult for subscription retailers, because their customers expect fulfilment on time, over and over. And when there are delays, no matter how legit the reason, customers run to the competition. Why wouldn’t they? Returns and exchanges: Hear that? It was a collective scream from every subscription retailer out there at the mention of those words. They’re not so bad in real life. But with subscriptions, it can have a knock-on impact on not only stock, but a yearly or monthly fee. Trends and seasonality: It doesn’t matter how steady the stream of revenue subscriptions bring in - if the retail offering pays no attention to seasonality and trends, it spells trouble. Change is the name of the game in retail, so subscription offerings need to be as agile as possible. Scaling: The idea of growing the customer base can be terrifying for teams that are barely keeping up as it is. Scaling means expanding product offerings and warehouse space. That’s more risk. More time. More chances for mistakes. More financial loss. Each of these problems leads to higher costs, inefficient operations, unhappy customers and churn. If this sounds like you, and you need to tackle and eliminate these inventory challenges, you’re going to need the right subscription management tools. It’s the only way to grow full steam ahead with your customers. Here’s the only thing you need Though there are multiple tools that can help you with your subscription retail inventory woes, they’re all powered by one thing - automation. Here's what the best automated subscription management solutions can give you: Advanced complex demand forecasts: AI-driven analysis looks at historical data, subscriber behavior, trends, and seasonal changes to predict future demand with a lot more accuracy. That cuts way back on expensive overstock and stockout crises. Customization capabilities: An automated CRM helps you track individual customer preferences and purchasing history, create micro-segments, and customises and personalizes the offerings your business gives to each customer. Management of recurring delivery: Streamlined and automated scheduling and tracking of recurring deliveries clear the decks for you. This includes adjusting inventory levels based on renewal dates, frequency of deliveries, and term changes. Cut back on human error. Let your customers get their products on time, every time. Supply chain visibility: Real-time visibility helps your business stay agile and proactive, instead of reactive. Monitoring stock levels at different stages and locations helps you negotiate any disruptions before they impact your subscribers. Simplified returns/exchanges: When this is automated (and integrated with your inventory) you will always be able to efficiently handle returns and exchanges. Inventory levels and subscriber accounts will be updated. Customers will be a lot happier. Scalability: You’ll welcome growth because logistically it won’t matter how much or how fast you grow. Boost your warehouses and offering. Integrate with your other business systems and get the seamless end-to-end operational flow. It’s the one all-encompassing solution to overcome inventory challenges. You get everything when and where you need it. You’ll cut operational and error-related costs. You’ll stabilise your supply chain and delivery process. You’ll crush customer churn. And you’ll have the time and ability to scale as much as you want. Conclusion The business of retail subscriptions is not for the faint of heart. That’s why you need more than just a great product offering. You need more than an excellent product offering. You need things to run themselves instead of letting them run you. Why not use automation to turn your inventory obstacles into opportunities? Leverage the technology that’s waiting for you so that you’ll have the time to take your subscription retail business to the next level.
