Month-to-month membership
Customers who want to use a mint condition car but not necessarily own one can take advantage of the month-to-month subscription plan. It removes the entry barrier of putting down a lot of cash to buy the car, leaves the risk of ownership with Lynk & Co and introduces higher monthly costs in exchange. Again, these can be mitigated by sharing the car within the community. This is probably going to work best for consumers living in densely populated urban areas - obviously a key target group of Lynk & Co.
Membership without a car
The most innovative part of the offering - and an important part of the sharing community - is the option to become a Lynk & Co member without buying or subscribing to a car. This is attractive for consumers who are very cost sensitive or rarely need to use a car - or both. From the company’s perspective it is an important part of the offering because it enables the much-needed network effects. After all, members in possession of a car need other members without cars to share their vehicles with.
This isn’t even the full range of Lynk & Co’s offering, but I hope this quick overview clearly conveys how complex the relationship between companies and their customers becomes when firms servicize parts of their business. This carries huge implications for risk assessment and cash flows and brings with it the need to intelligently manage these aspects of the business. Nevertheless, it also offers big rewards for challenger companies eager to disrupt their industries, but also for incumbent firms willing and able to capitalize on their strong positions in their respective markets.