What you will be able to do
- Estimate customer lifetime value and acquisition cost for your business, and use them to decide what a returning customer is worth
- Design a first-30-day onboarding plan built around one clear first-value milestone
- Calculate churn, retention and repeat purchase rates correctly, and build and read a monthly cohort table
- Collect feedback with short surveys and tagged support conversations, and set response targets, a tone guide and saved replies for support
- Run simple loyalty, referral and win-back programmes and a fair cancellation flow within consent rules, and review them in one monthly meeting
Who it is for
- Owners and managers of small shops, studios, service firms and online stores who want more repeat customers
- Founders of small subscription or membership businesses who need to understand and reduce churn
- Marketing, customer service or operations staff asked to “improve retention” without a dedicated analyst
Before you start
- A business, side business or team with at least a few months of customer or order history
- A spreadsheet tool; no specialist software is needed
Curriculum
4 modules · 12 lessons · 4h 5m
Module 1Why Retention Matters3 lessons · 1h
Put a number on what a returning customer is worth, compare it with what a new one costs, and design the first 30 days so that more new customers stay.
- Customer lifetime value in plain numbersEstimate what an average customer is worth over their whole relationship with you, using numbers you already have.20 min · free preview · worked example · exercise
- Retention versus acquisition: the arithmeticCalculate what a new customer costs, how long it takes to earn that cost back and why a leaky customer base makes growth harder.18 min · worked example · exercise
- Onboarding: the first 30 daysPlan the first month of a new customer relationship around one clear first-value milestone, with a few well-timed messages and check-ins.22 min · worked example · exercise
- Module quiz4 questions with explanations
Module 2Measuring and Listening3 lessons · 1h 7m
Calculate churn, retention and repeat purchase rates correctly, track customers in cohort tables, and collect feedback that explains the numbers.
- Churn, retention and repeat purchase ratesUse the correct formulas for the three core retention metrics and decide which ones fit your business model.22 min · worked example · exercise
- Building and reading a cohort tableGroup customers by the month they first bought and track what share are still active, so you can see whether retention is really improving.25 min · worked example · exercise
- Feedback surveys, NPS and their limitsAsk short, well-timed questions, understand what Net Promoter Score does and does not tell you, and turn answers into themes you can act on.20 min · worked example · exercise
- Module quiz4 questions with explanations
Module 3Support and Loyalty3 lessons · 1h
Set response targets you can meet, write replies that build trust, use support conversations as retention data, and design simple, ethical loyalty and referral programmes.
- Support basics: response targets, tone and macrosSet response targets you can meet, write replies in a tone that builds trust, and use saved replies to stay fast without sounding robotic.22 min · worked example · exercise
- Support tickets as retention dataTag support conversations consistently so that recurring problems surface early and you can link them to customers who leave.18 min · worked example · exercise
- Simple, ethical loyalty and referral programmesDesign rewards that encourage the behaviour you want, with clear terms, honest disclosure and costs you can afford.20 min · worked example · exercise
- Module quiz4 questions with explanations
Module 4Cancellations, Win-Backs and the Monthly Review3 lessons · 58 min
Let customers leave fairly, invite lapsed customers back within consent rules, and bring every retention number and action together in one monthly meeting.
- Fair subscription cancellation flowsMake cancelling as easy as signing up, offer one genuine alternative without pressure and learn from every exit, after checking the rules where your customers live.20 min · worked example · exercise
- Win-back campaigns that respect consentIdentify lapsed customers, contact the right ones with a relevant reason to return, and stay within marketing and privacy rules.20 min · worked example · exercise
- Building a monthly retention reviewBring retention numbers, customer feedback and actions together in a one-hour monthly meeting with clear owners and a simple experiment log.18 min · worked example · exercise
- Module quiz4 questions with explanations
