Customer service

Q: What is best practice?

A: When customer journeys are intentionally designed around the subscriber, they are more intuitive and become powerful drivers of engagement and loyalty. Every interaction – regardless of its purpose – should feel seamless, reinforcing trust and confidence in the brand, whether customers are self-serving online, calling an advisor, emailing about a missed issue or requesting a cancellation.

Advisors must therefore be knowledgeable in their systems, processes and products. Their confidence, or lack of it, becomes immediately apparent in how they articulate information. Customers instinctively recognise when something doesn’t sound right, and inconsistent or inaccurate information can quickly undermine trust. This is especially critical during cancel-save conversations.

Consumers are increasingly encouraged to shop around for the best deals whether it’s for magazines, streaming services or insurance. While this is a natural part of the modern subscription landscape, overly complicated or obstructive processes create unnecessary barriers and can accelerate churn. Making it hard to leave damages the relationship and reduces the likelihood of winning a customer back. Transparent, straightforward journeys support long-term retention and promote advocacy.

Traditional customer service environments often focus on metrics like abandon rate, speed of answer and average handling time. While operational efficiency is important, it should not come at the expense of quality.

Evaluating interactions for accuracy, empathy, clarity and ownership is critical. Continuous coaching, skill development, and recognising advisor excellence ensure high standards are consistently met. When advisors feel supported and empowered, they deliver stronger experiences that directly contribute towards subscriber retention.

Every experience, no matter how routine, has the power to reinforce loyalty, deepen trust and strengthen the long-term relationship between subscriber and brand.

Q: What does outstanding performance look like?

A: In today’s customer-experience landscape, it’s impossible to attend a webinar or industry conference without hearing about the transformative potential of AI. While advanced technologies undoubtedly offer efficiency gains, powerful insights, and automation at scale, it is essential that organisations remain focused on delivering a genuine customer-centric experience.

Subscribers want to feel heard, they expect straightforward processes, intuitive journeys, and advisors who are informed, confident, and equipped to resolve their needs with clarity and care. Technology can enhance this, but a human interaction can reinforce trust and promote loyalty.

Subscribers choose to invest their time and money in brands that clearly demonstrate value. This value goes beyond the product itself – whether it’s a magazine, digital content, exclusive insights or events. Subscribers appreciate high-quality content that resonates with their interests, something that’s accessible and convenient across a variety of platforms and that provides a sense of community and belonging. This perceived value becomes the foundation of long-term retention. When subscribers recognise what a brand stands for, their commitment can deepen and their loyalty grow.

Customer service becomes a live representation of the brand’s promise. Every conversation, email, or live chat session should feel, authentic, personal and solution-oriented. Advisors must build genuine connections, demonstrate emotional intelligence, and take ownership of resolving issues.

From an operational perspective, metrics such as average handling time, utilisation or queue performance often dominate conversations. While these indicators matter, they must never override the quality of an interaction.

Putting ourselves in the customer’s shoes provides perspective. A slightly longer call that leaves a customer feeling reassured, understood, and supported is far more valuable than a quick interaction that fails to address the root issue. Retention is driven by outcomes that feel human, complete, and effortless.

AI is reshaping the contact centre, certainly improving flexibility to manage contact volume changes, speed of response and enhancing accessibility but, for now at least, the heart of subscriber retention remains rooted in human connection. Combining well-trained and coached advisors with intelligent technology delivers the best of both worlds; it can strengthen relationships, elevate your brands, and keeps subscribers engaged for the long term.

Three top tips

1. Make the experience effortless. Every customer interaction contributes to the overall perception of the brand. When service feels seamless, personalised, and empathic, it builds trust. Outstanding customer service should feel effortless from the subscriber’s perspective. It should remove friction, simplify decisions, and make them feel valued at every touchpoint. Over time, these experiences accumulate into loyalty, advocacy, and long-term engagement.

2. Every touchpoint matters. Outstanding customer experience is achieved through well-designed processes, and the people who bring those processes to life. When the customer journey is constructed thoughtfully and interactions are delivered with professionalism, empathy and consistency, retention becomes a natural result.

3. Don’t underestimate natural connections. Human conversation remains one of the most powerful tools in customer experience. By building rapport, understanding a customer’s motivations and demonstrating commitment, advisors can identify relevant benefits, highlight meaningful features and reinforce the reasons to stay subscribed. These authentic, personalised interactions strengthen emotional loyalty far more than highly-scripted retention processes.

Air Business is an award-winning organisation with 40 years’ experience in global distribution, subscription management and technology solutions, renowned for delivering through market-leading service quality and customer service. Trusted by leading brands across publishing, events and e-commerce since 1986, we operate through a global network, delivering smart, scalable subscription and logistics services with a human touch.

Email: hello@airbusiness.com

Tel: +44 (0) 1727 890 600

Web: www.airbusiness.com