🥗 The Big 3 of Retention Marketing

Hey there,

Welcome back for another bite to chew on.

We see so much founder and business attention focused on customer acquisition.

Acquiring new customers is one thing, but KEEPING the customers you have is even more important. 

This probably deserves a 3 part series going over each of the key points we’ll talk about in a second (Email & SMS, Advertising, Direct Feedback),

but for now, we’ll keep this as a quick overview since this week has been crazy and know you’re busy too.

We were in 3 different cities in 3 days (why this is coming out on Thursday).

Let’s get into it.

Your Attention on Retention

The most simple way to describe retention marketing is how you keep customers coming back for more.

Your retention efforts should be focused on how you can turn one-time buyers into lifelong fans.

In the coming weeks, we’ll devote the time necessary to cover each of the following “big 3” in much more detail. They really do deserve their own newsletter.

If you have no idea how much you’re spending or have no real plan at all to keep the customers you fought so hard to acquire in the first place, your attention needs to be refocused to these three main avenues.

We’ll go over how you can specialize each one for a deeper layer of engagement with your customers.

Before we get into the big 3,

RSVP to the Chew On This LA Founders/Operators Dinner event on May 16th!

Come join 100 founders and operators, talking all about ways to grow your brand.

Now, for what you’re here for:

The Big 3

Here are the 3 areas of focus we would not leave behind for Obvi (you shouldn’t either)

Email & SMS

Always be segmenting.

Begin by segmenting your customers by their purchase history, product preferences, or engagement level. 

For example, customers who bought a fat burner (Burn or Burn Elite) last summer might be interested in new editions or formulas (Burn Fast or Burn PM) this summer. 

Send them a targeted message with a personal touch, like referencing their previous purchase and offering a related product.

The more specific layers you can build on top of each other, the better. 

Make the repeat buying decision easier for people by bringing emotion into the equation.

Take a look at Ron and Jimmy Kim’s, Founder and CIO of Sendlane, “Going Beyond the Click” presentation from the Whalies that focuses on those specific intent signals if you’re needing more help here.

Advertising

The key with advertising is to introduce upsells or cross-sells at moments that add value, so they aren’t seen as an interruption, but as an additional bonus.

Think of this like offering a complimentary product that enhances the use of the original purchase. 

We do this with product stacks all the time at Obvi

You don’t have to stop this conversation at paid advertising either…

It’s the long term retention play to keep you, your brand, or a specific product at the top of your customer’s mind.

Ash posts about certain ad creatives that crushed on socials all the time.

We join in on live Q&A’s in our Obvi Facebook Community to answer questions and engage directly with our customer base.

Almost everyone on the planet knows what Coke and McDonald’s are, right?

You still see ads for both often to keep them in the decision making equation when you’re at the vending machine for a drink or on the fast food hunt busy on the road.

Use this same concept to become a revolving door of ad avenues that your customers can easily reference.

Direct Feedback

Do you know why that customer only purchased once? No? Why haven’t you asked them?

Never underestimate the power of asking your customers directly about their experience. 

Implement simple feedback loops like post-purchase surveys or quick feedback forms on your website. 

Offer incentives for completing these surveys like discount codes or free shipping to increase participation and gather more valuable insights.

It’s also important to pay attention to the right kind of feedback.

While addressing comments or messages from angry or dissatisfied people on the internet is part of the business, weigh your paying customers' direct feedback above all else.

How many people go and leave a GOOD review on Yelp? A lot less than those who go to trash on a business.. Just something to keep in mind.

The Whole Experience

Retention is about creating an all-encompassing experience that spans multiple touchpoints. 

Consider the entire customer journey, from the initial purchase through to post-purchase support and beyond. 

Engage customers with educational content, helpful tips related to their interests, and updates that keep them connected with your brand. 

Retention is more than a single strategy—it’s a mindset. 

Think of every customer interaction as an opportunity to reinforce their decision to choose your brand. 

This can be as simple as a thank-you note, a birthday discount, or even personalized recommendations based on their purchase history.

Tool of the Week

There isn’t a one size fits all approach when it comes to retention.

You need to be customizing your approach from every angle you can think of to find what works best for your brand.

We have a ton of different flavors for our Obvi collagen protein.

If a customer is under a subscribe and save plan, they might get bored of that flavor or don’t like it as much as they thought they would.

Instead of letting that customer cancel and end the relationship with Obvi, 

we started sending out automated emails at critical times of the subscription that would allow customers to swap the products in their subscription. 

We took this a step further by adding this info in the subscription flows and order emails to make this option known to get ahead of churn or cancellations.

This was just 1 of 7 strategies that Stay AI helped us implement at Obvi.

From March to April, we saw a 20% increase in total subscription revenue and first-time subscription revenue increased by 7%.

Add-on revenue isn’t where we’d like it to be, so we’re tackling that hurdle next.

Reach out to the Stay AI team HERE to see how they can help boost your retention efforts with targeted strategies at the big 3.

What’s Working for You?

We’re curious to hear about your retention strategies—what has worked well for you? 

Hit reply and share your tips and we can compile them all into the deep dives on each of the big 3 later on. 

We’re always looking for new insights to share with our community, so feel free to hit us up on Twitter too!

Ron - @obviceo

Ash - @ashvinmelwani

Thanks for Reading Along

Keeping today’s newsletter bite sized so you can get back to what you do best.

Remember, the real profit comes from customers who stay, not just those who pay once. 

Apply these tips, and watch your customer loyalty, and your bottom line, grow.

All the best,

Ron & Ash