The Retention Marketing Manual for eCommerce Brands

All your questions about customer retention marketing, answered.

Chapter 1 The Customer Retention Basics

The eCommerce playbook has been flipped on its head. Once defined almost wholly by new customers, D2C brands are well-versed in acquisition but are also looking beyond the first-time sale to succeed. Businesses of the next decade are instead measuring their success by customer loyalty: Will shoppers be with your brand in a month? Two months? Next year?

4 Lessons

Lesson 1 The Customer Retention Era is Here

Brands are beginning to place as much emphasis on retention as acquistion.

Lesson 2 eCommerce Retention Glossary

Let's get down to the basics.

Lesson 3 The Challenges Brands Face When Tackling Retention

In today's highly competitive market, it's crucial for brands adopt a retention-first mindset, which means prioritizing customer retention, investing in internal and external resources, and developing strategies to keep customers coming back.

Lesson 4 Tip & Tricks for Creating a Retention-First Mindset

Actionable insights to start turning the retention needle for your brand.

Chapter 2 Defining the Customer Journey With Retention

In this chapter, we walk through the five stages of the customer journey and how to infuse a retention-first mindset into each step.

6 Lessons

Lesson 1 Stage One: Awareness

During the Awareness stage, potential customers are becoming aware of the brand and its offerings.

Lesson 2 Stage Two: Consideration

From Awareness to Consideration stages: getting the leg up on your competition.

Lesson 3 Stage Three: Immediate Post-Purchase Engagement

The Immediate Post-Purchase Engagement stage is crucial in the customer retention journey, as it sets the tone for the customer's ongoing relationship with your brand.

Lesson 4 Stage Four: Sustained Engagement

The Sustained Engagement stage continues to build long-term loyalty and encourages customers to come back.

Lesson 5 Stage Five: Customer Commitment

Customer Commitment is the final stage in the customer retention journey, and it occurs when a customer has become loyal and repeatedly makes purchases from a brand.

Lesson 6 Mapping Out the Customer Retention Journey [Calculator]

From Awareness to Customer Commitment, here's how to craft a retention-driven customer journey for your brand. And, use our retention-focused calculators to gauge how you're doing.

Chapter 3 Navigating the Internal Shift Toward Retention

Now that we’ve covered how to embody a retention-first mindset for your customers, let’s discuss how to navigate this shift within your organization.

3 Lessons

Lesson 1 How to Change Your Brand’s Mindset

Shifting from an acquisition-focused mindset to a retention-focused one requires a new approach to how brands think about their relationships with customers.

Lesson 2 All Hands On Deck

From marketing to finance to customer support, get your team working together toward your ultimate retention goals.

Lesson 3 The Cost of Shifting

While investing in customer retention takes resources, it's well worth it for the ROI impact.

Chapter 4 5 Brands’ Effective Retention Strategies in Action

Learn how these five brands are using different touchpoints throughout the customer journey to drive retention.