Join host Matt Edmundson in this episode of the E Commerce Podcast as he delves into the world of subscription commerce with expert Matthew Holman, founder of Subscription Doc. Discover how D2C brands can master the subscription model to boost retention and acquisition. Matthew shares his journey into the subscription space, insights on innovating subscription offers, and the importance of understanding customer use cases. Whether you're new to subscriptions or looking to refine your strategy, this episode is packed with valuable insights to help you stay competitive in the evolving e-commerce landscape.

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Episode Timestamps:

- 0:05 - 1:39: Introduction to the podcast and guest, Matthew Holman.

- 1:40 - 1:56: Matthew Holman on being an expert in a niche market.

- 3:22 - 5:28: Matthew's journey into subscription commerce.

- 6:09 - 8:41: Current trends in subscription e-commerce.

- 10:12 - 12:43: Strategies for staying competitive in the subscription market.

- 15:05 - 16:47: Importance of customer education and retention strategies.

- 18:00 - 20:42: Future of subscription commerce and technology integration.

- 21:42 - 23:55: Understanding consumer buying preferences.

- 25:19 - 27:10: Effective subscription retention strategies.

- 29:23 - 31:33: Starting a subscription business today.

- 33:55 - 35:39: Key metrics for subscription commerce success.

- 37:23 - 39:11: Common pitfalls in subscription commerce.

- 41:51 - 43:09: Ending customer relationships positively.

- 44:23 - 45:17: Information about Matthew Holman's podcast and newsletter.

3 Key Guest Takeaways:

1. Understanding Customer Use Cases: Matthew emphasises the importance of knowing why customers use your product and tailoring your subscription offers to meet those specific needs. This approach not only enhances customer satisfaction but also improves retention rates.

2. Innovative Subscription Strategies: Experimenting with different subscription models, such as bundling or offering prepaid options, can significantly impact customer retention and average order value. Brands should focus on creating compelling offers that resonate with their target audience.

3. Future of Subscription Commerce: The integration of technology and personalised experiences is crucial for the future of subscription commerce. Brands that leverage these advancements to offer more control and predictability to their customers will likely see increased engagement and loyalty.

Matt Edmundson [0:05 - 1:39]: Welcome to the E Commerce podcast with me, your host, Matt Edmondson. This is a podcast all about helping you deliver e commerce. Wow. And to help us do that, I'm chatting with Matthew Holman from Subscription Doc about all things subscription commerce. Yes, we are. We're going to get into that, but before we do, let me welcome you to the show. If it's your first time with us, very warm welcome to you. And if you haven't done already, just hit that little subscribe button or follow button if you're following along on YouTube. I've always said actually that about 99.5% of the people listening to the show listen on the audio version. But it seems that a few of you have joined us on YouTube, which is great. So we are looking to grow that channel. If you haven't done so already, come follow us over on YouTube because then get see us in person, which you know is a beautiful thing. Chaps on your screen. Come join us online. Just follow the links@e commercepodcast.net you'll find everything. Come join us, it'll be great to see. Right, let's talk about Matthew Holman, aka the subscription doc, who helps D2C brands master their subscription game. As the founder of a consultancy and media company, he's a master at turning content into business growth, whether it's boosting retention or improving acquisition. He is the go to expert for all things subscriptions. Yes, he is. Matthew, welcome to the show. Great to have you on, man. How are we doing?

Matthew Holman [1:40 - 1:47]: I'm doing great, man. Thanks for having me on. And really it's easy to be an expert when there really aren't anybody else in the space. So there's nobody else to go to.

Matt Edmundson [1:48 - 1:54]: I love that strategy. Let's find a space where there's nobody. Do you do something there on your quest as an expert?

Matthew Holman [1:54 - 1:56]: Exactly, exactly.

Matt Edmundson [1:57 - 2:21]: That's great. Now before we get started, actually let me give a quick shout out to the guys at Subsummit, which is where we met this year, wasn't it? We met on the. It was on the subly stand. You and I were both on the subscription. No, no, Genius bot stuff. Yeah, yeah, yes. So that's where we met and had a good old chinwag. So finally we've got you on. So yeah, big shout out to Sub Summit. Are you going next year?

Matthew Holman [2:21 - 2:30]: Oh, absolutely, absolutely. I mean this last year was over my birthday and I still went next year. Thankfully they scheduled in May so I won't have to miss. Miss my birthday this time.

Matt Edmundson [2:30 - 2:34]: But yeah, you should I'm glad you had a word with him about that.

Matthew Holman [2:34 - 2:35]: Yeah, exactly.

Matt Edmundson [2:35 - 3:22]: Cool. Chris. Chris. I'm not happy about this. Dude, come on, you need to change. It's funny, I was talking to Christian, if you don't know. Dear listener, Sub Summit is a show all about subscription commerce. I've gone the last couple years. It is a great show to go to in Dallas. Do come join us next year. Just go to subsummit.com find out more information. But Chris George, one of the sort of co founders of it, I was speaking to him on Monday. So three nights ago we had a good old chinwag and a good old ketchup which was great. So yeah, he's looking forward to it this year so. Or next year, should I say? Very good, very good. Well, how did you get into subscription commerce? Was this sort of like a dream from school or was it just something you stumbled into?

