An entry-level option for smaller commercial properties and businesses looking for dependable maintenance support.
FOUNDER EXPERIENCE · SERVICE DEVELOPMENT
Designing NTS Priority+: Turning Ongoing Maintenance Support into a Subscription Service
NTS Priority+ was developed as a completely new service within Northern Trade Solutions, moving beyond individual maintenance jobs to create a clearer and more structured way for commercial customers to access ongoing support.
Alexander Loredan led the original concept, subscription structure, pricing model, customer proposition and supporting sales material in his employed role as Head of Operations.
Relationship disclosure
This case study documents work completed by Alexander Loredan in his employed role as Head of Operations at Northern Trade Solutions. NTS was not a paying Blueprint SME client.
View the live NTS Priority+ serviceAT A GLANCE
- Organisation
- Northern Trade Solutions
- Service
- NTS Priority+
- Project type
- Service development and subscription design
- Led by
- Alexander Loredan
- Status
- Publicly available commercial maintenance membership
- Location
- North West England
The proposition
A recurring property-maintenance service with three subscription levels, a straightforward credit system and a commercial structure designed to support longer-term customer relationships.
Plan details were checked against the public NTS Priority+ page and Member Policy on 20 August 2026. No subscriber, revenue or customer-result claims are included.
THE BACKGROUND
Creating a more structured maintenance relationship.
Northern Trade Solutions provides reactive maintenance, planned works, refurbishment and property support.
Much of the traditional maintenance market is based on individual jobs. A customer reports a problem, receives a quotation and approves the work before it is scheduled.
Although this approach works, it can create uncertainty. Customers may not know how quickly support will be available, what maintenance will cost or who to contact when something goes wrong. For the contractor, workloads can be difficult to predict and every new job must be handled as a separate transaction.
There was an opportunity to create a more structured relationship between NTS and customers who needed regular access to maintenance support. That opportunity became NTS Priority+.
THE CHALLENGE
The subscription had to work for the customer and the business.
Priority+ could not simply be a collection of maintenance services placed behind a monthly fee. The complete proposition needed to be designed around how customers would buy, understand and use it.
- 01Provide customers with clear and practical value
- 02Be simple to understand and explain
- 03Give customers a more predictable way to access support
- 04Create an ongoing relationship rather than a series of disconnected jobs
- 05Remain commercially sustainable for NTS
- 06Be manageable by the operational team
- 07Allow customers to choose a suitable level of support
- 08Support recurring monthly income
- 09Avoid creating unrealistic expectations about unlimited maintenance
THE OPPORTUNITY
Ongoing support without an internal maintenance team.
Many organisations require maintenance support throughout the year but do not necessarily need a full-time internal maintenance team.
They may manage offices, commercial premises, rented properties, hospitality venues or other operational buildings. When problems arise, they need access to a contractor they already know and trust.
Priority+ was designed to give those customers a more organised way to maintain that relationship with NTS. Instead of starting again every time support was needed, the membership would provide an existing service structure through which work could be requested and managed.
For NTS, it also created an opportunity to develop more predictable revenue and stronger long-term customer relationships.
DEVELOPING THE CONCEPT
Turning an initial idea into a distinct service.
Alexander developed Priority+ as a distinct NTS service rather than simply offering customers a generic maintenance agreement.
- The customer problem the service would address
- How the subscription would work
- How customers would use their allowance
- The different subscription levels
- The monthly pricing structure
- The minimum subscription period
- How the service would be explained and promoted
- How the model could be delivered operationally
The objective was to make the service easy for customers to understand while ensuring NTS retained control over delivery time and commercial viability.
THE CREDIT MODEL
Creating a simple way to measure service time.
A credit-based model was developed to make the membership easier to understand and administer.
One Maintenance Credit is equivalent to one hour of labour.
Using a standard unit gives the customer and the operational team a consistent way to understand how the included allowance is used. It provides a foundation for recording service usage, allocating available time, monitoring allowances, planning capacity and explaining the value of each plan.
The credit system keeps the customer proposition straightforward without presenting the membership as unlimited maintenance. The public Member Policy defines eligible uses, exclusions and the treatment of work that exceeds the available credit allowance.
THE SUBSCRIPTION LEVELS
Three clear plans for different maintenance needs.
The tiered structure allows NTS to present Priority+ to a broader range of commercial customers without creating an entirely different service for every enquiry.
A higher level of support for growing businesses, hotels and property-management companies with more regular requirements.
The most substantial maintenance partnership for larger organisations and multi-site property portfolios.
All three plans are publicly described by NTS as having a minimum 12-month membership term. Current inclusions and full conditions are set by NTS and should be checked on its website before subscribing.
