Premium global magazine targets $1M incremental revenue through omnichannel, persona-based support

The challenge: High customer attrition made it hard to grow subscriber base

The client is a premium media brand with an educated subscriber base and global reach. They distribute award-winning journalism through a print magazine, website, podcast and short video clips.

The core problem was high subscriber attrition, which was making it hard to hit growth targets. Further, the client’s CX processes and systems were outdated due to lack of attention over the years.

The client approached Firstsource for advice and support on how to:

• Grow their subscriber base
• Retain existing subscribers
• Provide a premium customer experience to match their high-quality journalism

The solution: Create a CX strategy and operating model

We conducted an advisory project for the client’s leadership team involving several workshops. The process followed these broad steps:

• Understanding the brand’s subscriber base, how they consume information, and their support needs
• Crystalizing the vision for how consumers perceive the brand
• Creating a CX strategy to reflect brand promise, vision, mission as well as customer needs and wants
• Designing a support organization to fulfill the above
• Turning the strategy into a set of operational principles and day to day practices

During these workshops, it emerged that the client’s existing approach to customer support focused primarily on solving customer problems quickly. When customers had an issue, they called in, and associates worked to fix the problem. Prioritizing service speed is not ‘bad’, but it was leading to rushed conversations that felt rather cold to consumers. The team realized that in overlooking the emotional side, they were missing an opportunity to strengthen the relationship, make customers feel better, and embody the brand’s premium image and values.

Deliverables.

‍The consulting project helped the client’s senior leadership team bring together and structure their thoughts. They realized their customer support model needed to align much more strongly with their brand promise and personality. They also understood that focusing on customer emotions and feelings gave them a more powerful lever to improve subscriber retention.

Specific deliverables included:

• Identification of six different subscriber personas and their preferences — see representative diagram for three personas
• A personalized support strategy for each subscriber persona
• New emphasis on the emotional side of customer support, all aimed at improving subscriber retention
• Linking strategy to day-to-day execution
• Agreed set of internal policy changes to align to the new experience vision

Target results: Revenue growth and cost savings

Firstsource implemented the new operating model which is on track to achieve:

• $1M incremental revenue over three years through reduced churn and more effective upselling
• $1M cost savings over three years through deflection of 20% of voice calls to digital channels and improved associate productivity