Beer Subscription Companies: How Effective Are They?

As marketing trends have greatly evolved over the past decade, it's interesting to see the effects it has had on the way companies sell their products and services. Online shopping has been able to transform the way customers buy products and interact with brands, and there is no doubt that companies have had to adapt to this and market their catalogues in strategic ways. 

Something that has engulfed the market recently is what is known as the subscription economy. This trend was set as early as Netflix's decision to provide a monthly subscription service in 1999, a feature that has been able to dominate almost every market that sells tangible and non-tangible products or services. There are many different products that, ten years ago, you probably wouldn't imagine you could purchase via a monthly subscription, like shampoo and toothpaste. One product that is noticeably embracing this format is beer.

It makes sense to have a subscription option for beer. If you know you'll want it on a regular monthly basis, why shouldn't you use this option? After all, it saves you from making the trip to pick it up from the store. If you do some research, you'll see that a lot of beer companies have started using subscription services for their drinks. There's certainly no shortage, as ShortList has put together a list of their favorites.

As these companies come together to sell their products in effective ways that have proved to be successful in other sectors, what more could be done to entice beer lovers to make more use of these services and their products as a whole? 

Subscription services are just one attempt at increasing the efficiency of purchasing for customers, the line doesn't stop there. Beer companies should begin to look elsewhere into other business practices not only to attract new customers but also to retain old ones. Adding the correct incentives for signing up for a subscription, or even just making an initial purchase, will be crucial in expanding the brewers' market.

There are a lot of online-based services (not just beer-related ones) that offer bonuses or discounts for new customers who sign up. One great example of this is BetMGM. They provide a BetMGM Bonus Code which is a $25 sign-up bonus when new players join, giving them an extra reason to sign up and start using the services on offer.

While providing discounts is not revolutionary, it is nevertheless a necessary first step. Another added incentive for beer subscription services could be the prospect of their users discovering new and upcoming beers through some sort of random selection offer. With each subscription, a new surprise beer is included with each delivery, something already seen offered by some of the services mentioned earlier. This emulates other gaming services such as Microsoft's Game Pass, or Epic Games free weekly games, which both show sustained customer retention as customers want to see what the next surprise could be.

To put it simply, subscriptions are great. They can be cost-effective and convenient, but if brands are willing to jump on board with the trend to better their company, why shouldn't they continue to take note of additional ways that companies are selling their products, despite what sector it's in?