Episode 52: On the Benefits of Subscription Services with Florian André, Founder and CEO of P2S Management Consulting

Dec 13

In the latest episode of Subscriptions: Scaled, we spoke with Florian André, founder and CEO of P2S Management Consulting.

P2S Management Consulting helps companies conceptualize, launch, and grow their subscription businesses.

In the episode, we gain plenty of insight and helpful advice on developing a subscription business model for brands. Keep reading to learn more about the episode.

Florian André

The episode begins with Florian sharing more about his background and P2S Management Consulting.

Florian is 25 years old and is CEO and founder of the Belgium-based P2S Management Consulting. Florian studied business in Belgium and did a couple of internships and consulting projects throughout his studies.

During the last project in the logistics industry, Florian learned about business models that are sustainable and profitable. This is where Florian came across subscription business models, otherwise known as product-service systems.

Florian soon became fascinated about subscription models, how they work, and their history. Florian wrote his master thesis on how you go from a transaction product selling business model to a subscription-based model. He also covered the obstacles which you need to overcome.

He got in contact with nine companies that are all market leaders in their industry and have successfully implemented a subscription business model. Like Rolls Royce and Michelin, for example. Florian began asking these companies the best practices for developing subscription services.

Despite many different types of companies developing subscription services, Florian believes almost 80% of brands follow the same kinds of patterns.

With this, Florian developed an action plan, or a subscription transformation action plan, to guide and structure the development phase.

After university, Florian decided to try and sell his action plan. That’s how P2S was born in October 2019.

P2S Management Consulting

P2S Management Consulting helps brands with their subscription business model transformation. They are a Brussels-based consultancy specializing in assisting companies in maintaining recurring business and building deeper customer relationships with a subscription business model.

The consultancy helps with designing, launching, and growing a brand’s subscription models. P2S builds the bridge between strategy and implementation.

The Rolls Royce Subscription Model

Early on in the episode, Florian explains the Rolls Royce subscription model from the 60s — one of the first subscription models introduced to the world.

In the 1960s, Rolls Royce produced an engine that was extremely high-quality but with an expensive price tag. Putting it simply, Rolls Royce built a machine that was too expensive for the market. Many customers wanted the engine, but it was too pricey for them.

Rolls Royce dealt with this situation by developing a new business model. This business model didn’t involve selling the engine, costing between 10 to 40 million dollars for one turbine. Instead, the idea was to temporarily provide the turbine to customers and have them pay per flying hour.

This was one of the first subscription packages on the market. It was also one of the first subscription models known to Florian, which fuelled his interest in the subscription services industry.

The Benefits of the Subscription Model

A large part of the episode involves Florian sharing various benefits of the subscription model. He talks about the flexibility of subscriptions and how this is important to the younger generations.

Many subscription models allow customers to upgrade or downgrade their subscription when they like, which is an attractive feature to many people. This flexibility brings peace of mind to many customers.

Florian goes on to talk about the recurrent revenue subscriptions bring to companies, and how they help build loyalty among customers.

With a subscription business model, you can build a deeper relationship with your customers. You can gain more insights into what they like and don’t like. This, in turn, helps you develop your product and improve it.

Over time, you can build a lasting relationship with your customer. Florian believes this is the most important benefit for companies using a subscription business model.

Target Audience

Later on in the episode, Florian goes into more depth on how P2S Management Consulting works. He also explains more about the company’s target audience.

Florian explains that the team helps manufacturers or distributors by guiding them through their subscription journey. While P2S Management Consulting is a consulting company, Florian likes to think of it as more of strategy consulting.

P2S Management Consulting is currently focused on the B2B industrial sector. But, they help any company that produces a physical, tangible product.

Florian believes that a subscription transformation impacts every single department of a company: it affects pricing, finance, sales, marketing, and legalities. In fact, it impacts everything in a business.

P2S Management Consulting’s action plan is to guide their clients throughout the whole transformation process.

Florian explains that it’s essential to always start with the customer — not the clients, but their customers. You need to begin with the customer and figure out what they want and need. You may even need to work out what their hidden needs are.

This process helps brands define their subscription offering. Businesses need to take all the features customers want and package them into a recurring solution. It’s also essential to always offer a choice when it comes to final packages.

Creating a Journey

Towards the end of the episode, Florian talks about the importance of creating a journey and a solution for customers throughout the subscription model. Florian believes the aim as a subscription provider is to provide the best experience possible for customers.

Florian points to a baby clothes subscription to demonstrate this. A baby grows rapidly, so they need to switch or have new clothes every couple of months.

It makes a lot of sense for baby clothes manufacturers to offer some type of subscription to their customers. They could provide customers with new clothes as a subscription for a certain number of months, with buyers choosing colors and styles, and making adjustments.

Florian believes that companies offering subscription services don’t need to provide the best product possible, but should aim to deliver the best experience.

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