Matthew Holman [3:22 - 5:28]: I feel like I get asked that same question by everybody I talk to is like how did you get into subscriptions? Is actually like very, very ind. I was running marketing at a, you know, at a SaaS company that does logistics, shipping stuff for e commerce brands. My now wife started working there. The Boss is the CEO's sister. So we started dating and is to, you know, preserve the potentiality of that relationship and also wanted to kind of like get out of working for somebody else and become an entrepreneur. I jumped at a chance. Somebody just posted on LinkedIn, hey, anybody want to join a. A small e comm SaaS startup as a marketing co founder And I rose, you know, raised my hand and got into subscriptions that way. So I joined a company called Q Pilot and my partner there, David Bradley, very much like a logistics B2B stance on subscriptions. And so with my logistics background, it's kind of like a match made in heaven. So that's how I started. And then you know, the bet did work out because you know, my, my time girlfriend now my wife coming in a little while. So that's all like, you know, fantastic. But yeah, no, we started doing that and then as a SaaS marketer, my whole job was trying to get people to, you know, sign up for Q Pilot. We started a newsletter called it Subscription Prescription. The longer we ran it and working with our own brands, I realized that my real aptitude actually, you know, I'm an okay SaaS marketer, but I'm really good at helping people figure out subscriptions. There's a lot of different layers of complexity. Logistics, operations, marketing, consumer behavior. Just really loved it and so doing that more and more. And then my partner, I have the same partner in this, in the consultancy now as I do at that SaaS company. It's just he focuses primarily on the subscription business and I focus primarily on the consultancy. And we're platform agnostic, so it doesn't matter who you're using. But yeah, that's again, it's just kind of like one of those funny things of, you know, my wife and logistics. And here we are running a subscription business and newsletter and podcast and tons of social media followers and all that stuff.

Matt Edmundson [5:29 - 5:45]: It's funny, isn't it? I mean, the whole social media thing and the content thing becomes something in all of itself, doesn't it? And sort of managing all of that and keeping up to date with all of that, you can have fun with that with a newborn. Tearing around the house, trying to plan.

Matthew Holman [5:46 - 5:50]: As much content, get as much content done as I can this month before my life changes forever.

Matt Edmundson [5:50 - 5:58]: Yeah, yeah. And then all you have to do is put pictures of the kid up for the next six months and everybody will be happy because we've all been real virality.

Matthew Holman [5:58 - 5:59]: Yeah, you're right.

Matt Edmundson [5:59 - 6:03]: They'll all be like, interested in the kid? Not yet. The kid doing. Not yet. I don't care about you.

Matthew Holman [6:04 - 6:05]: Baby's way cuter than you are.

Matt Edmundson [6:09 - 6:24]: So what I mean, you've been doing subscriptions for a while. Let's talk about subscription in terms of e commerce because obviously subscriptions is a wide ranging topic, you know, and I love what Paul Chambers. Have you seen the Paul Chambers video that he put up with the subscription day?

Matthew Holman [6:25 - 6:30]: Oh, no, but I saw it and I want to. I need to go watch it. I did see it.

Matt Edmundson [6:30 - 6:53]: Really funny. Really funny. Put this, this sort of mock video up, I think it was yesterday on LinkedIn about subscription Dane, he, he references in the videos, you know, subscription services like Netflix and Doordash and things like. These are sort of things, but specifically to do with E commerce. What are you seeing at the moment that we should really be thinking about?

Matthew Holman [6:54 - 8:41]: Yeah, I think that's an interesting point. You know, a lot of people do think of subscriptions as like their Costco membership or like their Amazon prime membership. But you know, we're talking about D2C subscriptions. That's generally like a subscription box, right? Like Battlebox or Mindful Souls or, you know, a lot of these different pet boxes. And then there are other products that do well on a subscription. You have devices like say like a dollar shave club. It's selling you a razor and you get the replacement blades as a subscription or supplements and beauty where you're, you know, getting a skincare routine, pet food, things like that. And so what, what I'm seeing happening that's really, really interesting is people trying to come up with, I mean, everybody's trying to figure out how to turn their business into a. Not every, a lot of people trying to figure out how to turn their business into a subscription. Because then I feel like there's recurring revenue, it's more predictable. You can, you can borrow or raise money against those types of things. But that, that kind of business push aside. What I'm seeing is a lot of brands, like experiment with different ways they can make their products more subscription, like, work better for subscriptions. So the device one is really, really interesting. Like if you look at like Pura, they're a home device company, they sell you a device that has scents that you can put in your home. There's a lot of like, integration with that where, you know, you might download a, or buy a beauty care routine that has an app that helps you track those types of things. So there's a lot of different ways that people trying to. But ultimately it is really just coming down to like, okay, how can I get people to find my subscription offer more compelling? Can I use a gift? Can I use a bundle? Can I use some kind of content piece to try to make this more interesting? And that's where I think is really exciting. It's people just experimenting more and more and the technology keeps innovating to try to like, make a lot of those actions easier and easier to do. So everybody doesn't have to custom develop everything to make it happen.