How To Simplify Retail Admin with Subscription Management Solutions
Streamlining Operations: How Subscription Management Solutions Ease Retailers' Administrative Burdens Retailers face a unique combination of challenges. They must perform despite operating in one of the most competitive industries, and customer demand that can shift day-by-day. Stakeholders need some sense of stability, and subscription-based models offer that, by creating revenue potential while easing administrative burdens. This article discusses the top retail administrative burdens and how a subscription management solution brings relief while boosting growth and competitiveness. In this article: Complex Inventory Management Inefficient Billing Processes Customer Management Challenges Regulatory Compliance Reporting and Analytics Difficulty in Scaling Operations How Subscription Management Solutions Can Solve These Burdens Let’s face it - between the competition, economic instability, and constantly shifting customer demand, retail is one of the most challenging industries out there. That’s why retail businesses operating on a subscription model, are always looking for ways to cut operational costs while boosting customer experience and loyalty, especially when it comes to admin. The best retail administration is important because if it’s inefficient, it will cause a chain reaction in everything else in operations. And the end result? Best-case scenario? Stifled growth. Worst-case scenario? Competitors close in, costly mistakes are made, and the business potentially closes. No one wants either of those scenarios. So what’s the picture like? What are the Top Administrative Burdens? If you asked anyone working in retail admin what their biggest challenges are, they’d probably ask “How long have you got?”. And when your retail business has a subscription model, it can magnify the burden on your admin team. But these are the ones we hear about the most: 1. Complex Inventory Management Cause: Manual tracking methods and lack of real-time data. Anyone who worked inventory through the pandemic knows how everything can change at the drop of a hat. It’s difficult to continually maintain accurate stock levels across various sales channels (online, brick and mortar), throughout different seasons, launches, new competitors, and keeping up with trends. That’s why both overstocking and stock shortages are fairly common, and both are costly because there are lost sales opportunities, higher storage and depreciation costs, and disappointed customers turning to competitors. 2. Inefficient Billing Processes Cause: Reliance on outdated systems and manual data entry. We’re shivering just thinking about it. Thousands of hours are wasted thanks to handling recurring billing, invoicing, and payment processing manually. And the more the transactions, the more errors are likely. According to findings by Ascend, almost 40% of manually processed invoices have errors in them. And errors are costly- each paper invoice error costs a business around $53 to fix. And it snowballs. When there are errors, that means customer disputes, late payments, and worst of all - damaging customer trust. Imagine the overall costs if the retail admin team is processing hundreds or thousands of invoices a week or month. 3. Customer Management Challenges Causes: Fragmented data and lack of automation and analysis. With growth comes complexity in managing all your customer information and the subscriptions you have. It’s exhausting to manually keep customer records up-to-date. But if they’re out of date, you risk inefficient communication as well as problems with service and product delivery. When the customer experience is subpar, sales opportunities are missed. Customers get frustrated. And churn can go through the roof, no matter how hard the admin team is working. 4. Regulatory Compliance Cause: Evolving regulations and manual compliance processes. It’s a nightmare to have to ensure compliance to regulations and guidelines with data protection, financial reporting, and buying/selling across regions, countries and continents. No matter how efficient a team, it’s nearly impossible (and very expensive) to keep up. But it’s costly not to. Non-compliance means hefty fines, legal problems, and damage to your reputation. 5. Reporting and Analytics Cause: Disparate data sources and lack of integrated analytics tools. Good forecasts are absolutely essential to a retail business. Leveraging business data to help decision-makers is one of the most important ingredients to competitiveness. When siloed data is stuck in manual and legacy systems, you can’t get the actionable insights you need about your business performance or customer behavior. That means you can’t plan. You miss opportunities for growth in your base and efficiency in your operations. You can’t figure out how to capitalize on trends or get an advantage over your competition. And you won’t be able to tailor your offerings to meet collective and individual customer needs. 6. Difficulty in Scaling Operations Cause: Manual processes that do not scale efficiently with business growth. Everyone wants their business to grow. But it adds another layer of challenges for those manual processes. It’s hard to avoid bottlenecks once orders and/or the customer base. Delays in processing orders and subscriptions. Missing out on market opportunities. Missing customer demands. It all, painfully and ironically, damages the very growth you’re building. All of these are serious problems. They cost your business money, chase customers away, and wreak havoc on your brand. Fortunately, there are plenty of things you can do to turn things around. 