How to Use Consumer Events to Increase Subscription Rates

Recurring events like sports games, concerts and other community activities present a promising opportunity for businesses to promote subscription products and services, especially when that promotion is effectively tied into the event itself. Companies can use the following steps to target a consumer event and incorporate it into subscription sales efforts.

Identify Promising Events

There are two primary criteria that mark the most promising types of events for this effort:

Regular Scheduling

It can take time for a business to build enough marketing momentum to make targeting a recurring event revenue-positive, and this requires a predictable and regular schedule. A regular schedule also emphasizes the value and utility of a recurring subscription, whether it’s regular deliveries of pre-packaged snacks or a monthly subscription to a sports statistics service.

Community Oriented

Events which engender a genuine community will allow marketing efforts to hitch a ride on word of mouth and self-representation. This is especially true if the event involves a degree of ritualization, like sporting leagues or even a summertime “movies in the park” program. In both cases, attendees will be participating in similar behaviors leading up to the event, like packing picnic dinners to eat at the movie or bringing a collection of stadium seats and other spectator gear to football games. This ensures that when a business is able to offer a compelling product to fit the event, others will see people using that product and will immediately find it applicable to their own routine.

Seek Marketing Avenues

Marketing for targeted events can take a variety of forms depending on the business and the scope of its activities. On the small scale, marketing can be as simple as setting up a table display at the entrance to the event or passing out flyers. Larger events are likely to be run by an organization engaged in its own extensive advertising efforts, and they will usually be actively seeking paid sponsorships to advertise a product or service.

Because event attendees are already primed to be enthusiastic about the activity, a relevant and quality product will sell itself to some degree. This exposure can be the most important metric for a company to consider as it crafts a marketing strategy.

Solicit B2B Cooperation

Seeking ways to cooperate with related but non-competing businesses is perhaps the most cost-effective means of boosting the impact of each marketing dollar. It also encourages consumers to view the marketed products as integral to the event, as packaged products take on the air of an “event kit,” rather than a single (and more easily dismissed) purchase.

Looking for other ways to optimize your business and convert more customers? Check out the Rebilly guide to optimizing your pricing: