maku
Retention

65 % of your customers never come back.
We change that.

After the purchase, communication falls silent. No follow-up, no aftercare, no reason to return.

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The problem

The transaction is done — then silence. The patterns are strikingly similar.

«Our customers will come back.
Won't they?»

– The most expensive assumption in B2C.

Core problem

Silence after the sale.

No thank-you message, no aftercare, no guidance. The customer feels served, not accompanied. And never comes back.

No repeat-purchase system.

When customers return, it's luck — not strategy. Triggers and occasions are missing.

Newsletter instead of relationship.

A newsletter is a channel. Retention is a system. The two often get confused.

No measurable CLV.

What's a regular customer worth? Without that number, you have no basis for investing.

The approach

How maku systematises retention

We work along the right loop of the Human Growth Cycle™ — phases 5 to 8: arrival, impact, connection, advocacy. These are the phases most companies leave undesigned.

Design post-purchase systematically

Design the relationship after the sale as systematically as the path to the sale. With automated journeys that feel personal.

Scale empathy

With a system that scales empathy. The right touchpoint at the right time — based on individual behaviour, not mass messaging.

Mehr zum Human Growth Cycle™
Typical path

The typical path in
retention optimisation.

Three steps – depending on how clear the picture after the purchase already is. You step in where your current question sits.

Entry

Revenue Scan

For a first reading when it's unclear how big the post-purchase leak actually is. We locate the most likely retention gap and show whether a deeper audit will pay off.

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Depth

Retention Audit

For the diagnosis of repeat-purchase, CLV, reactivation, data quality and post-purchase gaps. With a recommendation for the first sensible piece of system to build.

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Build

Retention Engine

For the implementation: CRM foundation, post-purchase journeys, reactivation, loyalty and reporting. The system that turns buyers into long-term customers.

When an audit fits

You'll recognise these patterns.

Retention problems announce themselves quietly. If you recognise several of these patterns, the silence after the purchase is typically more expensive than it looks.

  • Repeat-rate is gut feel, no clear picture from data.
  • It goes quiet after the purchase – the team breaks contact unconsciously.
  • There are campaigns, but no real post-purchase system.
  • The newsletter exists, but the relationship doesn't.
  • CLV is unclear or not actively steered.
  • Reactivation is too random – works sometimes, sometimes not.
Scope

What's included

From CRM setup to automated repeat-purchase strategy.

Foundation

CRM foundation and data model

All customer data in one place. Complete, current, usable.

Automation

Post-purchase journeys

Aftercare, follow-up, reminders — personal but scalable.

Reactivation campaigns

Inactive customers systematically won back. Not through discounts — through relevance.

Interval-based communication

The right touchpoint at the right time. Based on treatment cycles, purchase intervals or individual triggers.

CLV tracking

Customer Lifetime Value as a steering metric. Visible, measurable, optimisable.

Results

What it does
in practice.

At Smoothline, maku systematised the entire post-purchase journey — with measurable results.

Happy patient after an aesthetic treatment
Aesthetic medicine — Smoothline AG ~100 %

Follow-up rate reached

Phases 5–7 were completely ungestaltet. Today every patient is accompanied systematically.

Read the full story →
DERTOUR Suisse — couple relaxing at a tropical resort
Travel — DERTOUR Suisse +14.7 %

Active customer base grew

Web-lead processing went from manual to 100 % automated. The team focuses on advice.

Read the full story →
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FAQ

Frequently asked questions about customer retention.

01 We already have a newsletter. Isn't that enough? +

A newsletter is a channel. Retention is a system. The difference: a system reacts to individual behaviour — the right touchpoint at the right time. A newsletter sends the same thing to everyone.

02 Does this work without a CRM? +

Hard. The CRM is the data foundation for everything that follows. But we also help with CRM setup — that's part of what we do.

03 How long until retention pays off? +

First results after 4–8 weeks. Full impact on customer lifetime value becomes visible after 6–12 months.

04 Can we do retention without conversion? +

Yes. Many clients start exactly here — because the gap after the sale is biggest.

Next step

What happens
after your customer buys?

Let's find out together.

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