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Robbie Kellman Baxter
@robbiebax
Subscription & Membership Model Expert • Keynote Speaker • Author of The Membership Economy and The Forever Transaction • Host of Subscription Stories Podcast
Menlo Park, CArobbiekellmanbaxter.comJoined April 2008

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In this episode, Rod Cherkas, founder of HelloCCO and author of "The Chief Customer Officer Playbook," joins me to discuss customer success metrics, the evolving CCO role, and common mistakes in building lasting customer relationships. Full episode here: loom.ly/RJSMC4s
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Passive churn is when the customer's payment method is rejected somewhere in the billing process– by the bank, card processor, or your company's automatic algorithms. This is a special type of churn because the customer didn't intend to cancel, so it can be the easiest to fix.
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Ex: If I’ve invited patrons to my restaurant, but the menu only has a couple of (delicious) items, and guests grow tired of them, or my dining area is great in the winter but features no outdoor seating for summer days, I need to do some tinkering.
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Ex: if I invite new patrons to my restaurant, but I don’t welcome them, show them where the dessert buffet is, or tell them about our amazing Saturday night Karaoke contest, they may not understand what a great fit our restaurant is for their family, and they may not return.
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Example: if I invite a bunch of new parents to a "great family-friendly restaurant," but I meant it was great for teens and adults, and I don't have high chairs, booster seats, or chicken nuggets. I might attract a lot of people who'll likely have a lousy time and not return.
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⚠️ Common Culprit of High Churn #1: Communication Breakdowns ⚠️ This type of churn happens when messaging is misaligned. Communication about your product/service may be misleading, you may need more messaging at critical touch points, or you may be messaging at the wrong points.
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I’m a big fan of content creation, but it’s time we stop making bold, unsupported statements and start backing up claims. Presenting opinion as fact wastes time, frightens people unnecessarily, and sets the wrong expectations about difficulty and success likelihood.
Start with onboarding. How will you make your product or service a habit for your subscribers? 1/ Get them what they need with as little friction as possible 2/ Reinforce the wisdom of their decision 3/ Show them how your best subscribers get all the value they’re entitled to
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Optimizing touch points for your ideal customers is a simple and surefire way to improve retention. Once someone buys anything from you, think of that initial transaction as the starting line, not the finish line for communications!
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They were focused on the next generation and invested in sustainable growth, while many public companies focused on short-term gains. By the time those companies failed, the CEO responsible for the short-sighted decisions was long gone.
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Over the course of working with subscription-based businesses, I started noticing that family-owned, closely-held businesses, as well as associations and co-ops, seemed to have a more organic understanding of what it took to thrive with memberships.
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I’m a huge fan of analytical rigor, but it’s time we start making room for creativity, emotion, and purpose. Too much focus on databases, AI, and engineering muscle is unhelpful and outdated. It ignores ethics and results in derivative, unimaginative offerings. #subscription
...That seemingly unlikely friendship blossomed. What does this mean for you? First, don't take it personally. Second, know there'll be times when you're the best friend or have shared a unique (often difficult experience), and someone will lean on you hard–your turn will come.
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An example of this 3rd category: a friend of mine had a couple big promotions in a row and found herself w/ no time for anyone but her family and other "new CEOs." However, there was an exception–a neighbor who was able to join her 5AM walks 3x/week and who was a good listener.
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There are 3 types of people they gravitate to: 1/ Longtime closest confidants (spouse, best friend, etc.) 2/ People who've gone through the same thing, even if they're initially weak ties (other entrepreneurs, job seekers, etc) 3/ People w/ a desire to connect "at that time."
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Companies complain that “ustomers are fickle; loyalty isn’t a value.” This isn’t true. A subscription model demands loyalty from both parties. Before blaming customers, look inward. Have you earned the right to their trust and a “forever transaction”? #subscriptionbusiness
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