CRM & Customer Lifecycle Strategy
Designing what you say to a customer after they buy, so retention and expansion get the same attention as acquisition normally does.
Overview
Companies spend heavily to win a customer and then send them almost nothing. The lifecycle after purchase is where the margin is, and it is usually handled by whichever automation someone set up two years ago.
We map the lifecycle stages, find where customers go quiet or leave, and design the communications and interventions that change those moments. Retention arithmetic tends to beat acquisition arithmetic comfortably.
Who this is for
- Subscription and repeat purchase businesses with a churn problem
- Companies whose CRM holds data nobody acts on
- Teams where post-sale communication is entirely reactive
How we approach crm & customer lifecycle strategy
The specific pieces of work a typical engagement covers. Scope is agreed up front — nothing here is a surprise line item later.
Lifecycle stage design
The stages a customer actually passes through, with the behaviour that signals a move between them.
Churn analysis
Who leaves, when, and what they did in the weeks before. The warning signs are usually present and usually unmonitored.
Onboarding programme
The first thirty days decide a disproportionate share of lifetime value, and are the cheapest place to intervene.
Retention and win-back
Triggered interventions at the moments that predict churn, plus a win-back path for the ones who go anyway.
Expansion and cross-sell
What to offer, to whom, and when, based on usage rather than on the calendar.
Data and segmentation model
The fields and events you need to make any of this possible. Frequently the real blocker, and worth fixing first.
From first call to measured result
The same sequence every time, so you always know what happens next.
Analyse
Cohort and churn analysis on your existing customer data to find where and when people are actually lost.
Design
Lifecycle stages, triggers and the communications for each, with the data requirements listed against every one.
Build
Implement in your CRM or automation platform, starting with onboarding because it is the highest return and the simplest.
Optimise
Test messages and timing against retention, with a holdout group so you can prove the programme is doing something.
Outcomes, not deliverables
A pile of artefacts isn't progress. These are the changes the work is meant to produce — and what we report against.
Retention that compounds
A few points of churn reduction changes the growth model more than the same effort spent on acquisition.
Warnings before the loss
Behavioural triggers give you a window to intervene while the customer is still reachable.
Revenue from existing customers
Expansion offers timed to usage convert far better than campaigns timed to your quarter end.
A CRM that earns its licence
The data you already collect finally doing something other than sitting in a report.
Common questions about CRM & Customer Lifecycle Strategy
The things people ask before they get in touch. If yours is not here, ask us directly.
Which CRM platforms do you work with?
The common ones, including HubSpot, Salesforce, Klaviyo and Braze. The strategy work is platform independent; we adapt the build to what you already run rather than recommending a migration you did not ask for.
How much data do we need before this is possible?
Enough to see cohorts, so roughly a year of customer history or a few hundred churned customers. With less, we start from qualitative research and best practice and improve as data accumulates.
How long before retention improves?
Onboarding changes show up within a quarter. Full lifecycle effects take two or three quarters to read properly, because you are waiting for cohorts to mature.
Do you write the emails as well?
Yes, if you want. Some clients take the strategy and triggers and write in house, which works well when they have a strong voice already.
Thinking about CRM & Customer Lifecycle Strategy?
Tell us what you are trying to change. If we are not the right fit we will say so, and point you somewhere better.
Looking at the wider picture?
CRM & Customer Lifecycle Strategy usually sits alongside other work in Strategy & Consulting. Browse the full area to see what it connects to.