7 customer retention examples to drive long-term loyalty
If your customer retention efforts focus only on new customers or saving those about to churn, you’re missing the big picture. Retention starts at the beginning of the relationship—and lasts through the entire customer journey. Let’s dig into the what and why of retention marketing with seven customer retention examples that will inspire you.
Here’s what we’ll cover:
- Customer retention definition: what it is and why it matters
- 7 customer retention examples
- Build lasting relationships with retention emails
The definition of customer retention
So, how do you explain customer retention? Essentially, it’s a measure of how long your customers remain your customers—aka how long they stay engaged.
Customer retention is critical for SaaS and subscription companies, in particular. After all, high retention rates translate to consistent, recurring revenue—the cornerstone of sustained success.
The importance of retention is evident when you look at the numbers: it costs six to seven times more to acquire a new customer than it does to retain an existing one. And you’re far more likely to cross-sell additional products and services to your existing versus prospective customers (source).
7 customer retention examples
If you’re already sending lifecycle emails, you’ll likely recognize customer retention email examples among them—messages designed to create stickiness and loyalty. What distinguishes retention emails from other types of messages within your lifecycle marketing strategy is that they’re not always focused on driving a purchase. While offers and promotions have their place, retention emails often aim at helping customers realize more value from your products and services.
Let’s dig into some customer retention email examples that do just that.
Retention example #1: The onboarding email
Once someone transforms from prospect to customer, the churn clock starts ticking. The first three months are crucial to prove your value and cement your relationship. When done right, onboarding emails show people how to use your product and why they’ll benefit from it.
Case in point: Perplexity, an AI-powered research and conversational search engine. This onboarding email gives new customers four specific ideas for what they should do next—with clear instructions every step of the way.
Customer retention pro tip: Onboarding campaigns usually involve multiple messages. It’s important to find the right balance between guiding and overwhelming. Make sure to add filters that prevent people from receiving more messages once they take your desired action.
Retention example #2: The re-engagement email
When you see declining engagement from your customers, don’t panic! It simply means it’s time to remind them about what they’ve been missing. Enter re-engagement emails.
Docspo, a B2B proposal and e-signature platform, adds a simple, personalized touch to this customer retention email example. It reminds the recipient of their initial interest, acknowledges the behavior they’ve noticed, and warmly invites them to re-engage.
Customer retention pro tip: There can be power in simplicity, especially when retention emails come at the about-to-churn stage. Dialing back the design and including a sign-off from a real person can give customers a sense that someone’s actually paying attention and cares about them as individuals. If your re-engagement campaigns are usually heavily branded, try A/B testing a simpler approach.
Retention example #3: The loyalty email
Retention is all about building loyalty, and what better way to do that than a loyalty program? You can build loyalty in many ways, from special discounts at certain milestones to surprise thank-yous and points-earning programs.
This email from Delta to SkyMiles members reminds recipients what they need to do to ascend to the next rewards tier. At the end, they throw in a couple of members-only offers to heighten the value proposition.
Customer retention pro tip: If your retention email includes an offer, include it in the body of the email as text. Remember: many popular ESPs block images by default, so your customers could miss the conversion opportunity completely. Better yet, use a tool like Parcel’s Inbox Previews to see how your subscribers will view your email before you hit send.
Retention example #4: The year-in-review email
There are many annual traditions in December, and in recent years, a new one has been taking over everyone’s social feeds: Spotify Wrapped. This wildly successful campaign showcases the kind of retention that’s entirely non-promotional. It’s no wonder that many brands have followed suit, creating their own versions of the Spotify Wrapped strategy.
Here’s a customer retention email example from the fintech industry that uses this approach. ClearScore, an app that helps people check and improve their credit scores, sends an annual year-in-review email. This email highlights how customers have benefitted from the app, celebrates their achievements, and offers actionable insights.
Customer retention pro tip: Milestone celebration emails hinge on having customer data at your fingertips. Using a robust customer data platform (CDP) can help you tap into the power of customer data for impactful retention emails (and a whole lot more).
Retention example #5: The win-back email
When customer engagement slows down, don’t throw in the towel. Instead, plan to win them back! Use this retention email to transform churn into a renewed sense of the aha moment.
Here’s a win-back email from Uber. Simple yet informative, this retention email acknowledges that the customer has lapsed and gently nudges them to discover new ways to use the app.
Customer retention pro tip: Omnichannel marketing is your friend during the win-back phase. Use your CTA to bring people into your app and greet them with an in-app message guiding them toward the aha moment.
Retention example #6: The refer-a-friend email
Tap into the enthusiasm of your power users by asking them to spread the word about your product—and reward them for doing so.
Investing app Robinhood offers a simple value proposition in this retention email example. They ask their customers to invite friends in exchange for $10 in free stock. That incentive gives people a compelling reason to refer others to an app they’re actively using.
Customer retention pro tip: Segmentation based on behavioral data is crucial for this customer retention example to land well with recipients. Asking inactive customers to refer your product will feel irrelevant at best and tone-deaf at worst. Target only actively engaged people with referral-request retention emails.
Retention example #7: The feedback request email
A strong relationship is a two-way street. When you ask customers for input, they feel more connected to your brand, and you gain valuable insight.
Ritual, a vitamin subscription service, gets a few key things right in this customer retention email example. They affirm the existing relationship first to establish trust. Then, they make their request in appreciative language so the customer knows their opinion is valued. Finally, they set expectations so people know they won’t be sucked into something time-consuming.
Customer retention pro tip: NPS surveys are a common tactic for soliciting customer feedback, and they’re a perfect way to drive retention. The key is a personalized follow-up. If someone gives you a high rating, trigger a retention email to build on their loyalty—like a product review or referral request. People who give a low rating might be at risk for churn; that’s your cue to respond with an offer of personalized customer service.
Build lasting relationships with retention emails
When you invest in your customers’ success, you are investing in your business’s long-term growth and sustainability. Happy customers stick around longer, so it’s important to cultivate strong relationships with them!
These customer retention examples should inspire you to start honing your own retention strategy. Want to go even deeper? Get our retention recipes to learn tips and tactics for increasing loyalty at four key lifecycle moments.