Episode 181 / Søren Mohr / Nestlé / Nordic Media & Digital Manager
Podcast: Why all brands should see themselves as subscription businesses
Having worked in a range of subscription based businesses within sales and marketing for many years, Søren Mohr believes in the value of multiple consumer touch points for any brand that is looking to enhance the loyalty of its customers.
Whether you’re a fitness centre or selling paint, there is something to learn from the operating model of subscription businesses. According to Søren, the user journey for someone buying, for example, a pair of earphones, can be vastly different from what it is today, where it stops at the one-off transaction.
That’s because a company could choose to reach out to new clients as soon as they’ve bought their product, to ensure it’s been well received or that there are no questions. This is equally an opportunity to collect data on the client, allowing for additional future touch points. In a year’s time, it can create a prompt to re-contact the client and see if they are receptive to be upsold a different product or an upgrade, for example.
In Søren’s experience, this can increase business and create a better connection with clients. Thinking like a subscription business isn’t reserved to just memberships and service providers.
Find out more about Søren’s views on the subscription model, his top marketing tips and more, on the podcast here.
Transcript
The following gives you a good idea of what was said, but it’s not 100% accurate.
Hello, and welcome to the shiny new object podcast. My name is Tom Ollerton. I'm the founder of automated creative and this is a weekly podcast where I get to interview a very clever person from the industry to tell us about their vision for the future of the industry. And this week is no different. I want to call with Solon Moore, who is Nordic media and digital manager at Nestle. So for anyone who doesn't know you, can you give the audience a bit of a background?
Søren Mohr 0:34
Yeah, and thank you for having me here. Yeah, I have worked with sales and marketing and in weaken Digital's for for many years, I have worked within Telecom, and and also within the fitness industry. And always with a focus on business to consumer, there's what I find most most interesting. And, yeah, it has been mostly with subscription companies. And then I've also worked in startups, which has also been really interesting going from the more corporate businesses and big businesses of a communist. And now, today, I and I have had roles like a CMO and marketing directors. And today, I work as a, as you said, Nordic media and digital manager at Nestle Nordic.
Tom Ollerton 1:34
So, first question, in that varied career, different roles, different verticals, what's been your biggest mess up your facepalm disaster that you were red faced in your courthouse that you hated happening at the time, but now you're glad it is?
Søren Mohr 1:52
Well, I actually, I worked in I had worked in telecom for several years, and, and I really like working with subscription company, and the subscription model. And then I moved into the fitness industry, because I've found it really interesting at that time. And I kind of challenged the CEO, I have only been there for two or three months and said, Hey, we all we are constantly rewarding new members, but we're not doing anything for the existing members. And he could see the point. And so I just suggested that because in February, we had had our birthday. So I said, Hey, why don't we, you know, offer all the members of this fitness chain, I think we're 100 100,000 members at that time to come down. And then they can choose, you know, they can get a towel or some some pets for when they're training or fitness back. And he thought it was a good idea. And we did it. And we just ran completely out of stock of the free gifts for the members. And we had, we had done some different scenarios of where it could go. But it went to totally bananas. So everyone just got down to the to the fitness club and asked for a free back or free towel. And these center managers, they were like, Oh, I'm really sorry, but we are out of stock. And some of the members got a bit upset. So I think it was a really good learning that you knew you need to do something for your existing members, instead of always just rewarding new members. But, but but also, when you do that, then really think of you know, having the gifts there. And also that, yeah, you have to think about everything when you do a thing like that.
Tom Ollerton 4:03
And so what did you do differently the next time you tried that in the same place or a different role?
Søren Mohr 4:11
Well, it's not so much of the concrete. You can say vent, it's more like the learning that you really need to think about the existing members, if you're if you run a subscription business, I think and how you can reward them, and also that they're actually up for that award. And they really, you know, if you offer them something, they would be happy to come down and ask about it. So if I should do it again. You know, I would probably hook up with a audio book, subscription service and ask for a free voucher code. So a scalability of some sort. So it's not a physical thing, where you have your the obvious limitation so that's That's something that that I've learned, you can say,
Tom Ollerton 5:02
brilliant. So moving on, what would be your top marketing tip that you find yourself sharing, giving, or thinking about most often?
