Creating A Thriving Subscription Business With Fender Digital

The Modern Customer Podcast

If you had great intentions of playing the guitar but gave it up after your first lesson, you aren’t alone. As many as 90% of new guitarists quit within their first year. But that might not be the case much longer. Fender Digital is building a thriving subscription model that teaches guitar skills that people actually stick with—and so far, 100,000 people are on board.

Fender is known for its iconic guitars, but customers are much more valuable if they actually stick with the instrument instead of making a one-time purchase and giving it up. By reducing churn of first-time players by just 10%, Fender has the potential to double the size of the entire industry.

The challenge was in how to reduce churn and teach novice guitarists with short attention spans who are always on the go. The subscription model of Fender Digital allows musicians to learn at their own pace while also addressing many of the issues of why people quit. According to Ethan Kaplan, GM of Fender Digital, one of the most common reasons people quit playing the guitar is because it hurts their fingers. As a result, the first thing taught in Fender Digital is how to play without it hurting.

The basic model of Fender Digital is a subscription that moves students through a variety of guitar learning modules. The course is based around data and customer feedback to teach basic skills and more advanced concepts. Students get immediate value once they join and have access to the material. The subscription model is also enticing for customers because it automatically updates with new content instead of requiring people to have to buy new versions of a course. Kaplan says that most people are linear learners and work through the modules in progression, but Fender Digital also allows people to jump around and focus on the skills or songs that are most interesting to them. Giving power to the students can go a long way in keeping them engaged and motivated with the guitar.

A subscription model really comes down to providing continual value. Fender has found that when a company provides value, people want to subscribe. The key is to continually provide value for guitar students at all levels. For Fender Digital, that means opening channels for communication with users and regularly editing and adding new content. Testing the content to help people if they get stuck and putting themselves in students’ shoes helps create a high-quality experience. The product is constantly evolving to match what people want to learn.

Fender Digital also complements the main Fender brand. Kaplan says the two sides work together to create a lifetime of engagement for loyal customers with everything from products to services and experiences.

The subscription model is growing increasingly popular because it provides more ways for customers to connect with brands. Fender Digital is taking subscription services to the next level by providing value and strong content.