SKIMspiration blog

Inspiring marketers and insights professionals with the latest industry trends and tips

SKIMspiration blog
Why enabling a “pause” can drive customer retention for digital subscription brands 

Why enabling a “pause” can drive customer retention for digital subscription brands 

By Brady Silva and Makella Bergsmith on December 12, 2022

TL;DR

  • 32% of consumers have cancelled a digital entertainment or fitness subscription only to rejoin later
  • Nearly 1 in 10 survey respondents cancel because they could not pause
  • Providing pausing options can continue the relationship with the consumer and makes it more likely for consumers to rejoin, or reactivate

In a recent survey of digital entertainment and fitness service subscribers, 72% of respondents considered these subscriptions to be discretionary spending. In an era of high inflation and fierce competition in the digital subscription space, it’s important to explore what’s driving consumer behavior related to churn: 

  • Why are consumers cancelling subscriptions to digital entertainment and fitness services? 
  • What do consumers expect from their experience with digital subscription services? 
  • What does it take for consumers to rejoin after cancelling their digital subscriptions? 

Knowing these insights is key to helping your subscription marketing strategy and to decreasing customer churn. 

Continue reading
How pharma companies leverage health information behavior insights to optimize marketing strategies

How pharma companies leverage health information behavior insights to optimize marketing strategies

By Martijn Huisman on October 7, 2022

The changing nature of health information behavior is challenging pharmaceutical and medtech companies and their insights approaches.

Do you feel the same need to go “beyond the obvious” – the surface – of how patients engage with health information?

The health information behavior framework reveals behavior and unmet needs in more depth and detail than ever before. Drawing from a rich well of academic research, it illuminates the patient experience, as well as the influence of health information on medical decision-making along the patient journey.

Over the past few months, we introduced the marketing implications of health information behavior and discussed the impact of health information behavior on patient experiences.

In this blog, we reveal the practical applicability and outcomes of the health information behavior framework, including the actionable insights pharmaceutical and medtech marketers need: patient types, information tipping points, preferred sources and channels, unmet needs, as well as other potential marketing opportunities.

Read on to learn of two real-world examples of how marketing teams in the dermatology and oncology indications leveraged health information behavior insights to reveal the what, when, why, and to what end patients engage with health information. Discover how this new level of behavioral insights can help you better define strategies which could positively impact the patient journey and medical decision-making.

Continue reading
Taming the Dragon: 3 steps to strategically tackle inflation

Taming the Dragon: 3 steps to strategically tackle inflation

By Ricardo Rodrigues and Robin de Rooij on September 21, 2022

In the past decades, high inflation rates mostly only challenged smaller, troubled economies like Argentina, Venezuela or Turkey. But with CPI prints now topping 9% in the US and the UK, and 10% on average for the 38 countries in the OECD, inflation now touches us all. And it’s not going away anytime soon.

As vulnerable consumer segments reach the limits of their wallet and more affluent consumers start to feel the squeeze as well, your company is likely struggling to maintain margins and please shareholders.

So, what can you do about this?  In this article, you’ll learn a three-step process to mitigate the effects of inflation on your business. We share proven strategies our clients have adopted to successfully tackle inflation.

Continue reading
Generational insights that will impact your subscription marketing

Generational insights that will impact your subscription marketing

By Mike Mabey and Brady Silva on July 14, 2022

TLDR

  • Understanding generational differences in subscription behavior is critical to success with FMCG subscription marketing and channel strategy.
  • Millennials have more subscriptions than any other generation.
  • 80% of Millennials said they subscribed to make their life easier.
  • Millennials use introductory offers and often stick with a subscription after being gifted it.
  • Keeping Millennials requires a subscriber-centric strategy that includes a subscription hopping portfolio.
  • SKIM uncovered insights about subscription use, attitudes, and expectations with 16,000 consumer interviews in five countries.
Continue reading
How health orientation and health information behavior is impacting patient journeys

How health orientation and health information behavior is impacting patient journeys

By Martijn Huisman on April 25, 2022

Whether we are struggling with personal health issues or going through a global pandemic, health information is crucial to modern life. Health information underlies many, if not all, decisions made by both healthcare professionals and patients in the healthcare setting, particularly when it comes to decision-making on treatments.

Healthcare decisions don’t take place in a vacuum. They result from different factors like individual characteristics, the context of a specific health condition, the availability of knowledge, etc.