Søren Mohr 5:17
Actually, well, of course, I'm not, of course, but I'm, I'm very keen on performance, marketing and personalization as everyone else. But I actually think it's more of a, of an approach that I've learned most of and that's actually, it's actually dating back to to the same fitness chain that I worked for, where my CEO, I had a talk with him at some point. And he said that, you know, Sauron, if we, if we went deer hunting, then I would get the most years when we went when we are going to your hunting, but you would get them, you would shoot them right in the heart. And I would probably hit them in the neck go in the stomach, but I'll hit them. And so I'll get the most, but you will get, you know, the finest shots. And it's just an anecdote that has stuck stuck with me for years ever since that story, because, you know, we're really doing a lot of stuff and being we had a very effective marketing team at that point. But still, I totally got the point, you know, that you really need to move forward. And that thing about, you know, not analyze too much. And I know that, you know, everyone is also thinking about that at some point. But he was just so clear, that anecdote, and so obvious, and it has yeah, as I said, stuck with me ever since. And I think it really relates to when you work with marketing, because you can look, you can look for a lot of different insights, and pay, you know, and analytic companies to get even more reports and insights. But sometimes you have to, you know, when you have two or three insights, and you also have some experience of God feeling, then you have to move forward, you know. So that's
Tom Ollerton 7:11
the first deer hunting analogy we've had on the podcast, so.
Søren Mohr 7:18
So do I get a prize?
Tom Ollerton 7:20
Yeah, yeah, you come down to my gym, and I'll give you some free gear. That's cool. So moving on, we're going to discuss your shiny new object, which is subscription business models. So you've told us that you've worked in subscription business before? But why is subscription business models? A shiny new object for you?
Søren Mohr 7:46
Well, I think it's, yeah, as we just stated, that, yeah, I have worked for different subscription companies. And I just, I don't know, I just can't leave the subscription model. Because I think it's so interesting and so fascinating. In the sense that, it's, it's kind of simple, I think. Because you're you know, you have a system for looking at how you actually get member on board. And you're also you know, when you have your members or customers on board, you also think about how you can actually get them to, you know, be in your company as long as possible it being a club or insurance company or a trailer company. And then when they're leaving the company, you should also look at how you can give them a good onboarding, as well. And also when they have left, and they will think about how you can win them back. And you also have a lot of different metrics. And I just think that looking at the the reason yours, you have different authors, you have since changed soon, from Aurora in the States and also previous Salesforce, writing books about subscription companies and why everyone should consider to enter into Subscriptions. And we also have something somebody here in the Nordics as well, but I just think that we need to move even, you know, past that and think about the companies, some companies, it really doesn't make sense if they go into subscription, but they can still, you know, copy a lot of the approaches of a subscription company. So so so my shining you up, you can you can say is that I really really urge all companies to play the game of thinking like a subscription company, and consider themselves being a subscription subscription company, even though they're not a subscription company. Because I think there's a lot to gain from from from a more traditional business as well.
Tom Ollerton 9:53
Right? Okay, so let's let's roleplay that right. So I am looking at some things on my desk right? I am a, I'm looking at a Bose smart speaker, Bose smart speaker, so portable company, portable speaker Bose the client of ours. So that's why it's there. It's very good. So yeah, how would a business like Bose or consumer hardware manufacturer, consumer electronics manufacturer, I should say, approach subscription?
Søren Mohr 10:24
That's a really good question. Cuz then I will actually divert that question over to Jabra, because I just bought some Jabra in years, headsets. And actually, you know, let's say I bought them and I got them today, then it would be perfect. If Jabra called me tomorrow, and asked me, you know, also, we can see that you got these. So we just wanted to make sure that everything is all right, you know, have you, you know, properly installed them, have you configured them to your hearing, etc. And, and the, and also, of course, try to get some data on me. And maybe, even though even though they know how long they will probably last, all they have data showing, you know, okay, it's thrown in the category of getting a bit tired of his headset one year from now, then they should try to, you know, contact me maybe 10 months from now, and asked me to say everything is okay. And maybe if they hear anything about me saying that, ah, yeah, this is this is okay. But, you know, they're kind of falling out. At some point, when I'm doing fitness, oh, well, we actually don't have an upgrade so that, but and we can actually offer you 10% off, if you're interested in that. So it's that kind of mechanism, if we can just if we go back to to fitness, then we actually modelled on our internal data, and we found out, okay, so how do we get a chance to stick in the fitness club as long as possible, and then we could see some variables that, okay, if you work out together with a friend, then you are, then you're more likely to stay longer in the fitness chain, not not, not on a given Tuesday, but you know, maybe 18 months, 22 months. And also, if you participate in events, if you, if you train, like two or three times a week, then it's the actual, that's perfect. Because if you go like five times six times, then you're likely to be, then it's harder to stay into that rhythm. So you have all these different variables and insights into you know, what would be the most optimal behavior. And I think that, of course, you can do that for all businesses. But but at least for some, you would be able to have some insights on on, you know, how the consumer will actually stay loyal to your product.
