BUSINESS ON REPEAT
To grow your business through repeat business there's usually work to be done.
Not 'more work' but big picture strategic work that shapes the direction of how you ensure more customers stay with you for the long haul.
I call this retention by design.
Below is an explainer of the 5 pillars I use to help brands understand how to better their work keeping customers longer.
Growing business on repeat.
WHAT DO I MEAN BY RETENTION BY DESIGN ?
1. Retention is a design problem, not a marketing tactic
If customers don’t come back, something upstream is broken: the proposition, the experience, the story, the usefulness, the trust. Your work starts before email flows and loyalty points ever enter the room.
2. Predictable revenue comes from predictable value
Subscriptions are a result, not a goal. A result of the work you do making your product or service matter to your customers so that repeat purchase feels like their obvious choice.
3. Businesses should be built to last, not just to launch
You’re quietly pushing back against:
- growth-at-all-costs thinking
- vanity metrics
- short-term funnels
You care about year 3, year 5, year 10 not just next quarter.
4. Repeat customers are earned, not engineered
Retention isn’t about “locking people in”. It’s about:
- trust
- rhythm
- relevance
- continuity
If a customer leaves, that’s new learned insight, not failure.
5. Community beats coercion
Whether it’s a membership, a subscription, or simply loyal repeat buyers, you believe the strongest businesses feel chosen, not imposed.
People stay because they want to be there.
BEGIN YOUR TRANSFORMATION TO BECOMING A TRULY RETENTION-FIRST BUSINESS
When you're thinking about the value you're providing your customer after month 3, 6 or 12 - you're in the zone of becoming a retention-first business. You're viewing the relationship with your customer as a service you're providing them for the long haul.
The profit transformation that happens even when you membership or subscription churn rate improves from an average of 3 to 4 months is considerable. Extrapolate that to 6 months and it's a remarkable evolution for your business. Is it easy? Of course not. Does it take time and dedication? Absolutely. It's my job to lead the change towards retention-first thinking and actioning.
Whether you're in the software, product, community or membership business, at the core of your work is the ability to turn new customers into long-term subscribers. People that are with you for the long haul.
I'm here to help you every step of the way.
Ian Rhodes
RETENTION BY DESIGN
Consultancy & Coaching
ELLIOT BROOKS : NATURE.COM"Ian was a huge help in supporting us with developing a best-in-class set-up of tools, helping us plan strategically for optimising the site, and making informed decisions to improve how we support our customers with the right services for their needs, through a simplified streamlined platform."