This is the first blog in a series talking about how video streaming data, pulled from various parts of the workflow, can be used to support business goals. This post explores the role of data in subscriber retention.
The Role of Data in Subscriber Retention
The streaming workflow is a complex connection of different technologies. Some are on-prem, some are in the cloud, and others are controlled by third-parties. This data is critical to identifying issues that may result in a degraded video experience and subscriber churn. But there’s more to streaming video data than just identifying problems. With the right data, you can reduce subscriber churn and even identify opportunities for growth.
Using Data to Drive Subscriber Retention
At the heart of a successful video platform is viewership, not just subscribers. Why is that important? Because a user who doesn’t watch anything is bound to churn at some point. But an active subscriber who is watching a lot of content is doing exactly what you want them to do. By continuing to consume, those active viewers clearly perceive value in their subscription and are far less likely to churn. Perceived value is the basis for retention.
So how can data retrieved from the streaming workflow be employed to support goals for retaining existing subscribers and even growing the subscriber base? By focusing on three key areas: geographic saturation, device segmentation, and marketing campaign to viewership.
Geographic Saturation
Understanding where frequency of viewership is occurring can be easily understood through a combination of CDN logs and player data. This can then be used to identify which geographic regions are saturated and which have opportunities for growth. The resulting analysis can then be employed to target specific marketing campaigns at those regions to improve viewership. Remember, this isn’t about acquiring new subscribers, per say (although this data can help identify that when viewership isn’t tagged to active subscribers, such as for a free tier of content), it’s about ensuring retention of existing subscribers. So if there is a geographic region in which a lot of subscribers aren’t actively watching content, it’s a prime target for marketing campaigns to promote viewing.
Device Segmentation
The next place where data pulled from log analysis can help is in understanding which devices are most used. This will help direct company resources to ensure those platforms have adequate support and feature development to promote more viewing. Again, this can be tied to data from the subscriber database to see which users are favoring which platforms. Marketing campaigns can then be targeted to those device owners, again in those geographic regions where opportunities are present, to promote new subscriptions as well as viewing.
Marketing Campaign Measurement
The last step of tying workflow data to subscriber retention is in measuring the success of those targeted marketing campaigns. Looking at a specific geographic region where a device-specific marketing effort was employed, such as advertising about watching a title on the streaming platform using a certain device, data from the CDN logs and the player can show if viewership increased both for new subscribers and existing. This can help to fine-tune future marketing campaigns targeting device-specific viewership in targeted geographies.
You Need the Right Tools for the Job
In addition to employing a platform like Datazoom to capture, normalize, and deliver your streaming video data to a storage location, you need other tools as well. For example, manually reconciling marketing campaign effectiveness in-region and targeting certain devices/users, is incredibly hard and time-consuming. Instead, you can use other software to further maximize the opportunities to target specific subscribers. Identity management solutions, like Kochava, and marketing attribution solutions, like Branch, are powerful applications that can utilize streaming video data about user behavior, device information, and more to optimize subscriber retention and growth efforts.
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