7. How Subscription Management Solutions Can Solve These Burdens We’re going to cut to the chase because we see this all the time. There’s one umbrella for all the subscription management solutions that can turn things around for the retail admin team: automation. Here are all the ways one automation solution works: Inventory Management: This ensures reliable, real-time tracking of stock. Automatic restocking (or alerts) minimises the risk of both overstocking or stock shortages. You get better accuracy, lower overheads, and happier customers who get what they need. Streamlined Billing and Payment Processing: Cut the time and effort that’s wasted in manual processes. Automation delivers invoicing that’s consistent and accurate. No more manual errors. No more putting out fires. No more delayed payments. You get better cash flow AND as a bonus, your customers enjoy better (and easier!) payment options. Centralized Customer Management: When legacy data is centralised in a single system, it’s a strong foundation for efficiency and service quality. Not only can you automate personalised communication, but you personalise the experience of each customer too. Customer relationships get a lot stronger because they’re happier. And upselling and cross-selling customer opportunities are no longer lost. Compliance Management: Quite simply, automation keeps track of all the changing guidelines and laws across as many locations as you serve. Everything’s monitored and customer data is secured. No more penalties. No more damage to your reputation or your ability to legally trade. And you build customer trust because of your commitment to secure and ethical practices. Reports and Analytics: Untapping the data with automation gives you valuable insights into sales, customer behavior, and operations. That’s how to get the best information for the best decision-making. You’ll know where you can improve, plan, optimise your operations, beat your competitors, and spot the opportunities for growth. Scaling: Automation facilitates the growth you want, because when a system is scalable, it doesn’t matter how many new customers or transactions or complexity you have. You’ll always be able to adapt and grow in response to market demands. When you get to tackle these areas with automation, you and your team will finally overcome all the costly problems that have been plaguing you. Sounds fantastic, right? Conclusion We can all agree- retail’s tough. That’s why you need as many advantages as possible. It isn’t often that one solution can handle all your retail admin problems. So why not take advantage of it, and knock out your biggest challenges in one go? When you ease your administrative burdens, you’re finally allowed to focus on what you want to - giving your customers the best products and experience.
10 Tips to Achieve Seamless Subscription Management as a Product Manager
Product Managers who work in a business with a subscription model need as much time and space as possible to innovate and create the best product offering. Surprisingly, the key to this opportunity lies in subscription management best practices. This article talks through 10 of the most effective tips there are.In this article: Automate Billing Processes Implement Tiered Pricing Models Optimize Onboarding Experiences Leverage Data Analytics Enhance Customer Communication Focus on Customer Retention Use Feedback to Drive Product Improvements Regularly Review and Update Subscription Plans Ensure Compliance with Regulations Invest in Reliable Subscription Management Software A Product Manager’s job isn’t easy. You juggle process paralysis. Stakeholders that don’t understand how much investment needs to go into product development. The stress of deadlines and launches. And siloed decision-making, just for a start. So when you see an article about tips for subscription management, it might seem confusing. But if a subscription-based business wants to be successful, it needs effective recurring revenue management. It increases customer retention, builds the customer base, cuts operations costs, and serves as the stabilizing factor in the relationships between customers and the products you work so hard to innovate. If your company’s subscription management could use some improvement, here are 10 tips for how to achieve a subscription management process that is seamless and makes your job a lot easier. Tip 1: Automate Billing Processes The billing process in businesses with recurring revenue can be a significant challenge. Silos between sales, revenue, customer service, and product servicing (when applicable) can make invoicing and payments collection take weeks or even months. They can also be incorrect, which creates a new set of problems from disputes with customers to revenue leakage. But automating the billing process from invoicing to payment collection can save time, cut expensive human errors, and make customers a lot happier. What you get with automation: Accuracy: Automated systems take contract terms regarding your products and translate them into correct bills you cancel confident about. That cuts the expense of re-issuing invoices, and