Tips to Grow your business, part 2: upselling and growing your subscriber base

Last month, we shared some ideas on how to acquire new subscribers through marketing and advertising.  But we’ve all heard the adage  “it’s easier to keep a customer than find a new one,” so here are our top 10 tips and tricks on how to grow your business through better subscriber outreach and upsells!

1. No surprises here - start with a great software platform that integrates across all of your systems, all at once, from billing to throughput to PON capacity and technician onsite issues! Apart from the advantages you’ll get from improved customer service and more efficient network management, a software platform like our NOC360 gives you deep insight into all of your subscribers - including which ones could easily be upsold! 
2. 2. If you don’t have the ability to see sustained traffic throughputs and compare those to subscriber billing packages, you’re missing an easy opportunity.  One of the easiest ways to identify upsell opportunities among your subscribers is to see who’s using more than they’re paying for - or who’s at the upper end of a particular offering - and offer them a better plan. 
3. Another great way to identify subscribers who would benefit from a better plan is to look at the PON sweep reports available through your software platform. Are there some subscribers who are hogging all of the bandwidth? If so, they and the others on their PON might benefit from additional capacity into the area – and then an upsell to a better plan. 
4. If you’re offering managed wifi, why not use insight from your software provider to identify which households have too many devices running for the bandwidth they have? Most subscribers won’t think about the bandwidth required to support their new smart home devices - but they may jump at an opportunity to optimize their smart home functionality. 
5. Sometimes, the easiest way to identify upsell opportunities is to do a little internal housekeeping. Use your software tools to identify how many plans you’re offering, and how many subscribers are on each one. If you’re creating custom offerings for each subscriber, why not standardize your offerings and push subscribers to a larger plan? 
6. Subscriber analytics can also help. When you’re running your upsell and marketing reports in your software platform, make sure you drill down into ticket information by subscriber. Subscribers with frequent calls complaining about speed issues might be ready for a new plan! On the other hand, subscribers who frequently call to complain about cost, or issues beyond your control, may not be the best to upsell. 
7. You can also use a great software program like NOC360 to identify potential subscribers in the areas you serve. If half of a neighborhood is relying on you for their internet service, why not reach out to the other half too? Names, addresses, demographic information, and estimated usage tips can help you create targeted messages for these potential customers. 
8. Check the reports a great tool like NOC360 provides to identify which customers are paying too much for what they use.  Imagine the goodwill you’ll get from reaching out to these subscribers proactively, to let them know that a lower-priced offering may be available! Some may keep their existing program. Others may switch to a lower-cost offering - but will remain your loyal customers, and will be much more likely to share their delight with your service and team. 
9. While you’re working to actively build good subscriber relationships, consider turning your subscribers into your sales team! Consider a referral program that allows subscribers to get credit off their next bill, or even cash, for every person they refer that signs up. Don’t forget to add a few terms, of course, like ensuring the new subscriber needs to remain a customer for a certain period of time.  Referral programs are a great way to encourage your existing subscribers to speak positively about your offerings. New subscribers are much more likely to sign up when they hear positive reviews from their neighbors, friends, and family. 
10. Once you’ve recruited your subscribers to support your sales team, recruit your own team too! Consider a friend and family deal for anyone who signs up under an employee referral. Or be creative! If you’re laying fiber, for example, make sure the crews are prepared to talk to anyone who asks about what services you offer, and how fast it will be. And since the average person won’t understand things like upload and download speeds, make sure that you have some specific examples of what will change for them - and a card that your team can share with anyone they talk to that gives the subscriber a discount for signing up. Use a custom code for each team member to track how many new subscribers they refer. ​

There are a lot of ways a great toolkit like NOC360 can help you grow and upsell your subscriber base. If you’d like to get help building and growing your own list of subscribers, reach out today by sending a note to info@7sigma.com!