Episode 09: When to Start a Subscription Business feat. Kimberly Moore, CEO at Go Together, Inc.
In this episode of the Subscriptions: Scaled podcast, Nick Fredrick, President of Rebar Technology Solutions, is joined by Kimberly Moore, CEO at Go Together, Inc. Kimberly dives into the problem that first inspired her to co-found Go Together, how the company has pivoted and evolved over the years, and how Go Together has dealt with the issue of user engagement. Kimberly and Nick also discuss customer acquisition, partnering with vendors, and more.
When Should You Start a Subscription Business?
Kimberly was first introduced to the world of school transportation when she saw her sister, a single mother juggling her teenage daughter and job, struggling with sending her daughter to and from school everyday. Kimberly decided to do more research into the matter, and she found that while school transportation is a $24 billion dollar industry, only 33% of students actually use it to attend school. Of the remaining students, 54% have their parents drive them to school every day, and 13% of students walk or take public transportation.
At the time, Kimberly had a stable job as an event producer when she recognized that there was a real need in the school transportation space. She credits a line she heard during a talk - “Opportunities of a lifetime must be seized in the lifetime of the opportunity” - with helping her take the final step towards quitting her job and co-founding Go Together.
The Story of Go Together
Go Together is a subscription-based company that organizes school transportation for students. Their story first started when they acquired the company Carpool to School. Soon after they pivoted into a software company to increase sustainability and scalability in the future.
Go Together is currently available in 49 schools across the country, and they support methods of transportation including carpooling, walking, and taking public transportation together. In the future, Go Together aims to expand these modes of transportation to include options like signing up for a school bus or booking an ‘Uber for Kids’.
How Go Together Works
Go Together works directly with schools rather than with parents. Once a school subscribes to Go Together, they begin the onboarding process, which usually takes around two weeks. Schools are required to screen parents, approved guardians, and student drivers to ensure that everyone on the platform is vetted. After approval, Go Together members can use the platform to organize school transportation options and communicate with other members.
Increasing Engagement
While Go Together predominantly markets their product to schools, parents are the ones who determine whether the school renews their subscription. It’s important that parents are incentivized to use the platform because, without their engagement, schools are unlikely to renew.
Go Together works closely with schools to offer these incentives. Examples of incentives include using Go Together to fulfill parent volunteer requirements, offering premium parking spot passes to students carpooling with Go Together, creating a fast-pass that gives priority to parents using Go Together during pickup and drop-off, and providing gas incentives.
Acquiring Subscribers
Kimberly advises that when it comes to acquiring subscribers, it’s important to find a selling point that speaks to the priorities of the target market. Go Together’s main target market is leaders within a school, like principals, heads of schools, or admissions directors. And for them, one of their priorities is to ensure that the school has sufficient enrollment and revenue. In Kimberly’s research, she found that transportation is one of the top three reasons why parents choose, or don’t choose, a school or after-school activity. By using this type of messaging, Go Together is able to speak directly to their target market’s goal of increasing or maintaining enrollment.
A few specific marketing strategies that Kimberly states have been successful are targeted email marketing, free demos, and content marketing in the form of a Go Together podcast, which Kimberly mentions has been effective in increasing Go Together’s top of funnel.
Evaluating Vendors
When evaluating vendors, Kimberly emphasizes two things - finding a vendor who understands the priorities of the business, as well as one who understands the impact their technology will have on the business.
Kimberly shares that her most successful vendor partnerships were with those who understood that Go Together prioritizes creating a positive user experience for subscribers. This is because creating an optimal user experience means that sometimes, engineers need to sacrifice efficiency on their end. Finding a vendor who genuinely understands these priorities is important for keeping both parties on the same page.
In addition, businesses should focus on finding a vendor who understands that the role they play in the partnership is more than just creating a piece of technology. They need to understand that their technology is key to the business’s growth from both a revenue perspective and a long-term sustainability perspective.
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