Do you really understand your subscribers?

As the TV market gets saturated with various offers and promotions, big amount of content tailored to the viewers’ needs and availability on various devices, the churn rate keeps on growing.

The question that logically follows is, Do OTT providers really know and care about their subscribers?

The OTT subscription brands, such as Netflix, Amazon Prime and Disney+ are attractive because they allow the viewer to have complete control over the content, meaning that they can watch exactly what they want when they want and on the device they want, 24 hours a day.

Subscribers are offered an enriching form of entertainment that meets their needs much more quickly and effectively than before. And still, subscribers are fickle and disloyal.

According to the Singula Decisions report, the answer is that the modern OTT providers brands are narcissistic relators, too busy shouting what they offer to listen to what their subscribers actually want.

According to the book called “The 5 Love Language”, that can be applied here also, there are five ways that the OTT providers can utilize when approaching their subscribers to deepen the trust and satisfaction:

• Words of Praise: the subscribers that were included in the referenced report hinted at a lack of appreciation for their loyalty to the OTT provider. In their opinion, the potential new customers are more privileged and get superior deals, which comes as part of the OTT provided strategy to gain new subscribers. Providing concrete benefits, discounts, and packages for loyal customers can go a long way towards deepening the relationship between the OTT provider and its customers.
• Acts of Service: Subscribers emphasized that any effort from the OTT subscriber to learn and understand the viewers’ needs would be highly appreciated.
• Quality Time: instead of assuming that the ammount of content consumed is the only measure of satisfaction, OTT providers should focus on providing the right content and the right time and focus on quality over quantity.
• Gifts and Surprises: When humans’ expectations are exceeded, the brain releases more dopamine. A free upgrade on the sign-up anniversary, or the subscription fee cut in half during a particular time of the year (Christmas for ex.) are some of the ways to delight the subscribers.
• Touch: For OTT operators, this can be translated into “touching” their subscribers emotionally through either deep or emotional content, kind and helpful customer service, caring about social responsibility, etc.

According to the report, in the first months of engagement with OTT brands, subscribers are most enthusiastic, but this is rarely taken advantage of by brands. In contrast, OTT providers remain focused on getting new subscribers instead of nurturing the existing ones.

In subsequent months, the five love languages elaborated above can easily be applied to the existing subscribers in order to increase customer satisfaction and minimize the churn rate.

For additional support regarding your OTT project, please check our other resources:

• Approaching OTT as a Strategy
• The Future of OTT
• Beenius as Presenter at Bitmovin’s Live NAB Edition: OTT as a Strategy
• Good User Interface is Essential for OTT Services

To request a consultation session with our specialist, or any additional question, please feel free to contact us. With our capacity to support IPTV, OTT, and DVB Hybrid services and the possibility of offering TV content on every device, anytime, anyplace, Beenius has what it takes for the launch of your successful OTT project.

Best regards,

The Beenius Team