Borrow my Customer Retention Playbook

Hey honeys and hustlers,

The key to making more money is happy customers. It’s easier to keep a customer or client than to find a new one. What do your top customers have in common? You know, the ones you can’t wait to work with again. How do you nurture more potential top customers? In today's article, I'll be sharing my customer retention playbook to help you identify and nurture your most valuable customers. One of the main reasons I was able to make the leap from part-time to full-time creative entrepreneurship was by securing a retainer client contract. Having a certain level of predictable income is essential for a sustainable business model.

There are 3 types of customers

• Loyalists – Buy often and spend a lot

• Whales – Spent a lot once, but haven’t come back

• Churners – Used to buy regularly but have slowed down

Most businesses treat delivery of their product or services like the finish line. Once a package leaves their warehouse or an email is sent with a link to download photos, they feel like their work is done. But what happens next is just as important. Create an offboarding workflow that breaks the script. Do something that makes people stop and go, “Wait, that was different.” That 2% extra effort is what will prompt them to tell others about you or buy from you again. I used to write a handwritten thank you note after delivering work and offer 15% off to anyone they referred to me. And it worked! I got consistent good reviews and client referrals.

To inspire more loyalists, give them the VIP treatment. I’m talking exclusive drops or early access to new products. (In this newsletter community, my VIPs are the folks who respond to emails and/or have joined the Creator Database - which is totally free!) For potential whales, offer them an exclusive and highly personalized package or offer in 1:1 outreach. For churners, try to re-engage them at regular intervals with an email follow-up sequence sharing company updates they might be interested in, or events where you might run into them.

Here's a Customer Retention Checklist you can use to improve your business:

1. Map your customer journey. Identify all touchpoints where customers interact with your business, from first contact (i.e. social media or word of mouth) to post-purchase support. Look for opportunities to delight at each stage.

2. Segment your customer base. Beyond the three types mentioned (Loyalists, Whales, Churners), consider segmenting by purchase frequency, average order value, and product preferences to create more targeted retention strategies, which I wrote about in the last article.

3. Create personalized follow-up sequences. Develop automated but personalized email or message sequences that trigger based on customer behavior. For example, send a check-in email 5 days after someone receives their final product or deliverables and ask for feedback.

4. Implement a loyalty program. Consider a points system, tiered referral rewards, or exclusive access model that incentivizes repeat purchases and makes customers feel valued. I’ll be talking about the role of discounts on Monday!

5. Collect and act on feedback. Use surveys, calls, or feedback forms to learn what customers love and where you can improve. Most importantly, make visible changes based on this feedback and communicate those changes back to customers.

Retention isn't just about keeping customers; it's about turning them into advocates. When you can transform a casual buyer into someone who eagerly tells others about your business, you've created a sustainable growth engine that reduces your customer acquisition costs over time.

What's your ideal retention rate? Industry benchmarks vary, but aim for 35% and 84% of your customers and clients to be returning buyers. For subscription businesses, even a 5% increase in retention can increase profits by 25-95% (source).

What's one small change you could implement this week to improve your customer retention? I'd love to hear your ideas in the comments below!