I’ve been trying to take omega-3 consistently for about 10 years.
What finally made it stick wasn’t a better product...
It was hearing the value proposition from enough different angles: Fitness, back pain, brain function, weight loss.
We often hear that it takes around eight touch points to acquire a customer. Retention works the same way.
A customer buying from you once doesn't mean that you've done enough to keep them coming back.
So here’s how I think about the journey from opt-in to becoming one of your most valuable customers:
1. Retention starts at acquisition.
Win someone with a massive discount, and their loyalty is often to the discount, not to your brand. Your acquisition offer frames the rest of your relationship.
2. The first purchase is a first date, not a marriage.
The first purchase is when the real work begins.
Your job is to get the customer to the “magic moment,” the first time they genuinely experience the benefit of your product, as quickly as possible. The faster they feel the value, the more likely they are to stay.
One brand we studied, RISE, saw month-five retention increase from 3% to 60% when customers experienced a benefit within the first week.
3. The second purchase is the hardest and most profitable dollar you’ll earn.
This is where you need to sell the value proposition again and reinforce the benefit they should be experiencing.
Give them a reason to come back, but please don't just default to a 15% discount!
Surprise and delight will build more loyalty than training customers to wait for a coupon.
For subscription brands, the experience matters just as much as the product.
Make subscribing easy, but make skipping even easier.
A skipped order is better than a canceled subscription every single time.
Tools like Zaymo allow customers to skip, delay, or add products to their next order directly from the email.
That is a much better experience than sending someone into a subscription portal where the cancel button is sitting right in front of them.
Most brands obsess over finding the perfect subscription discount.
The bigger opportunity is simply making the subscription experience better.
Ask customers who have not subscribed:
“What is stopping you from subscribing?”
I’ll bet you $100 the answer is some version of:
“I don’t want to get stuck in a subscription that is difficult to cancel when I already have too much product.”
4. Loyalty should be about identity, not math.
Transactional points programs are dead.
Nobody wants to calculate what 847 points are worth.
The brands winning at loyalty make customers feel like they are part of something.
They create access, recognition, status, community, and identity.
Because retention is not a one-time campaign or a post-purchase flow.
You don’t get married and stop going on dates.
The same applies to your customers.
You have to keep reminding them why they chose you, keep showing them the value, and keep giving them reasons to stay.
