🍯 Stop Overcomplicating Retention for Black Friday

Hello You DTC Savage,

Let’s talk about BFCM. With everyone scrambling to make noise, the instinct might be to get fancier, more complex, or add more “stuff” to your strategy. Here’s the real deal: growth isn’t about piling on complexity. The biggest brands know this—growing doesn’t mean getting more complicated. It means hammering the fundamentals even harder.

1. Master the Fundamentals, Don’t Complicate Them

Are you segmenting properly? Are you really digging into your segments, understanding what drives buyers vs. non-buyers, subscribers vs. churned subscribers? At what points are you losing people? For subscriptions, drop-offs often happen at Month 1 and Month 3. For non-subscription brands, the big drop typically hits after Month 2 or 3. Knowing when people disengage is half the battle.

Your strategy shouldn’t get more complicated—it should get sharper. This Q4, make sure your fundamentals are on point:

• Segment intentionally. Are you actually learning anything from your segments?

• Create tests that yield actionable, repeatable insights. Stop testing meaningless subject lines.

• Test your frequency. Find the sweet spot that keeps customers coming back without exploding your unsub rates.

• Track core business KPIs (not just email-attributed revenue).

• Create convertible designs that speaks directly to where customers are in their journey, and is designed to drive clicks.

2. Understand Your Customers’ Behavior Inside and Out

What makes them pause? What pulls them in? Look at the patterns: what are they clicking on, what’s driving repeat purchases, and where are they dropping off? This level of understanding allows you to meet them exactly where they are with messaging that resonates.

Too many of you just batch and blast, then ignore the data. Look at your cohorts and understand what is working for each of them. You HAVE the data right in front of you.

3. Strike a Balance Between Personalization and Relevance

There’s a fine line between being personal and coming on too strong. Stay relevant without being invasive. One-size-fits-all is noise, and hyper-specific can feel intrusive. Find that middle ground where your messaging feels like a conversation, not a sales pitch. People want brands to be humanized.

4. Differentiate Your Messaging for Buyers vs. Non-Buyers

Treat buyers and non-buyers differently-at a BARE minimum. They’re on different journeys with your brand:

For Buyers:

• Reinforce their choice. Highlight what brought them to you in the first place.

• Deepen the relationship with offers they actually care about.

• Understand their buying behavior and show them the right products at the right time.

For Non-Buyers:

• Address their hesitations. Show them why you’re worth it and why they should take that first step.

• Make it clear you’re the best option for them, removing any doubts.

• Test all kinds of social proof, risk reversals, urgency & whatever works for your brand.

5. Don’t Just Sell and Forget

After Q4, keep your relationship with customers alive. Follow up with value-driven content or exclusive offers to keep them engaged. Invite them into loyalty programs, offer early access to new products, and keep adding value long after the holiday rush is over.

It’s also important to understand that the BFCM buyer is usually very different than the BAU buyer. Keep that in mind for future sales (they can be great to tap into for future gifting periods).

Key Takeaway: This BFCM, go back to basics. Nail the fundamentals of retention, keep testing for insights, and get to know your customers better than ever. Cut through the noise by doubling down on what works—not by overcomplicating your strategy.

P.S. Have questions on hammering your retention fundamentals? Hit reply and let’s talk.

Lastly, I would love to chat with you on LinkedIn if we aren’t already connected.

Talk soon,
Feras