The world’s first SMS & WhatsApp integration for Bold Subscriptions
Subscription plans have exploded in popularity in the eCommerce world. Since 2012, the subscription-based eCommerce model has grown by over 350% - a revenue increase that outstrips US retail sales 5x. By 2023, 75% of DTC brands will sell products via subscription.
And with good reason. Subscription models offer merchants a (more) guaranteed revenue stream, improved CAC:LTV ratios and increased operational predictability. In the current climate of spiralling ad cost and high CAC, these are high leverage advantages.
But there’s a problem. Over 40% of subscribers churn within 6 months because brands are struggling to provide flexible subscription portals, rapid CX support and offerings that truly speak to the needs of their audience.
The good news is, there’s now a solution. Blueprint has launched the world’s first SMS & WhatsApp integration for Bold Subscriptions V2 to reduce subscription churn for Shopify and Bold merchants.
“We've seen some pretty staggering results - our LTV has massively increased amongst the subset of customers we've had conversations with.”
Our specially engineered solution enables brands to deliver order skipping functionality, fast CX response and frictionless customer feedback prompts to all subscribers within their Bold Subscriptions platform. By using SMS & WhatsApp to tackle subscription churn, we’re increasing subscriber LTV by over 19% for the brands we work with.
Here’s how we’re finally ending eCommerce’s subscription churn headache for Shopify stores:
"Our subscription churn is super high."
If enticed with a strong proposition, consumers are more than willing to give eCommerce subscription models a try. Over two-thirds of American consumers (69%) pay for multiple subscriptions and 28% have at least four.
What they are less willing to do, is stick around long-term. Over 40% of subscribers churn within 6 months of signing up. The reasons for this can be myriad, but product overload, clunky subscription management portals and flavour or variety fatigue are the key churn drivers.
Shopify brands who use Blueprint overcome these issues by enabling their Bold subscribers to skip, rather than cancel, subscription orders via SMS & WhatsApp.
Easy order skipping functionality
Inflexible eCommerce subscription portals and product overload mean that outright cancellation is often the only option for customers who want to adjust their orders.
With Blueprint’s new Bold integration, brand’s can offer customers the option to skip, instead of cancel, their next order seamlessly via SMS or WhatsApp. This means consumers can easily manage their subscription around their lifestyle, whilst crucially, still remaining a paid up subscriber.
“Blueprint has been great to help increase our subscriber LTV by offering an easier and more flexible subscription experience for our customers! Super easy to set-up and really cut churn, built customer feedback and increased support speed.”
How does this feature work?
Before a subscription order is dispatched, each subscriber is sent an upcoming charge message via text. This message communicates fulfilment information, whilst also giving customers the opportunity to skip (but not cancel) delivery of that particular order by replying in-channel.
Brands can fully customise the wording and timeframe of these messages, to suit their tone of voice and reorder rates. Here’s what an order skipping message would look like in your Blueprint dashboard:
Using this method, pet care brand Buddy Bites increased subscription LTV by 19% - an average increase of $45 in MRR for every customer engaged via text. Take a look at a real order skipping SMS conversation they had with one of their happy customers:
To start cutting subscription churn with order skipping functionality, simply book a demo with our team. Once you’re set up, copy and paste the following order skipping message template into your dashboard to start driving your own LTV.
Next, we’ll look at another key challenge facing eCommerce subscription models - slow customer support - and explain how Shopify brands can overcome this with Blueprint’s Bold Subscriptions integration.
“We're slow to solve CX issues for our subscribers.”
Managing eCommerce subscription customers at scale is often time consuming for brands. Dealing with subscriber requests to change their monthly orders can be a slow and manual process - especially if done over email.
This friction can damage the customer experience, making users feel locked into inflexible subscription agreements that are difficult to change.
This is not merely an inconvenience, but a real churn driver. Over 50% of consumers would switch to a competitor after just one bad CX experience with a brand, whilst 80% would leave after more than one.
Frictionless customer support
Blueprint now enables Shopify brands to manage their CX interactions with their Bold subscribers fast and flexibly to reduce eCommerce subscription churn. Our brands solve support queries seamlessly via SMS or WhatsApp from within their existing Zendesk or Gorgias dashboard.
“As a subscription business, building strong relationships with customers to keep churn rate low is a key focus. Blueprint has been a game changer for us in this regard.”
