Nuggets from the last few weeks. If you have any similar announcements, reports or good articles, please share in a comment as I’m collecting them for a new eBook / trend report 😁

• New EV startup Canoo will only sell cars on a subscription basis. The interesting thing here is not so much about a new entrant in the electronic vehicle space but that it chooses a subscription only model.
• The Subscription Economy: Powering the Next Era of Gaming. The big news a few weeks back that is behind this post was about Google’s new gaming service they announced the launch of (Stadia). A cornerstone of their new service was of course subscriptions and they are not alone in their strategic thinking.
• Apple was another company with big subscription related announcements. This article does a superb job dissecting the announcements and showing how they need to look to services for growth (since their products have hit a wall): Apple’s Services Event. This article title pretty much nails it: Apple’s Two-Word Plan for the Future of the Internet: Subscribe Now
• Industry specific
  • Auto: Car Companies Face ‘End of Ownership’ Crisis
  • Retail: The Netflix model – How Philips and Husqvarna are embracing the subscription economy. Another one was an announcement from Burker King – Burger King Offers $5-a-Month Coffee to Woo Breakfast Crowd
• Some really good general analysis here on the trend: The subscription economy is changing the mindset of a generation

As I think more about this whole space and track the developments in it with posts like this, I’m trying to envisage dynamics of the perfect business in it.

That gave rise to the DanelDoodle at left. Just some fun and very quick so not sure they are absolutely right. I’ll get a better feel for this as I complete my new trend report / eBook on the subject and it may become clearer and a little more scientific.

Anyway onto latest developments which is always the purpose of these posts in the form of announcements, articles, etc.

• Interbrand and Zuora Join Forces to Help Global Brands Succeed in the Subscription Economy. With Zuora a leading proponent and supplier of solutions for the Subscription Economy and Interbrand a global brand consultancy, this is a significant partnership that will help new players in the As a Service world. They’ll get the technical infrastructure needed to change their business models plus the help to shift their strategy, experiences and messages to customers.
• ‘It’s a battleground’: Why retailers are turning to subscription programs to build loyalty. Focus is on Canada but good McKinsey stats from global activity that supports the growing strength of the play for retailers, on the back of Amazon Prime and others’ success.
• How Apple and app developers will try to entice you to subscribe, not just pay once. I’ve captured in other posts in this series how Apple seem to be transitioning to subscriptions. This proves it. I already have one subscription to an App myself and have had for more than a year now. This is different to Spotify for example and here is how you manage your subscriptions from your iPhone.
• Hate Doing Laundry? No Sweat. Tide Just Announced It’ll Do It for You. P&G brand Tide being extended into this new category is a pretty logical and sensible strategy. I’m sure we are going to see more like this where its not just a subscription play for the sake of it.
• Grover launches e-scooter subscription service. Love that this is coming from Europe.
• The auto industry (and manufacturing more broadly) continues to be the subject of suggestions that they shift their strategy to an As a Service model.
  • From McKinsey in this article, the observation (mentioned in the video in the article) that: “The biggest change we foresee is moving from a predominantly product-faced automotive industry to a services and solutions based industry.” That from the same McKinsey that suggested Customer Success 2.0 was the new growth engine.
  • And its also affiliated services that should be subject to the shift – some excellent research quoted here: Reinventing After-Sales Service In A Subscription Economy World.
  • All is not well though in the auto subscription world as I discovered with GM shuttering its ‘Book by Cadillac’ Car-Swap Subscription Plan. Teething problems like this will abound.

If you have any As a Service examples please share in a comment as I’m collecting them :)

When Ikea considers changing its business model then you know something is afoot. The big news this last week was Ikea thinking about making certain items available on a subscription basis.

Good article on that here where the screenshot at left is from.

It’s looking at doing so on a trial basis so this will be a very interesting one to keep track of and see how things progress.

Circular economy

That article linked to above points to the concept of a circular economy which I was not even aware of but should be in the context of the As a Service trend that this post is about. The pasted paragraph below from the article says it all:

When Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport remodeled a terminal, it didn’t buy light bulbs; instead, the company signed a contract for “light as a service” from Signify, the company formerly known as Philips Lighting. Signify owns the physical lights, giving it the incentive to make products that last as long as possible and that can be easily repaired and recycled if anything breaks. The service is one example of a shift to a circular economy model. 

iPhone as a Service

I’m currently on Apple’s iPhone Upgrade Programme which in my view is its foray into the as a Service model. I captured how they are getting a little more tactical in my last Update on As a Service trends. Other than the obvious benefits they are targeting, that tactic shows how important it is to start treating your customers that sign up to a recurring financial commitment, with white gloves, so come time to renew, they do.

Volvo leading the race?

I cannot speak as intimately for Volvo’s execution on their subscription and as a Service promise but they are certainly talking a good talk. By all accounts they are struggling to keep up with demand. I’ve already written about my recent experience buying a car, which is all but a subscription service except in name. That experience is definitely not firing on all cylinders 😬