Turn Free Trials into Loyal Subscribers

Free trials are a popular acquisition mechanism across many sectors and is the number one reason for subscribing to an OTT service.

According to the most recent study from Parks Associates, 58% of US broadband households that accept a free OTT trial convert to fully-fledged paying subscribers.

To address this challenge, firms need to understand how free-trial customers differ from regular customers in terms of their decisions to retain the service. This document provides some guidance on executing a digital engagement strategy using data and key metrics to retain hard-won subscribers.

You will learn more on how to nurture subscribers when the free trial is over. Grab the guide now!

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What will you learn in this ebook?

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The Retention Playbook 2026

Proven benchmarks to close the performance gap and turn retention into your primary growth engine.

What you’ll get inside:

  • Exclusive Benchmarks: See the exact KPIs that separate industry "Leaders" from "Followers."
  • The Profit Multiplier: Learn how a 5% improvement in retention can boost profits by up to 95%.
  • The Loyalty Lead: Discover the strategy that helps top brands keep subscribers 3x longer than average.

What's Inside

We break down the four critical phases of the subscriber journey with data-backed insights for each.

Phase 1

Acquire and convert

Benchmark: New-user conversion, sub-5-minute sign-ups, trial-to-paid, and campaign performance

Insight: Identify where top performers convert faster and keep more trial users engaged

Phase 2

Optimize revenue

Benchmark: ARPU, long-commit, web-channel, and annual vs. monthly value

Insight: See how leaders increase average revenue per subscriber and shift users to higher-margin plans

Phase 3

Retain and win back

Benchmark: Subscriber lifetime, retention rate, resubscription, and recurring payment success

Insight: Understand which retention gaps most impact subscriber lifetime

Phase 4

Customer experience

Benchmark: Help-center engagement, contact rate, one-touch resolution, and ticket reopen metrics

Insight: Discover how leading brands turn support interactions into loyalty and retention advantages

Person holding a laptop displaying industry benchmarks for user conversion rates and sub-5 minute conversions with statistics and key points.

The Retention Playbook 2026