The Retention Addiction Trap
đ€ł Retention Canât Save You From Bad Acquisition, Google Ads Match Type Performance Study, and more!
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In this newsletter, youâll find:
đ§ The Retention Addiction Trap
đ Google Ads Match Type Performance Study
đ Ad of the Day
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đ§ The Retention Addiction Trap
When acquisition stumbles, most DTC brands reach for the easiest lever: email and SMS.
âLetâs hit the listâ becomes the default fix. But every desperate revenue push carries a downstream cost, one you donât notice until your LTV curve collapses.
Letâs break the addiction before it turns chronic.
â ïž The Death Spiral Starts with One Promo
Hereâs how the spiral unfolds:
Acquisition tanks â you trigger a sitewide promo
Everyone buys at once â repeat purchase cycle delays 60â90 days
Your next retention campaign underperforms â panic again
Another promo â deeper discount needed to activate the same base
Retention revenue collapses â leadership demands more
Congratulations: youâre in Reactive Mode
Now youâre stuck chasing artificial revenue highs with decaying impact. Your best customers start stockpiling. Your future cohorts grow unresponsive.
𧟠The 3-Promo Rule (And Why It Matters)
If youâve launched 3 revenue-based promos in 45 days, youâre in trouble.
Hereâs what this usually means:
Churn risk has increased: repeaters no longer follow natural repurchase windows
Open rates drop: youâve numbed attention with urgency overload
Cash flow peaks but LTV flattens: front-loaded orders cannibalize future revenue
This rule is a symptom diagnosis. Itâs your internal fire alarm. Ignore it, and youâre papering over a failing growth system.
đŻ What Retention Should Be Doing
Retention isnât your damage control team. Itâs your demand pacing engine. Done right, it should:
Extend customer value over natural usage cycles
Match SKU timing to consumption behavior
Support acquisition by warming cohorts into habit loops
Launch incentives strategically around cash gaps, not stress peaks
And above all, retention should be able to say no when acquisition panics.
đ ïž How to Escape the Loop
Instead of reaching for a promo, ask:
Whatâs really behind the acquisition drop? (creative fatigue? CPM surge? targeting shift?)
Has product/offer/channel positioning changed recently?
Are cohorts being set up for natural repurchase, or being forced into artificial urgency?
And if youâre forced to launch a retention play: Make it educational, not discount-based.
Run a story sale instead of a coupon
Launch bundles with logical value, not slashed pricing
Highlight product line discovery, not just urgency
đ Final Reframe
Retention can absolutely be a lever. But if it becomes a crutch, youâll spend more time repairing damage than scaling value. The best brands donât just pace demand, they protect it.
đ Google Ads Match Type Performance Study
A three-month analysis of 16,825 non-brand search campaigns reveals how different Google Ads match types perform across CTR, CPA, and ROAS. Hereâs how exact, broad, and phrase keywords compare when driving conversions and revenue.
The Breakdown:
1. Exact Match â Precision and Best Returns - Exact match keywords delivered an 11.2% CTR, 7.6% conversion rate, and the lowest CPA at $56, making them the most efficient option. Their focused intent generated the highest ROAS at 194%, giving advertisers predictable, high-quality conversions.
2. Broad Match â Bigger Baskets, High Revenue - Broad match accounted for 34% of total revenue while driving 25% of conversions, proving its strength in capturing larger orders. Despite a higher CPA of $71, it maintained a solid 184% ROAS, supported by bigger average checkout values.
3. Phrase Match â Improves With Data - Phrase match showed mixed results in low-data campaigns but excelled under Target ROAS bidding. It contributed 35% of revenue and achieved a 155% ROAS, benefiting from richer conversion data to balance reach and return.
Exact match remains the go-to for efficient acquisition and dependable ROAS, while broad match drives higher-value purchases even at higher CPAs. Phrase match proves valuable for scaling when campaigns accumulate enough data, helping advertisers blend precision, revenue growth, and wider reach.
đ Ad of the Day
What Works and Insights
1. Headline built for instant disbelief - âYou wonât believe itâs not sodaâ challenges the viewer and sparks curiosity within the first second. It turns a simple sparkling water pitch into a mini mystery, encouraging a click or taste test. Lead with a bold tension statement that makes people question what they know and rewards a closer look.
2. Color clash that canât be ignored - The electric pink background against the deep purple can create high-contrast energy that jumps out on any feed. That jolt of color acts like a built-in scroll stopper even before reading a word. Use daring, unexpected color pairings to win the eye battle on crowded social feeds.
3. Seamless purchase cue - âAvailable at Amazonâ with the smile arrow is placed where the eye naturally travels next, closing the gap between intrigue and action. It quietly removes friction and makes buying a single click away. Make the path from curiosity to checkout obvious and effortless without cluttering the main visual.
This ad wins by pairing shock-value design with a frictionless buying signal, proving that bold aesthetics and easy conversion can live side by side.
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