SIIA member Piano came up in the SIPA Discussion Forum today. Coincidentally, their director of research, Patrick Appel, just put out some interesting information on subscriptions and renewals at a Readers First Meetup sponsored by the International News Media Association.

Informa has become an 800-pound gorilla in the business information space, thanks in large part to a two step-strategic plan. Part one was the Growth & Acceleration, in effect from 2014 to 2017, that saw the expansion of Informa through both organic growth and acquisition, including the $1.56 billion purchase of Penton in the U.S. and nearly $6 billion acquisition of UBM in June 2018. Overall reported revenue for 2018 jumped 34.9 percent to about $3 billion, with acquisitions and disposals contributing 35.4% growth (primarily due to the acquisition of UBM). 

What makes people subscribe? Apparently, a good visual rather than your logo, and speaking positively about the benefits you can offer vs. what people would miss by not subscribing. A new report simply titled Subscription Messages from the Center for Media Engagement at the University of Texas at Austin studied different ways news organizations proffer themselves to potential subscribers.

For technology companies that employ a subscription-based business model, sustained product adoption by customers is vital to long-term success. While many new operational capabilities have been developed to drive consumption, including the rapidly growing Customer Success discipline, many firms struggle to achieve desired adoption and retention levels in a sustained, profitable way. As companies look for methods and strategies to address this challenge, there are four practices from the healthcare industry’s approach to treating chronic illness that have applicability to tech adoption:

Earlier today the SSD community gathered to discuss Increasing Customer Lifetime Value for Software and SaaS subscriptions as Avangate shared new strategies for retaining business and increasing profits.

As its name suggests, Boston-based Greentech Media serves the green energy space. What may not be as readily apparent is that paid research and subscription services—not media—are its primary drivers, accounting for almost two-thirds of Greentech’s overall revenue and its fastest growing revenue stream. Here, Greentech CEO Scott Clavenna explains how prioritizing research—complemented by digital media and events—gives Greentech a recurring revenue stream that shields it from some of the fickleness of an advertising-only model and allows for major upsell opportunities with clients.