As an entrepreneur, you are always looking for new ways to find new customers and share your brand with as many people as possible. One innovative way to do that is to get your products in monthly subscription boxes.
The monthly subscription boxes are already an established trend that is revolutionizing how consumer shop for products and considerably improving the online shopping experience. Chances are you’ve heard of Birchbox and Yogi Surprise?
If not… a monthly subscription box is a curated collection of deluxe samples and full-sized products. Subscribers to these services are charged on a monthly or annual basis to receive a curated package in the mail each month.
From makeup and jewelry to dog treats, from kids and home products to gourmet food, these packages help consumers discover and sample new products before buying them. Besides the obvious benefits for customers, discovering new products at discount rates and getting that great surprise factor each time you open a box, there is also great potential for entrepreneurs that are looking to expand their e-commerce strategy.
Here are a few benefits of getting your products in monthly subscription boxes
Exposure to a wider audience
Participating in a monthly subscription box can help your business reach out to a bigger audience. Malia Britton from Acli-Mate explains that participating in a subscription box is important because: “It gets your name out to a passionate audience that is actively seeking new products – exactly the kind of buyer you want your product in front of.”
This is a fantastic opportunity for small businesses since many new or lesser known brands that participate in subscription boxes can get in return increased brand awareness. “Monthly subscription box services allow us to reach and introduce our product to new audiences at a relatively minimal cost. It is much easier in our industry to convince people to buy your product once they’ve already tried it on and know how stylish it is. That’s how you increase awareness and create brand ambassadors,” explains Robyn from Robyn Rhodes.
Media/Influencer Exposure
Get some media exposure and the attention of influencers and potential investment opportunities. Having your product featured in some of these monthly subscription boxes gives credibility to your business and products.“Providers go out of their way to provide great content about your brand and push your exposure past just their website. Not to mention the exposure you get as people in the industry really follow the products in these boxes when they are looking for new things,”says Sara Hamilton, from Sand & Sky.
Customer Base Growth
Jack Haldrup from Sasquatch Soap, who’s used Bespoke Post and BirchBox says that “We have found that customers that subscribe to these boxes become great customers for Sasquatch. It also has led to some new retail relationships and opportunities for us.” They saw a 50% increase in sales revenue, plus approximately 3-5% of people reached by the gift box service became Sasquatch customers.
Increased Website Traffic & Social Media Fans
Katherine Rice from Cosmos Creations mentioned that besides the overall brand awareness, they gained Facebook fans, higher website traffic as well as sustained online sales, and Sasquatch saw 130% increase in website traffic for the month of the promotion.
Although there are plenty of benefits in getting your products featured in monthly subscription boxes, there are still some obstacles and disadvantages to consider. Here are some of them:
You need to provide a large number of samples that you would be basically giving away for free, or at a very low-cost
Because of the so many options, you need to research and maybe even try a few providers before you find a good fit for the brand
Even though it’s easier to track than the traditional sampler program, it still has its challenges. So unless you give a discount coupon, it’s not that easy to keep track of where your sales are coming from
Having your products featured in monthly subscription boxes is not enough. You need to make sure that you have a good customer retention strategy in place