Richard Turen
The hot buzz words in corporate marketing offices and among the five investors on "Shark Tank" are "subscription model."
The premise is, of course, rather obvious: Why sell a client something once when you can offer them delivery of products that bring them in contact with your company on a regular basis? The goal is to have a list of products that are paid for in advance and are delivered to the client's home every month.
In the same time that it takes to make a single-product sale, marketers reason, you could be closing multiple sales. If, for instance, you have a line of soaps scented with truffle oil, you might want to design 12 variations -- perhaps some black truffle, some white, some from various locations -- on a one-year "subscription" rather than, well, selling a single bar of soap.
You can subscribe to some really excellent Southern pies by the month or do the same for lovely house plants or flowers. You can figure out what the consumer really loves and then surprise them every month with a version of what they love. That is how you keep a happy, profitable consumer relationship. Customers will come to know when to expect their next "surprise" and listen for the sound of the UPS truck's arrival. And they will thank you 12 times a year.
But I believe the travel business is really not cut out for the subscription model. What could we possibly send them? A small bottle of sand from a Sandals beach, a beginner's guide to partying from Virgin Voyages or, perhaps, a laundry bag from the Ritz in Paris?
We probably cannot sell anything tangible, something they can hold, like a teddy bear with a suitcase, for an annual fee. But what if we focused on figuring out something to send clients, something that actually saved them money and in fact had the potential to save them far more than the annual subscription price?
In theory, our consortia and host agencies can provide marketing support to do that. But would that be personal enough, and exclusive enough, to be considered a gift worthy of an annual fee?
Perhaps you could add a subscription service in the form of an ad-free monthly publication filled with insider advice and offers that are unique to your agency. With a subscriber list of attractive clients, you could likely negotiate special offers that are truly exclusive to your agency with key suppliers.
What might be included each month that your clients would love?
I don't know -- I've never met your clients. And I don't think you will ever introduce us. But you do know what would really turn them on. In addition to special trip offerings, perhaps you could include coupons for travel-related books, special dinner arrangements at your town's best restaurants or options at places around the world that they have never considered.
Perhaps you can send them secrets about this mysterious business we're in and how it operates. Or allow them to discover "off-the-radar" travel options personally described by you ... just for them. How about a gift from the country you're highlighting each month? There are endless possibilities.
Ask your team: "What do we know that we can share that might be worth a subscription fee of $100 per year?"
This is really not about the money you will make from the subscription; it's about your "gift" arriving in your client's home or inbox on a monthly basis and making them feel really good about the firm they have chosen to trust with some of life's most important moments. No ads, no BS, no phony sales pitches. It has to be written from the heart.