cuts churn. Efficiency: Automation enables the free-flow of information between your teams, and takes into account add-ons, upgrades, cross-selling and any other changes in subscriptions and feeds them directly into the process. There aren’t any delays. And the teams involved have a lot more time to focus on strategic tasks. Customer Satisfaction: When customers get correct bills on time, they trust your brand more. That means they’re more likely to buy more of your products. How to get automation: Choose the Right Tools: There are a lot of options out there, but a solution that covers your end-to-end is going to save a lot more time and money as time goes on. Create Automated Workflows: Depending on the nature of your products and subscriptions, define your workflows for the payment process, including what to do with late and defaulted payments. Monitor: When you regularly review your processes, you’ll be able to spot any areas for improvement. And when things are ticking over nicely, you’ll be able to concentrate on developing the best new products. Tip 2: Implement Tiered Pricing Models Choosing pricing models can be a high-pressure situation. No one wants to get it wrong- it’s too easy to lose customers to another brand that offers better terms, a clearer subscription, or cheaper prices. As the Product Manager, the last thing you want is for customers to either be so confused, locked into terms they don’t like, or priced out of experiencing your products. And you don’t want them to be undercharged either. Your products have value, so the pricing models should reflect that. With tiered pricing models, customers will get the flexibility that suits their unique circumstances.Why tiered pricing works: Attract Multiple Segments: Though it’s great to be rock-solid with a particular segment, growth comes from attracting as many segments as possible to your products. Multiple pricing tiers give them options that meet their needs and budgets. Upsell Opportunities: Customers that you already have are far more likely to buy off you than brand-new customers. Lower tiers encourage them to upgrade as their needs grow. More Revenue: When there are multiple pricing options, no one is priced out, forced to go to your competition. That means more inbound revenue. How to get tiered pricing to work for you: Understand Your Customers: Knowing your customers, their behaviours and their needs will always pay in dividends. Whether that’s market research, or crunching data that segments and suggests appropriate tiers, you’re far more likely to package your products in a way that they will want. Make Clear Value Propositions: Your products are amazing. You spend a lot of time developing and launching them. But customers need to see their value. Tiered pricing creates multiple value propositions that can justify the price differences. Test and Adjust: Testing systems, such as the classic A/B will help you evaluate which pricing tiers work best for the customer base. That way when adjustments are needed, you know where and why. Tip 3: Optimize Onboarding Experiences Often onboarding is the first experience a customer has with a brand or a specific product. That’s why the onboarding process should be as smooth as possible. You want your customers to be able to focus on how great your products are, not when onboarding is going to happen, why it’s so difficult or confusing, or what’s the point in the product in the first place.Here’s what’s in a good onboarding process: Personalization: The process should be shaped to meet each customer’s needs, goals, and schedule. Clarity: It should be as easy as possible. Step-by-step instructions, online tutorials, 1-on-1 support, demonstration videos, and other resources can help guide them through the process. Support: The most impactful customer service doesn’t wait until there’s a problem. The proactive approach (including live chat, check-ins and even chatbots) keep things ticking along. How to create a good onboarding process: Segmentation: Different customers have differing needs. So onboarding paths can be based on customer-segmented behavior and needs, as well as usage. Interactive Content: Interactive content like quizzes, tutorials and even apps boosts retention, engagement and emotional investment in the product. Get Feedback: Customers will tell you what’s working for them and what isn’t. Feedback is essential to improve the experience. Tip 4: Leverage Data Analytics Data analytics is a powerful tool for optimizing subscription management. The surprising thing is that many companies leave data to the side. It stays an untapped resource, instead of the pure gold it can be. Analyzing customer data can inform everything from product development to targeting marketing, and a personalized CX that boosts CLV and cuts churn.Why data analytics can work for you: Customer Insight: You can get deep insight into the behavior, preferences, patterns, and needs of both your current customer base and potential new customers. Predictions: Predictive analytics can automatically provide forecasted trends, warn you of what’s risking churn, and help you take proactive measures before the problem is a real problem. KPIs: Data helps you track key performance metrics that are essential to your company’s health. These include MRR (Monthly Recurring Revenue), CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost), and LTV (Lifetime Value). How