The Secret to Making Your Subscription Box Stand Out (Product Differentiation)

Liam gives the answers . It's as simple as that .

I'm talking about how to make your box feel like a need , not just a nice extra , because here's the truth , and you really need

to think about this and answer the question as honestly as possible If your box disappeared tomorrow as possible , okay , if your box disappeared tomorrow , would anyone really care seriously ? Would they miss it ? Or would they just say , ah , that was nice while it lasted and forget about your company after two days ?

That's the difference between being a nice to have and a need to have , and in a market where budgets are tight and a good percentage of people are cutting back on anything that feels like a luxury , this matters more than ever . So let's get into it right . Why does product differentiation matter ? Now , you may have heard the phrase .

It's literally everywhere and it's very true different is better than better , and the reason why this is true is , say , if somebody is comparing your box to five other boxes that look and feel the same . What's going to happen ? Well , they are going to pick the cheapest option and once price becomes the only differentiator , trust me , you're in big , big trouble .

If price is the only lever you can pull , you're in a race to the bottom and eventually you will run out of road , so it's a bad place to be . Look , I have seen this so many times over the years .

So many boxes fail , not because they're bad , not because they're poorly marketed even though that is actually a reason why a lot of boxes do fail but another big reason is they're forgettable . They're sitting in a nice to have category where price is the only differentiator , and it's a very dangerous place to be .

Or a up-and-coming subscription box owner , because I know a lot of people listen to this podcast who are getting ready to launch , and if you are in that boat , this is the perfect time to be thinking about these things . But your job is to make sure your box lands in the .

I can't live without this category , and that starts by getting crystal clear on what makes you different in a way that matters to your customer . So let's talk about it . How can you actually differentiate on things that aren't involving

price ? Number one your niche right . You need to niche down hard . A lot of people think they're niched , but they're not . They may have been niched a few years ago . The market is always evolving and I was only actually thinking about this the other day . I was thinking , if I was to set up a subscription box business in 2025 , what would I do ?

And the first thing came to the niche . I would find a hungry subsection of the market who are really passionate about what I am going to sell them and I would niche down really hard . Okay , because I've seen this myself .

I'm not going to name the boxes or anything like that , but I have seen in the last few years the companies that are really niched down hard like I'm talking about a really tight niche , okay and they're delivering a great product and service . They aren't really worrying about price sensitivity .

If you have a mass market box and your potential customers can go different places to buy what you offer , you're sitting in a price sensitive section of the market and it can be tough where , if you go really tight with your niche , it's not anywhere near as price sensitive .

I actually had a lady reach out to me a few weeks ago and we were speaking about a new subscription box business she is launching and I'm not getting into exactly what it is , but it's very niched down , okay . And I said the exact same thing to her . I said , if I was setting up a subscription box business in 2025 .

I obviously wouldn't do exactly what you're doing , but I will be looking to niche down just as tight as you . It makes a big difference , okay . Now , a example I can give you is my own company , busterbox . In a way , it is a mass market product , but we switch it up okay . How we differentiate it is well

, one of the ways we go very hard on making every box fun , playful and high energy . Okay , it's not just a generic experience . It's a box designed for the type of owner who literally lives for spoiling their dog . I've covered it before on previous episodes , but that emotion drives everything .

That's why they buy from us , and we obviously wrap up our boxes in teams , okay , different teams . So that's the way we differentiate things , and they're not just like generic teams , like of just random products from other companies , and we call it a team .

A lot of these are our own products and to get a team like the ones in our boxes , the customers can't just go to the pet shop . Okay , that's one of the ways we differentiate ourselves . Now , the team route is a way a lot of subscription boxes try to build a moat and differentiate themselves and it can work really well .

But what we have found makes a gigantic difference is when the products are actually your own brand . Now , if you're only starting out and depending on your niche , that may not be possible and that's completely fine . But if you're going a while and it is possible that should be something you should consider . And this is for a couple of different reasons .

Obviously , if you're producing your own products for these teams and they're all your own brand , well then yeah , they can't go to the shop , the pet shop , to buy them . And , number two , it's down to price sensitivity , especially in a tougher economy .

If you're putting other people's products in your box I'll go with a dog box for an example , because obviously that's my business .

But if we're putting other people's products in our box products in our box what we found is a percentage of people will google the price of those products and if they feel like they can get a better deal elsewhere , that's going to hurt your retention . If they're your own products . Well then , that's completely different because you can set the price .

You may have a store , a standalone online store , where you can price your products in a way where it's actually a really good deal . If people sign up to your box , you can make your standalone products quite expensive .

And people check it and they're like , oh well , that's amazing , I'm going to stay signed up to this subscription because I'm actually saving money . If I had to buy these products , it would work out way more expensive . That can have a big impact on how your box is viewed by your customers . It can really drive up that perceived value .

And , on the flip side , if you're just using other people's products and they do a quick search on amazon and they're like , hey , I actually would save money by cancelling this subscription and buying the products directly from amazon , how's that going to look ? Completely different situation , and these are the things you need to be thinking of Now .

