Today, Netflix dabbles in the freemium space. Plus, the most relevant SaaS metrics to fuel growth. And to wrap, The Information tests a subscription bundle. 

Your top subscription news

Netflix looks to freemium for subscriber push

We’re eyeing Netflix creeping its way into the freemium space. In an effort to win over those Americans without a subscription, Netflix made one of its most high-profile movies available to everyone, for free—and apparently more could be on the way. 

Because Netflix has faced three straight quarters of declining U.S. subscriber growth, most recently missing its domestic forecast for Q4. So apparently, freemium is their attempt at redemption. 

It’s no secret that we are freemium freaks, leveraging this acquisition model as utterly useful for both consumer and company—and we know that virtually every company is destined for freemium. 

Freemium will be a pillar of everyone’s growth strategy in the future. And to prove why, we studied a few thousand SaaS and subscription companies, as well as the willingness-to-pay data from over 50,000 buyers. 

What we found: Customer acquisition cost (CAC) is rising, and freemium customers tend to have much better customer satisfaction with a higher NPS. 

We have a full episode of our show The ProfitWell Report below that reveals all charts and data cuts on this, if you're interested, check it out below. 

We also have an ebook all about freemium, The Freemium Manifesto, which you can access here. Because we are steadfast in our view: Freemium is the future. 

Fueling growth via mastering your metrics

We know all too well that SaaS companies are handed dozens of shiny metric tools on a tray and told to measure things. But we also know it can be incredibly difficult to assess this collection of numbers and figure out where to begin.

At each stage of growth you'll find that you have to apply additional metrics in order to measure everything you need to understand your company's journey. But focusing on one metric at each stage will help set a North Star vision for your efforts to align goals across your entire team.

Growing your company in stages means placing value on your process and your vision. You have to take it one step—and one metric—at a time.

So we’re eyeing the team at 2Checkout, the online payment processing service, and their upcoming webinar, to hear their team’s take on mastering metrics. 

In it, they’ll be talking: 

• • • How to identify your company’s actionable metrics. 
    • What you should be looking for, metric-wise, at each stage of the buying funnel. 
    • Team dynamics and ownership for different SaaS metrics. 
    • Strategies and tools for monitoring business relevant KPIs. 

Signup is free, and you can get on the list here. Mark your calendar for March 5, for a metrics-filled afternoon. 

The more Information, the better

The latest in subscription: The Information is reportedly testing a subscription bundle with Bloomberg Media. 

The two publishers have joined powers to offer a $499 one-year subscription to both bloomberg.com and theinformation.com, which will allow readers access to paywalled content, as well as The Information’s new app, monthly video calls, events, and a subscriber-only Slack channel, plus Bloomberg’s subscriber newsletters, Bloomberg TV live streams, and podcast.

The Information’s Founder and Editor-in-Chief Jessica Lessin said their sizable audience enables them to leverage a mutually beneficial relationship between the publication and Bloomberg. 

Essentially, this acts as a promotion for both Bloomberg and The Information. "Because the publishers’ have similar price points and the promotion expires after the first year, this could theoretically leave both companies with a healthy list of subscribers who they will then auto-renew into a full-priced membership," reports Digiday.

Jessica says The Information is in talks with numerous publishers to further explore this model, aiming to fully leverage the power of partnership (and subscription, of course).

Subscription Sapiens: Jessica Lessin

And that’s it for your February 24 episode of Recur Now. Check back here tomorrow for more, and don’t hesitate to reach out to me at abby@recurnow.com if you have news to spread or input on any topic we hit.

And a friendly reminder: We’re expanding our team across the board—from sales and marketing roles to analysts and engineers. You can check out career opps at profitwell.com/careers. 

This has been a Recur Studios production—the fastest growing subscription network out there. If you find value in this content, subscribe for more like it at profitwell.com/recur.