to get value from data analytics: Bring in Comprehensive Analytics Tools: There are many types of analytic tools out there, so ensure your tools are robust enough to cover everything from customer segmentation to financial data, to monitoring the current market and even what your competitors are doing. Monitor and Interpret KPIs: Analytics will keep their eye on the metrics that are most important, and translate that into dashboards that are easy for you and your stakeholders to understand. Actionable Insights: The best analytics tools will create insights and reports for you to strategize on a number of issues including pricing optimization, boosting retention, and creating the best unique customer experience. Tip 5: Enhance Customer Communication The better the communication with customers, the better the result. Customers appreciate that a business is there for them after the sale. This is especially true with subscription customers, where the necessity of long-term communication is built into the model. Communication enables stronger customer relationships, which translates into better satisfaction.What’s needed for better communication: Multi-Channel Approach: There are a variety of channels waiting to be enhanced. And that’s a good thing! Everything from social media, SMS, email, and in-app messaging provide opportunities for you to build engagement and trust where each customer is most active. Personalization: With communication, definitely does not fit all. Customers value the personal touch, whether that’s simply using their need or tailoring your communication to their behavior, needs, and preferences. Updates: When you send regular updates, customers stay informed what you work so hard on: new products, features, and subscription packages. What you can use for communication: CRM Systems: Customer Relationship Management is a godsend for busy companies. They manage and personalize communications for your company, saving a lot of time, effort, and resources. Automation: You can set up automated messaging (that can be personalized!) for everything from emails, personalized offers, renewal reminders, and loyalty schemes. Feedback: Mechanisms that make feedback effortless for customers will vastly improve your feedback rate. Surveys, pop-ups, and scoring can gather opinions on whatever you want, including suggestions for future products. Tip 6: Focus on Customer Retention Existing customers are far more likely to buy more of the products you develop, and spend more money versus brand new potential customers. That’s why keeping your existing customers is far more cost-effective than acquiring new ones. The stronger your customer retention strategy and investment, the better the potential for growth and stability.Which strategies work for retention: Regular Engagement: Things like product updates, newsletters, and personalized content will keep customers interested in what you have to offer. Loyalty: Customers love loyalty programs, so reward long-term customers with exclusive access and products, referral bonuses, and special offers. The Proactive Approach: When support is proactive, it drastically cuts the possibility that you’ll have to go into damage control with a customer. Find potential issues early before they escalate, so they can be solved before they’re an expensive problem. How to measure your retention success: Churn Rate: When customers leave, you know something’s not right, and things have to change. Customer Satisfaction: Feedback will not only let you know how happy your customers are, but why they’re happy. Renewal: You can track the renewal rates to gauge customer loyalty. Tip 7: Use Feedback to Drive Product Improvements Though feedback is always important for the health of a company, product development needs customer feedback for direction. Some Product Managers don’t get the investment they need into customer feedback to drive the best types of product innovation. But you need that - otherwise how do you know what your customers want and need?Collecting feedback: Surveys: Surveys can give the anonymity necessary to get truthful feedback. Sometimes identifiable customers don’t want to admit things about their needs and vulnerabilities, so this solves that problem. Focus Groups: Focus groups can offer in-depth conversations about what customers think about your products and their uses. Focus groups can be segmented as well, giving insights into the segments you have and the ones you want to attract with your new products. User Interviews: 1-on-1 interviews can also give deep insights into customer needs because your side can adjust questions depending on the information they’re getting. What to do with the feedback: Analyze It: Different teams will analyze and interpret feedback in different ways, so the more the feedback is read and discussed the more comprehensive the meaning of the feedback. Improve: Product Managers need the space to prioritize changes in products and development based on the feedback. That’s how to meet customer needs and solve their problems. Broadcast the Changes: When you alter your product offering based on your customer feedback, let them know! Customers want to see the value of your products, and they love to feel valued by you. Tip 8: Regularly Review and Update Subscription Plans Like products, subscription plans should change to meet both the market and customer needs. Very few people’s