THE WISDOM:

Subscription stops rarely are about not having enough time to read, despite conventional assumptions to the contrary. It's really about the perception and relationship between price, value, and service.

HOW WE GOT THERE:

What's behind the standard reason given for subscription stops: No time to read. A major metropolitan newspaper wanted to dip below the surface of the problem to explore new ways of serving customers that would stem the tide of stops.

We suggested a three-prong approach. In addition to interviewing former subscribers who recently stopped home delivery of the newspaper, we also interviewed current subscribers as a control group, against which to gauge any lasting connection former subscribers retain with the newspaper. Since about one in five stopped subscriptions arise from non-payment problems, we also interviewed a sample of collection stops to explore opportunities to recover these customers.

ACTION STEPS:

Testing of a number of pricing strategies; an immediate review of collection stop procedures based on concerns raised from non-payment stops; and further study of customizing the newspaper and recycling to minimize former subscribers' concern for waste.