We’ve worked with hundreds of subscription companies on new launch concepts, and while the details may vary, they all share a central theme: start with the customer.
It’s easier said than done. Lots of companies start with a desired product roadmap, or some competitive analysis, then embark on a launch that’s based more on market theory than any real customer understanding.
Instead, come up with a reason why you think a particular kind of person would subscribe to a particular kind of service, then test that hypothesis. Create a pilot program that systematically gathers feedback from your potential customers, and refine it constantly.
Here iRobot offers a great example. Based on their own market research and conversations with customers, they formed a hypothesis that a monthly “robots as a service” model would prove attractive.
Then they started small. They put together a tiger team and came up with a very simple offer – features, presentation, pricing – and began gathering feedback from small groups. They didn’t just pilot product features; they gathered feedback on pricing, packaging (gold, silver, and bronze plans, etc), and preferred payment methods. They created a scaling plan – what happens when we hit a thousand subscribers? 5k? 10k?
Then, with their team and resources in place, they launched, and immediately began iterating.