I'm going to give you an example of this in a completely different kind of business . The platform we obviously use to run our business is Subway , and they're competing with some pretty big players in the space and a way that they have carved out a section of the market and are doing really well is they've positioned themselves as a subscription first platform .

That's their main focus and they do a really good job at doing that at providing subscription companies all the tools they need to build really successful subscription boxes .

But yeah , just wanted to share that example of how another company in a different Just wanted to share that example of how another company in a different industry is doing a really good job at separating themselves . Now we touched on the product side of things having your own products and wrapping them in teams but there's another way to differentiate yourself .

I'm talking about something a bit different here

self . I'm talking about something a bit different here . This could be a unique experience added to your box a members-only podcast , a members-only community , something which is unique to what you do , and they have to sign up to get it . But here is something you need to consider when thinking about this . This is a mistake that people make .

Right , they throw in something extra and they're like , okay , that's fine , that's how we differentiate our box , but the thing they throw in extra is actually rubbish and nobody cares about it . Okay , and you need to be honest with yourself when it comes to this , if you're going to throw in something extra .

It has to be something that they care about and they value . If they don't , you're just creating more work for yourself and it won't do anything to your turn . Okay , let's take a private community , for example . Okay , and like , one of your big selling points is oh , if you sign up , you get access to this private community .

But the private community is like a ghost town and it has no engagement . Is that really a benefit ? Is that a way you can differentiate yourself ? No , it's not . What if you created a members-only podcast and nobody listened to it ? Well , you're just creating more work for yourself . Now , again , I'll revert to my business and I'll explain what we do .

So we have a really powerful extra bonus when somebody signs up to BusterBox , and that is 24-7 video vet access . It's a massive benefit of being a BusterBox member . They can literally speak to a vet whenever they need to about their dog , saving them a lot of time and money and giving them peace of mind . It's massive .

And even if somebody has had enough of the box , that alone justifies the subscription box price . It will really help you . Now , another thing we do which really helps us move our box from the nice to have category to the need to have category is down to our offer .

So a lot of the offers we're doing nowadays , like a free bed when they sign up , is something which obviously has a high perceived value , but it's something that the customer needs for their dog . Eventually you will need a new bed for your dog . It can happen pretty regularly .

Whereas a few years ago we were running a lot of gimmick offers , they were just like really cool products and stuff and unique products , but they weren't necessarily things the customer needed to have and they used to work really well .

Nowadays , the offers which are need to have for the customer they're actually useful , tend to perform a lot better , and you should be thinking the same in your business . In your subscription box business . Can you come up with free gifts that are actually really useful and something the customer uses on a regular basis ?

Now , another thing you can do which will make a big difference is if your box actually solves a real problem , okay , if it fixes a real pain point . Now , that isn't always possible for a lot of boxes . Okay . A lot of subscription boxes are positioned in a way where a customer gets to experience

new products and they don't necessarily solve a problem . But if your box can solve a problem or you reposition it in a direction where it's now solving a problem , yeah , that's going to make a big difference . If your box makes your customer's life easier , better , less stressful , or it makes them happier , it's going to be harder for them to cancel . Now .

Another way which makes a massive difference is building a habit or dependency . So if you can do this , your retention is going to go through the roof when your box becomes part of their routine . And the example I'm going to cover , because I'm in it all the time , is dog food .

Okay , if you have a dog food subscription and it agrees with the dog , it helps their health , it arrives exactly when you need it to arrive . It's going to be very hard for a customer to cancel that . The same with a razor , say .

If you're signed up to Harry's and now they're a big razor subscription and you get that for a price that works for you and it's worked into your routine because you obviously regularly shave , it's going to be harder for a customer to cancel that subscription compared to just a random box of random products .

So if you can plug your subscription box into their regular life rhythm , it will keep them around for much longer . And then , finally , we do a lot of this in BusterBox emotion . Finally , we do a lot of this in BusterBox Emotion . I covered this in a previous episode Emotional triggers that make people buy .

Highly recommend going back and listening to that episode if you haven't heard it already , because it will cover this in more detail .

If your box makes people laugh , cry , feel understood , feel pampered , feel like a better parent , feel as if they're spoiling their dog , who gives them so much , you're going to keep those people around for a lot longer , and it's a way to differentiate your box . Now here's a final thought .

Okay , if someone said to you , I love your box , but I need to cancel to save money , would you say back yeah , I completely understand , and you cancel it ? Or would you be able to say back , no problem . But let's be honest , what are you replacing with it ? Because this box helps you ? Blah , blah , blah , blah , blah .

Your box should feel defensible , okay , it should feel essential , and that starts by differentiating in a way that actually matters . Okay , I hope you found that episode helpful . Just as a reminder , my brand new subscription box challenge . It's

completely free . It . It's a four day challenge . It's going live on the 19th of May . If you are thinking about launching a box , or if you're stuck in your existing box and you don't know how to grow it or move forward , I highly recommend joining the challenge . It's completely free , goes on for four days .

You can sign up now at subscriptionboxchallengecom starts on the 19th of may . Now we'll be back next week at the exact same time and , as always , if you have a question you want answered on the show , head over to subscriptionboxresourcescom , join the free Facebook group and post your question there . Thanks very much and chat to you next week . Bye , bye .