COMMERCIAL PROTECTION
Building boundaries into the service from the beginning.
A new subscription service must deliver value for customers without exposing the business to uncontrolled costs.
Priority+ was designed with defined monthly prices, a standard credit system, a clear relationship between credits and service time, different service levels, a minimum term, a structure that can be monitored and a distinction between included support and additional work.
This created a stronger foundation than offering an informal monthly maintenance arrangement without agreed limits or expectations.
THE CUSTOMER PROPOSITION
Making the value easy to understand.
Customers should not need to understand NTS’s internal systems or operational processes to recognise the benefit of Priority+.
The proposition was built around easier access to ongoing maintenance support, a more organised relationship with a trusted contractor, clear membership options, predictable monthly payments, a defined way to use service time and support that can be matched to the customer’s requirements.
The emphasis remained on practical customer value rather than complicated contractual or technical language.
NAMING AND POSITIONING
Giving the new service its own identity.
The name NTS Priority+ was chosen to position the membership as an enhanced relationship with Northern Trade Solutions.
It gives the service its own identity while keeping it clearly connected to the established NTS business. “Priority” communicates the intended value of maintaining an ongoing service relationship. The “plus” gives the service room to grow as additional benefits and capabilities are developed.
This meant Priority+ could be marketed as a recognisable service rather than described differently by individual members of the team.
SALES AND BRAND MATERIAL
Turning the service model into something customers could see and understand.
A dedicated Priority+ identity and supporting sales content brought together the purpose of the service, subscription levels, monthly prices, credit model, membership structure, customer benefits and a clearer sales message for the NTS team.
This was important because a service is not commercially useful if it only exists as an internal idea.
OPERATIONAL DELIVERY
Preparing the proposition to work as a real service.
The subscription model was designed with delivery in mind, not only as a marketing concept.
Consideration was given to how memberships and credits would be recorded, how requests would enter NTS’s workflow, how completed work and additional requirements would be handled, how usage would be monitored and how the service could be reviewed as the membership base developed.
Current public NTS materials also describe digital member access. The operational detail and member benefits remain governed by NTS’s current service documentation.
THE OUTCOME
A complete foundation for a new customer relationship.
The project moved the idea from a general ambition for recurring maintenance income into a structured service that could be explained, priced, presented and delivered.
01
A named subscription service with its own identity
02
Three clearly priced subscription levels
03
A standard credit-based usage model
04
A 12-month recurring commercial structure
05
A customer proposition focused on ongoing support
06
A clearer route towards predictable monthly income
07
Supporting sales and brochure content
08
An operational framework that can be developed as the service grows
Priority+ is publicly presented by NTS. This case study does not claim a number of subscribers, recurring-revenue result, customer saving or uptake level.
WHY THE PROJECT MATTERS
A subscription is a service-design challenge, not only a pricing exercise.
Developing Priority+ required decisions about customer value, pricing, delivery, capacity, commercial risk, communication and long-term growth.
The project demonstrates how a traditional service business can begin turning knowledge and operational capability into a repeatable proposition. It also shows the importance of developing the commercial and operational structure at the same time.
Without that structure, a subscription can quickly become difficult to manage or unprofitable. With the right foundations, it can create stronger customer relationships and a more predictable business model.
THE BLUEPRINT CONNECTION
What this experience demonstrates.
The development of Priority+ reflects several areas of work now offered through Blueprint SME.
These include identifying new service opportunities, defining propositions, developing recurring-revenue services, creating pricing tiers, building operational processes, producing sales material and connecting strategy with day-to-day delivery.
This case study does not change the employment relationship under which the NTS work was completed.
KEY LESSONS
What other service businesses can take from Priority+.
Keep the proposition simple
Customers should be able to understand what the service is, how it works and why it is useful without needing a lengthy explanation.
Design the delivery model alongside the offer
A service should not be sold until the business has considered how it will record, manage and deliver what has been promised.
Protect both the customer and the business
Clear service levels, usage rules and subscription terms help prevent confusion and create more realistic expectations.
Give a new service its own identity
A clear name and consistent presentation make a new proposition easier to communicate, remember and sell.
Recurring revenue still requires ongoing value
A subscription must continue to provide a reason for customers to remain subscribed. The customer relationship and service experience are therefore just as important as the initial sale.
“Priority+ was developed to create a different type of relationship between NTS and its customers. Developing the subscription involved much more than deciding on three prices. It meant thinking through the customer proposition, how service time would be measured, how the team could deliver it and how NTS could build recurring income without overpromising.”
DEVELOP YOUR NEXT SERVICE
Could your business turn its expertise into a clearer service?
If your service is difficult to price, explain or deliver consistently, Blueprint can help turn it into a practical and commercially workable proposition.
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