Subscriber retention is essential for any business, but especially in OTT, given the choice of services and the propensity of viewers to regularly change or alternate subscriptions. 

To grow sustainably, streaming service operators need to focus on converting new customers and retaining existing ones. Fortunately, there are several ways to keep your subscribers happy and engaged, such as offering exclusive content, early access to new features or releases, personalised recommendations, and customer service that goes above and beyond. By implementing a subscriber retention strategy, you can make sure your business grows sustainably for years to come.

With that in mind, we’ve put together our top five strategies to improve subscriber retention:

1. Customer feedback loop

It’s essential to create a space where customers feel heard and their concerns are taken seriously – even if you can’t always immediately resolve the issues they’re experiencing. All feedback is valuable, and negative feedback can be especially useful in identifying areas that need improvement. Ignoring customer feedback or brushing it off will only lead to frustration and eventual retention. Create a strong customer service and retention strategy to ensure your customers always feel like their voices are heard and valued.

2. Leverage your data

The cost of customer acquisition is high, so it’s important to keep your existing customers engaged and coming back for more. And one of the best ways to do that is to understand their viewing habits and cater content around their interests. Fortunately, with today’s data-driven insights, tracking customer behaviour and developing targeted campaigns that resonate with your audience is easier than ever. Leverage your data and gets to know your customers; you can build specific content categories around their interests and personalise comms for select groups to highlight what’s available.

3. Regular and engaging communication

Keep your subscribers engaged and interested in your content to keep them coming back for more. A well-considered communication strategy is essential for achieving this. You can personalise your communication based on data you know about your subscribers, such as their favourite actors or genres, and highlight up-and-coming releases that they might be interested in. Stay top of their minds with regular outreach that is engaging, informative and on brand for your business. 

4. Reward loyalty

It costs much less to keep a customer than to acquire a new one, so rewarding loyalty makes good economic sense. There are a number of ways to show appreciation for loyal customers, such as offering discounts, access to exclusive content early or for free, or even a personalised thank-you email. Whatever the method, the goal should be to personalise the user experience as much as possible. After all, happy customers who feel valued and appreciate your brand values are more likely to stick around.

5. Continue to educate

At Magine Pro, we believe customer education should continue long after conversion and onboarding. Continuing to educate customers throughout their journey with your brand is essential. Build educational campaigns around your streaming service, highlighting valuable features such as building Watchlists, Continue Watching, etc. By helping users make the most of their subscriptions, you’re more likely to keep them loyal and engaged. In addition, these campaigns can help to create a more positive customer experience, which is essential for driving long-term growth.

Want to learn more ways to increase subscriber retention and engagement for your streaming service? Our white paper ‘OTT Discovery: How to stand out amongst the crowd‘ features some great insights. You can also check our blog for more practical advice.

If you’re interested in learning more about our flexible OTT platform, our partners, and how we can help you build and launch a successful OTT business, get in touch with us today.