Tom Ollerton 13:13
So can you give me an example of a brand that listeners may not think of as a subscription business, but you think do a great job of implementing subscription thinking?
Søren Mohr 13:29
Well, actually, I would say that just just earlier today, when I was thinking about the podcast that we're doing now, I actually got a mail from a it's actually an ecommerce that that is selling paint for, you know, if you need to paint your wall, and I just bought this five litre painting that I got, I think two days ago. And I got a mail today saying, you know, oh, sorry, we just wanted to hear if you if you have started your project, and just reach out if you have questions in regards to the technique, etc, because we're here to help. And we also have a guide here on the on the 10. Most Asked Questions, and also here, this video on how you should actually do some sharp lines as well. And I think that that's kind of, you know, at the beginning of of a subscription journey, you can say, and that's not a company. It's not a subscription company, and it's pretty hard to be a subscription company if you're selling paint. But still, they're thinking like a subscription company. And if I should think about, I'm not going to name it. Maybe I could, but I'm not going to name a company, but I can name industries that should think of themselves as subscription subscription companies. Insurance Company. These pension funds, banks. I mean, I've been with the same insurance companies for 15 years. And they reached out to me, I think two or three times. And when I did that they were actually trying to convince me to get on board on their ship, insurance company. And I was like, Are you kidding me? I've been a client there. I've been a customer there for 15 years. And it's just a good example of a company that, you know, doesn't know anything about their data. So,
Tom Ollerton 15:36
yeah, so I got to finish that point.
Søren Mohr 15:38
No, no. And, and just, you know, reflecting about pension funds, right now, when we have inflation wall, and we just had Corona I think it would be quite relevant for a pension funds to reach out to me and, you know, with some calming information about, you know, just calm down, don't don't, don't, you know, you shouldn't sell your stocks or, or your, or your bonds at this moment, just it, I mean, in the long run, it will still make sense to stick to your stocks. And so, and they will be the same for the bank as well. So there's so many things that accompanies that could benefit from this. And, of course, this is, this is the more traditional industries. And actually, when thinking about companies that are doing this, then it's actually most most startups or scaleups. And mostly ecommerce is, but But it's probably, you know, just just just like you, you have your own company, and you're thinking about that company, 24 hours a day. And I think that you have to have the same approach, as you know, the founders of a startup or scale up, because there they are, into the needy, greedy thing of actually optimizing their company, and they care about the company. And I think some of that lack and maybe some of the bigger companies
Tom Ollerton 17:11
gave me so much to think about, and I would love to carry on talking about this, but unfortunately, we are at the end of the episode. So if anyone in the audience wants to speak to you about subscription business models, where would you like them to reach out to you? And specifically, what do you want to hear in that message?
Søren Mohr 17:28
Well, they're, they're there, they can just reach out to me on LinkedIn, that's perfect.
Tom Ollerton 17:35
Message what? Because I'm sure you'll get inundated with what but what cuts through for you
Søren Mohr 17:44
know, what if they want to discuss a subscription business model, or if they, you know, want to discuss whether they should go into subscription or what they can actually adopt from a subscription model, then I would be, you know, happy to discuss that. And that's what I that's what I you know, beside my job at at Netflix, then I, you know, read books about subscription and think about subscriptions all the time, so I'm more than happy to discuss it. It's kind of a Yeah, a hobby or passion you can say.
Tom Ollerton 18:13
Well, so thank you so much for your time.
Søren Mohr 18:16
You're welcome.
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