Are Subscription Models The Best Pricing Strategy For DTC Brands?

Founder and CEO of Tiege Hanley, Kelley Thornton, delves into the world of subscription models as the optimal pricing strategy for DTC brands. Exploring the significance of uncomplicated skincare systems for men, Tiege Hanley equips individuals with the necessary tools to tackle their daily routines effectively. Kelley Thornton's insights shed light on the strategic approach to pricing and the value it brings to direct-to-consumer brands like Tiege Hanley. Show NotesConnect With:Kelley Thornton: Website // LinkedInThe MarTech Podcast: Email // Newsletter // TwitterBenjamin Shapiro: Website // LinkedIn // TwitterSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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  The Martech Podcast is a proud member of the I Hear Everything Podcast Network. Looking to launch or scale your podcast? I Hear Everything delivers podcast production, growth and monetization solutions that transform your words into profit. Ready to give your brand a voice? Then visit iHereEverything.com.

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  Welcome to the Martech Podcast, a member of the I Hear Everything Podcast Network. In this podcast, you'll hear the stories of world-class marketers that use technology to drive business results and achieve career success. Here's the host of the Martech Podcast, Benjamin Shapiro.

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  Welcome to the Martech Podcast. I'm your host, Benjamin Shapiro, and today we're going to discuss D to C marketing. Joining me is Kelly Thornton, who is the founder and CEO of Tej Hanley, which is a provider of uncomplicated skincare systems designed specifically for men, equipping them with essential skincare tools to confidently tackle their day. All right, here's my conversation with Kelly Thornton, the founder and CEO of Tej Hanley. I want to move on to pricing. Let's go through an exercise called trend or trash. Are subscription models the best pricing strategy for D to C brands? Is that a trend or is it trash?

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  Trend. If done correctly, it's great for everybody. It's great for the consumer. It's good for the brand and it's very good for the brand. It's very good for the consumer. If it's done correctly, if you consider yourself a modern day subscription, which we do, it's very good for the customer. Why is it good for the customer? It's reliable. It's delivered to them when they need it, when they want it. And modern day means it needs to be flexible. You need to be able to change things. You need to be able to change addresses. You need to be able to pause. You need to be able to do all kinds of stuff. Once you get it dialed in for a customer, it's super convenient for them. They can save a lot of money by doing it that way. We offer very significant discounts for people that do choose to subscribe to us

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  because it helps us run our business more effectively. We can run our business more effectively than we can offer a lower price point for that service.

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  I'll be devil's advocate on the side of the consumer. I understand for the D to C brand, why subscription models are great. Reoccurring revenue, consistency, right? You just know what you can depend on and you don't have to continue to find new customers to sell your products. Goes without saying, every time I've had a subscription, maybe not every time, but most of the times when I've had a subscription, the volume management becomes a problem. I love AG1, right? Take it every day, but I think I have two extra bags of AG1 because they deliver it every 30 days. And in reality, I need it every 37 days because I don't take it every single day. I forget sometimes and I always regret it. Love me some AG1. But there's the subscription management that becomes something

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  that gets put on the consumer or you end up with too much product and then it becomes a headache. As a D to C brand owner, how are you working with your customers to make sure that you are flexible with them?

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  That is the core of being a good subscription company is putting yourself in the shoes of the customer and thinking about every single step that they take and how can you make it easier for them? I mean, I'm sorry to say, I think generally speaking, people are kind of lazy. Maybe they're not just lazy, they're just busy. They just have a lot going on in their lives. And the last thing on their mind, they've taken care of their kids, they're picking them up and they're going to basketball this weekend. They got to play tomorrow night and they're picking up groceries on the way home is like, holy crap, I've got too much AG1, great product, by the way. I need to go online and manage my subscription. So figuring out ways to make it as absolutely painless as possible for a customer to manage their subscription is

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  the name of the game. And the easier you can make it, the antithesis of that is like the Wall Street Journal, you know, to cancel, you got to call, wait on hold for an hour, confirm your birthdate and your firstborn, and then go through a whole series of why you're doing this. And then all these offers as to why you shouldn't do it. I mean, it's just the antithesis of it. So as easy as you can make it for a customer, the better it is for everybody.

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  I wish there was a system that was easy where it was a check with me, hey, your subscription's coming, click here to confirm or cancel, and then that manages it. But obviously, that doesn't make much sense for the DDC brand because all that's going to happen is people are going to be like, no, I don't want it anymore.

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  Actually, we do that.

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  Do you?

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  We actually do that. You are not required by law to do that. We would rather be a modern day pain in the ass subscription and deal with knowing that the customer has too much product and not ship it than to ship a product and the guy say, I got too much, I don't want it and I want to return it. So we just notify everybody and say, hey, your orders are coming up in three days. Let us know if you want to pause, change, or otherwise cancel.

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  Good on you. And that wraps up this episode of the Martech Podcast. Thanks for listening to my conversation with Kelly Thornton, the founder and CEO of Tiege Hanley. If you'd like to get in touch with Kelly, you can find a link to his LinkedIn profile in our show notes. You can DM him on Instagram. His company's handle is Tiege Hanley. That's T I E G E H A N L E Y. Or you can visit his company's website, which is just teige.com, T I E G E dot com. If you'd like a summary of this podcast, or if you'd like to apply to be the next guest speaker on the Martech Podcast, head over to martechpod.com. You can also find our video clips for the Martech Podcast on YouTube, Instagram, and on X. And if you'd like to contact me, let's connect on LinkedIn. My handle is

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  Ben J. Shap, B E N J S H A P. And if you haven't subscribed yet and you want a daily stream of marketing and technology knowledge in your podcast feed, hit the subscribe button in your podcast app and we'll be back in your feed tomorrow morning. All right, that's it for today. But until next time, my advice is to just focus on keeping your customers happy.

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  Thanks for listening to the MarTech Podcast, an I Hear Everything production. Looking to launch or scale a podcast like this one for your brand? Then visit iHearEverything.com.