Transforming a traditional enterprise business into a subscription business requires a huge shift - from product focus to customer focus. Learn the 6 core steps to building a subscription business from Wolters Kluwer, a global corporation that successfully made the shift. Check out Zuora Academy for more actionable advice for finance, marketing, tech, operations, product, and more. All the info you need to build and run an amazing subscription business: https://www.zuora.com/academy/

1. The Enterprise
ShiftFrom a perpetual to a subscription business
Dr. Ulrich Hermann
Regional Managing Director & CEO of Wolters Kluwer Central
Europe
The Enterprise Shift
Dr. Ulrich Hermann
CEO Wolters Kluwer Germany
Regional MD Wolters Kluwer Central
Europe
From a perpetual to a subscription business

2. presentation
agenda
page
02
About us Business
challenges –
what drove our
transformation
The 6 keys to
shifting to a
subscription
model

3. presentation
agenda
page
03
Building a
subscription
culture
Q & AKey takeaways

4. welcome
message
page
04
“When I started ten years ago at Wolters Kluwer in Germany, we
were a traditional legal publisher, with 90% of our business as
print.
What we were selling was product based: the value of our content.
As of 2015, 83% of Wolters Kluwer global revenue was made up
from digital solutions and services.”
Dr. Ulrich Hermann
CEO Wolters Kluwer Germany
Regional MD Wolters Kluwer Central Europe

5. about
us
page
05

6. key
figures
page
06
Today a market-leading
global information services
company
1836
Founded in the
Netherlands
With
19,000
employees
Serving
customers in
180 countries
Revenues in
2015
€4,208 million
Professionals in
the legal,
business, tax,
accounting,
finance, audit, risk,
compliance and
healthcare
markets
Providing information,
software, and services
that deliver vital insights,
tools, and the guidance
of subject-matter
experts

7. our
mission
page
07
“Wolters Kluwer’s mission is to
empower our customers with the
information, technology, and services
they need to confidently make and
follow through on critical decisions. ”

8. • High disruptive
potential
• Internal and
external value
Data analytics
• Customer
workflow
• Tremendous
upside potential
Online
software +
services
our
transformation
page
08
Print
publishing
• Legacy business
• Transitioning to
online
Expert content Transaction/usage data

9. In 2015, 83% of Wolters Kluwer global revenue was made up from
Digital Solutions & Services.
100
25
0
50
75
35
52
13
2003
70
17
13
2015
Revenues by
media (%)
Digital
Print
Services
100
25
0
50
75
44
56
2003
22
78
2015
Revenues by
type (%)
Recurring
Cyclical
Source: Wolters Kluwer Annual Report

10. So,
how did we
get
from there
to here?

11. “Becoming a digital business is not just
layering a digital layer upon an existing
business - we need to switch from a
product-focused company to a customer-
focused company. It’s about our values and
beliefs.”

12. Business
challenges

13. page
013
We live and compete in a VUCA
world

14. page
014
Volatile
The nature, speed, volume, & magnitude of
change
Uncertain
The unpredictability of issues & events
Complex
The number & interactions of changing external factors
Ambiguous
The haziness of reality & the mixed meanings of
conditions

15. the fundamental
challenge
page
015
How do I maximize
the performance of
my business
today?
How do I prepare
my business for a
different future?
How do I do both?

16. 6 keys
to shifting to a
subscription
business

17. keys to
transformation
page
017
01 Assess your current
business model 04
Identify your “way in” to
subscriptions while
balancing performance
and learning
02 Look at your customers
05
03
Understand roadblocks to
transformation
06Building a subscription
culture
Pull customers (don’t push)

18. Assess your
current business
model

19. old
business model
page
019
Our business
was about
producing and
selling
a good product
on marginal cost…
1980’s

20. Marketing & Sales:
• Promotion of single products
with direct mail, retail
marketing, advertisement
• Sales via retail’s “bookshelf”
• Direct marketing & sales of
subscription
Value of a Single
Product:
• Renowned authors
• High quality content
• Index + taxonomy
In a product centric
business, we sold
content to the print-
customer’s shelf…

21. core
questions
page
021
What are you
really providing?
How are you
offering value?
What are your
customers paying
for?
? ? ?

22. Look at your
customers

23. Personal Real-Time
Customers have new expectations
Immediate
fulfillment
Ongoing
Value
Memorable
Services

24. Technology trends changed
customer requirements
Increased pressure on customer
productivity
More players compete for market
share

25. Pull
customers
(don’t push)

26. the transformation
begins
page
026
Our value
proposition changed
from
“Content Source” to
“User Experience”
2010’s

27. value creation:
controlling content source vs. enabling experiences
page
027
Enabling a unique experience
• Technology
• Intuitive workflow
• Ecosystem
• Relevance
• Productivity
• Access to author-driven content
• Opinion leadership
• Community membership
• Brand
Controlling content source
REQUIREMENT: RADICAL INNOVATION

