Why do Subscribers Hate Giving Away Payment Details?

Imagine you’re online and decide to try a new TV subscription service. You fill in your name, email address and create your password. But then you stop. The payment page has just popped up, and you experience that feeling of dread in the pit of your stomach.

As you slowly reach for our credit card, you stop again… you doubt your decision and close the window.  What is it that makes us feel that way?

The mindset of a subscriber is incredibly complex. There are unconscious factors in play that can motivate a subscribers’ behaviours and interactions when signing up and committing to a new service. So, for any brand looking to build a great first impression and long-lasting relationships with their customers; it is important to consider the two key human drives that are present throughout our lives:

1. The Drive for Connectedness
2. The Drive for Freedom

German neurobiologist Dr Gerald Hüther explained in detail how early simultaneous drives towards Connection and Freedom to ensure our survival leave a huge imprint on our collective psyche and drive our behaviours throughout life, especially in relationships. Brands that fail to connect with customers, or make customers feel trapped or unable to serve the human drive to evolve, can cause irreparable damage to the relationship.

The Drive for Connectedness

As humans, we constantly seek connection, and one way of doing so, particularly for Gen Z, is by signing up to an OTT service to watch the new series everyone is talking about due to the Fear of Missing Out (FOMO). In the same way subscribers sign up due to this, they can also leave just as quickly, when the sense of ‘connection’ disappears. Brands that fail to connect with customers can cause damage to their relationships.

The Drive for Freedom

We also never want to feel trapped or lose our freedom to evolve. When people feel pushed to give away details they’re not ready to give, like payment information, they can feel trapped, threatening that core psychological need for freedom. When pushed into a corner, we tend to make decisions we may come to regret, just so we can breathe again. It’s important for subscribers to feel in control, and never feel pressured in any way.

The Psychology of a Subscriber

To learn how to establish a deeper connection with your subscribers and avoid invading their boundaries right at the start, download a copy of our new research paper. Get your hands on nearly 40 recommendations you can try now to create the best acquisition process for your service.