Merchants can have back and forth conversations with their audience, to uncover and fix CX issues, before they lead to subscriber churn.
How does this feature work?
Every newly acquired subscriber receives an automated welcome message via text. This highlights the channel as a means of customer support. Thereafter, customers can text that number, with replies appearing in the brand’s Blueprint, Gorgias or Zendesk dashboards for their team to deal with. Here’s what a welcome your CX message might look like:
By engaging customers in two-way conversations and solving queries via text, US plant-based chicken brand Daring Foods increased their subscriber LTV by 38% - an average increase of $110 in MRR for every customer engaged via text. Check out how they identified and solved this CX query from a subscriber fast and effectively:
You can say goodbye to slow, clunky CX by booking a demo with our team. Once set up, copy the following template into your Blueprint dashboard to begin building happy subscribers via SMS & WhatsApp:
Next, we’ll look at how poor customer feedback can lead to eCommerce subscription, and how Blueprint users are overcoming it.
“I don’t have a clue what my subscribers want?!"
The best brands evolve their eCommerce subscription models based on the preferences of their subscribers. To do that though, they must get a clear understanding of what their customers want in order to act on it. Many, though, struggle to collect this feedback.
Response rates to feedback requests on email are low - you’re doing well if you’re getting 5-10%. This is a real problem, because 96% of those who churn do so without ever telling you why.
Without understanding and acting upon that insight, your eCommerce subscription model will keep hemorrhaging subscribers for the same reasons. Here’s how Blueprint brands are collecting meaningful insight from their Bold customers:
Seamless customer feedback
Blueprint leverages the 45% response rates of SMS to engage your Bold subscribers and capture their qualitative responses to your product. We get customers giving clear and actionable feedback on what they want to see from their subscription, which brands can iterate on to improve their offering.
“Our customers enjoy the feel of texting a brand alongside transactional messages. This really brings Daring closer to the community and vice versa.”
How does this feature work?
With Blueprint’s new Bold Subscriptions integration, brands can send post-order feedback requests at custom time frames after each order is delivered. This immediacy prompts many to reply and share what they thought of your brand. Here’s your feedback prompt might look like:
Daring Foods are building valuable insights from instigating conversations with their audience. This is an example of a real conversation they had with a subscriber after reaching out to them with an automated message:
Book a demo with our team to start collecting your own customer feedback today. Once you’re set up, copy and paste the following template into your Blueprint dashboard to start chatting with your Bold Subscribers.
Frequently asked questions
Blueprint’s integration with Bold Subscriptions systematically tackles the causes of subscription churn with a specially built SMS & WhatsApp solution for Shopify customers. We increase subscriber LTV by over 19% by order skipping functionality, fast CX response and frictionless customer feedback prompts.
Our specially engineered solution enables brands to deliver to all subscribers within their Bold Subscriptions platform. By using SMS & WhatsApp to tackle subscription churn, we’re increasing subscriber LTV by over 19% for the brands we work with.
Here are some questions many of our users had before they got started:
Question 1 - Does it actually work?
Answer - You bet! Brands using this integration right now are seeing a significant decrease in their subscription churn, resulting in a 19% increase in subscriber LTV on average. Our rapid customer support functionality is also improving NPS metrics for the brands we work with.
Question 2 - Isn't it really hard to integrate/do I need tech support or to make changes?
Answer - Good question! No it isn’t. Zero technical support or coding changes are required. Blueprint integrates into your Bold Subscription in 1-click from your Blueprint dashboard and syncs to all subscriber data automatically.
Question 3 - How does this fit into my existing tech stack?
Answer - We’re not here to change the way you work. Blueprint seamlessly integrates with other major eCommerce platforms including Shopify, Klaviyo, Bold Subscriptions, ReCharge, Zendesk, Gorgias and Privy, so you can start building LTV via SMS & WhatsApp without giving yourself a tech headache.
Question 3 - Won't this enable customers to cancel their subscription more easily?
Answer - Customers only have the ability to skip or ask a question, which actually decreases the likelihood that they will churn. If they would like to end their subscription for any reason, customers will need to follow your normal cancellation.
Question 4 - Will this increase our customer support requirement a ton?
Answer - No, this integration reduces the time to solve customer issues faster and easier than on email. We combine SMS with our Giorgas and Zendesk integrations to enable brands to reply to customers from their existing CX dashboards.
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