28. product-driven vs
customer lifecycle-driven
page
028
Product-driven
Print media
Digital media
Customer workflow
Solutions
Customer workflow
Customer lifecycle-driven
Content: local integrated
Competence: search/understand serve/solve
Editorial: domains tasks
Formats: media solutions
Value: availability productivity

29. customer
experience
journey
page
029
SEO/SEM/SEA/
Social media
▪ Customer journeys
▪ Topic-related
education centers
▪ Quality content
Ease of use
▪ My Document
library
▪ Quality contents /
newsletters
▪ Reminders in case
of legal changes
etc.
Comprehensive
functionality & quality
content
+
• NEED GENERATION
+
• INITIAL CONSIDERATION
+
• ENGAGEMENT
+
• EVALUATION
+
• MOMENT OF PURCHASE
+
• DELIVERY / INSTALLATION
+
• USAGE
Loyalty
curve

30. pulling customers vs.
pushing the offer
page
030
Old
New
product
customer
 1 year subscription
(Jan.-December)
or
 one-time purchase
by piece/license
offering
features
Customer hunting across channels
internet search
usage
Free
Register
Voucher
1-2 month trial
 subscription per month
 subscription per quarter
 subscription per year

31. let customer promote vs.
the company explain
page
031
Detractors Neutrals Promoters
NET PROMOTER SCORE (NPS)
Strategic change
Action 1:1
Understand
Measure
EXPLAIN GET INSIGHT
Product Usage

32. Identify your way in to a
subscription business
while balancing
performance and
learning

33. page
033
Performance organization
• Internally oriented
• Focused on making the numbers
• Rewards consistency
• Dislike of ambiguity & deviations
• Rule and procedure oriented
Learning organization
• Externally focused
• Inquisitive
• Experimental & innovative
• Fluidly shares information
• Rewards risk-taking
• Relies on cross-functional teams
balancing
learning
and performance

34. performance organization
to avoid cost of failure
page
034
key behaviors
to maximize
return on
invested
resources
Focus
• Focus on near-term
performance & large business
units
Protect
• new ventures coinciding with
economic cycles, management
interest, & budgeting
Minimize
• Small up front investments
• Business focused on standards
Avoid
• Failure regarded as career-ending
event
• Incentive system to avoid risk
taking behaviour

35. Work with agile
concepts in
marketing and
product development
to avoid late and
expensive failures
and constantly pivot
the business model
and solution.

36. learning organisation
to manage risk of failure
page
036
• (re)define the problem
• (re)identify your
customer
• test and iterate on
business assumptions,
feature requirements,
marketing & sales
tactics
• market research
• usage analysis
Product Management
• Measure product use
• Elaborate features &
user experience
• release new & different
functionality as quickly
as possible
• assure reasonable
product quality
Product Development

37. improve and innovate
a digital solution in an agile way
page
037
Based on minimal viable
product (MVP), steering
committees, etc. focus on:
efficiency
(management resources)
and
effectiveness
(CPA’s & CLVs)
as they relate to the agile
process
Management Focusinitial
planning
plan
evaluate
test
implementation
analysis & design
requirements
Deployment
Minimum Viable
Product
customer
feedback
Source: Steve Blank ,Why the lean start up changes everything, Mai 2013, Harvard Business Review

38. Understand roadblocks
to transformation

39. engage
different stakeholders
page
039
champion
Makes it happen
antagonist
Keeps it from happening
indifferent
Lets it happen
supporter
Helps it happen
++
+
0
-
Assess initial
stakeholder
support

40. stakeholder
engagement
page
040
01
Communicate
a clear vision
02
Identify and analyze
key stakeholders
03
Engage
stakeholders

41. organizational
obstacles
page
041
The establishment can be the
enemy of change
The organization itself
Need for a new business model
Finance
Start with customer pain points
Product development
Develop business from your
core capabilities
Back-office IT
Sell and market around
customer workflow
Sales & marketing
Customer experience over
domain expertise
Experts

42. Building a
subscription culture

43. “Building a business model around the
customer experience requires
organizational transformation. It means
building a subscription culture.”

44. guiding customers
through the right
channels…
training and coaching
every employee in
Customer Lifecycle
Management (CLM)
related workflows…
What it takes to build a
subscription culture…
Aligning marketing,
sales and service
around the customer
experience…
streamlining the
customer experience
across all touch
points…
enabling systems to
automate multiple
subscription based
business models…

45. guiding behaviour
with company values
page
045
Focus on
customer
success
Aim high and
deliver
Make it better
Win as a team

46. Lessons
learned?

47. customers
stay with us when we…
page
047
1
understand what customer
success is about…
3
are fully dedicated to improve and innovate
our digital solution in an agile way…
2
serve our core disciplines
seamlessly in one digital solution…
4
and deliver in the moment of
need and surprise.

48. thank you.

49. Check out Zuora Academy for more great info and actionable
advice.
All the info you need to build and run
an amazing subscription business.
https://www.zuora.com/academy/