circumstances remain unchanged, so it helps to meet them where they are. This involves regularly checking over and updating the subscription terms, offerings, product combinations, add-ons, cross-selling, and upgrades.What’s important in the reviews: Analysis of Competition: There’s a lot of competition in subscriptions. Competitors constantly innovate their products and pricing. And their advantages can help poach your customers away. That’s why it’s essential to be on top of your competitors’ offerings, and exploit gaps and chances for differentiation. Customer Feedback: Customers will tell you what they’re hoping for, and what changes they would like to see. It’s the way you’ll understand their needs and preferences at any given time. Usage: Usage data gives a clear picture how how your products are used, which are most popular, and whether there are trends that can inform your plants and strategies What’s needed in the update: Introductions to the New Features: When you add new features and benefits (which comes to you naturally), your subscription will increase in value. So can your price. Adjusted Prices: Pricing relies on more than just the objective value of your products. Things like market conditions, your CLV and CAC, etc. can all influence it. Simplicity: No matter what changes in the offering or plan, everything needs to remain as simple as possible, so customers know exactly what they’re choosing and getting. Tip 9: Ensure Compliance with Regulations Compliance with regulations is critical for a variety of reasons. When you are non-compliant, you’re vulnerable to legal issues, fines, lawsuits, and destruction of customer trust and your reputation, no matter how excellent your products. That’s extremely hard or even impossible to overcome. The stakes are that high. That’s why your company must keep up with any relevant regulations across your company and customer locations.Key types of regulations (this isn’t an exhaustive list, just a starting point of examples): CCPA: Because consumer data protection in the USA varies by state, it’s important to keep abreast of all the states. for example, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) protects consumer privacy rights in California. GDPR: The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) regulates data protection and privacy throughout the European Union. PCI DSS: Payment regulations like the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard. Strategies for regulatory compliance Audits: Make sure to conduct regular audits (internal and 3rd party) to ensure compliance with all relevant regulations. Training: Give employees the training they need about regulatory requirements, best practices, and an understanding of the consequences of falling out of compliance. Data Protection and Trackers: Ensure your own systems are secure, and that you constantly track the regulatory landscape so that changes aren’t missed. Tip 10: Invest in Reliable Subscription Management Software We understand that all these tips appear to require a huge investment of time and resources. But with the right subscription management solution, it doesn’t have to be that way. In fact, you can action ALL of the above tips and still end up with more time, revenue, and growth because the best solutions can streamline all these processes for you, while boosting efficiency, and improving and personalizing the customer experience. All with one platform.What you get from subscription management software: AI-powered Automation: The end-to-end subscription management solution will harness AI-driven power to automate billing, invoicing, and payment processes to cut manual errors. It can create offerings and pricing models and spot sales opportunities. It also monitors your KPIs and creates reports of all kinds, with numbers you can rely on. Integration: The best solutions can integrate with systems that you already have, and migrate legacy data for you so it isn’t lost. Scalability: It allows you to scale with total ease. How to choose the right software: Features: Find out whether the software meets all of your needs- through research, discovery calls, etc. User Experience: How accessible is the software? Does it feel unique to your business? Is the experience enjoyable? Demonstrations can help you see how it would work for you. Support and Training: Ensure that the software developer has ample support and training, along with continual check-ins to see how it’s going. Conclusion When your company’s subscription management runs well, your customers will be happy. That means that your products have a much higher chance of success. Implementing these tips will not only streamline the entire end-to-end subscription process, but boost customer satisfaction, cut churn, and pull in far more revenue. On top of that, it optimizes operations for cost and time savings so that you have the time and energy to continue to drive your company forward with innovative products that set you apart from your competitors. If this sounds like an ideal situation, why not book a free, no-obligation discovery call? We’d love to hear about your unique challenges and circumstances. Let’s work together to create an environment where your products take center stage.
Bluefort is the Microsoft Cloud Partner and Authority with core competence in Subscription Management and Recurring Revenue automation for SMBs and Enterprise Business.