Therefore, there is great variety in the degree to which people want to know about their health condition, engage with information, and participate in healthcare decision-making processes. This spectrum of behavior can be explained by the notion of health orientation and health information behavior.

How can pharmaceutical companies improve outcomes by exploring this behavioral spectrum?

Continue reading
Product subscriptions: 3 surprising reasons behind consumer choices

Product subscriptions: 3 surprising reasons behind consumer choices

By Mike Mabey and Brady Silva on April 11, 2022

For CPG brands and retailers, the subscription model offers tremendous opportunities for recurring revenue and consumer connection. But what is fueling consumer choice in the subscription economy, specifically for FMCG products, and how can brands capitalize on it?

It’s tempting to assume that consumers choose product subscriptions primarily to save money (think Amazon’s Subscribe & Save). However, our Subscription Lifestyle research revealed otherwise: in almost every category, consumers, especially those with multiple subscriptions, valued other subscription benefits more than a lower price.

Do you know what drives consumer choice for product subscriptions in your category? Is it convenience, cost, quality, or surprise? Getting it right is critical for your Go To Market strategy.

Our latest research explored consumer behavior and attitudes towards subscriptions across a variety of CPG categories. The results have revealed some surprising factors driving consumer decisions in these categories.

Read on to learn what subscription benefits consumers value most and the marketing implications for your brand

Continue reading
The subscription lifestyle opportunity: Create direct relationships with customers

The subscription lifestyle opportunity: Create direct relationships with customers

By Mike Mabey and Brady Silva on March 21, 2022

Have you ever opened your door and wondered: “What is in the package that just arrived?” Not since the early days of Netflix, when those red envelopes containing DVDs arrived in the mail, have so many consumers been confronted with a huge question mark at their doorstop.

This shopper phenomenon has been caused by an explosion in digitally enabled subscriptions for nearly every imaginable FMCG and Direct to Consumer category, combined with the popularity of Amazon Prime Subscribe and Save.

How is your company tackling the subscription economy? Do you know how the subscription lifestyle is impacting shopper journeys in your category?

Perhaps your team is already experimenting with a direct-to-consumer offer, or maybe you’re in the early stages of mapping out your subscription strategy.

Either way, it’s important to understand exactly how subscriptions are shifting consumer behavior and perceptions.

Read on for our latest insights on the ubiquity of the subscription lifestyle and five issues your team will want to address to succeed in this channel.

Continue reading
An introduction to the marketing implications of health information and behavior

An introduction to the marketing implications of health information and behavior

By Martijn Huisman on February 28, 2022

In the early days of COVID-19, the head of the World Health Organization stated it was not only fighting a global pandemic, but also an ‘infodemic.’ Since then, COVID-19 has made it painfully clear that timely and trustworthy information is of vital importance to public and individual health, especially when inaccurate or misleading information is on the rise. Whether tackling a global health crisis or battling personal health issues, credible health information is paramount.

If you work in the pharmaceutical or med-tech industries, you know too well how health information, as well as communications and channel strategies, are of greater importance than ever before.

Continue reading
Mastering consumer experiences using the power of emotions

Mastering consumer experiences using the power of emotions

By Bleona Bicaj on February 1, 2022

The role of empathy and surprise in consumer interactions

Market changes are constant and inevitable. Your competition isn’t slowing down, and you must react quickly and strategically. When information and innovation travel fast, the costs of a late response are high.

Like many marketers today, you’re forced to make fast decisions and quickly adapt brand strategies.

How can you ensure your communications, products, and services deliver on your brand promise – surprising and delighting consumers?

Mistakes may be inevitable when it comes to consumer experiences, but how can you best rectify them?

We recently conducted research to answer these questions and explore the role of emotions in consumer experiences and decision-making.

Continue reading
A new research approach for more realistic consumer health decision journeys

A new research approach for more realistic consumer health decision journeys

By Jessica Rainalter and Matthijs Pons on January 28, 2022

Why consumer health brands need a more advanced analytics approach to decision journey research

The consumer health shopper journey is a particularly complex one. As with traditional FMCG products, the shopper journey for consumer health products is a labyrinth of channels and touchpoints. It’s never a linear decision-making process.

However, as a consumer health marketer, you face additional challenges when trying to untangle messy decision journeys: understanding the unique role of healthcare providers and their influence on the path to purchase.

Continue reading
View all blog articles