Dose #133: Skincare Subscription Insights

Matt here with your weekly Subscription Prescription 💊

Geologie is one of the best skincare brands out there, and once you hear our interview with their Head of Growth, you’ll learn that two of the biggest reasons are product quality and how they leverage data. In this week’s dose we share some of those interview insights, by getting into personalization, onboarding + education, and segmentation.

This week’s dose is also a full interview with Stephen Racano from Geologie. Tune in on your favorite platform.

Crafting Loyalty and Growth with Subscription Insights from Geologie

Hi there! It’s Matt Holman, back with another dose of Subscription Prescription. This week, I’m sharing insights inspired by a conversation with Stephen Racano, head of growth at Geologie, a subscription-first skincare brand that’s nailing the art of creating loyal, satisfied customers.

Whether you’re growing your subscription business or refining retention strategies, this issue is packed with lessons you can apply today. Let’s dive in!

1. Personalization Isn’t Just a Buzzword – It’s a Habit Builder

The skincare world is saturated, which makes personalization a powerful differentiator. Geologie leans on a diagnostic quiz to help customers identify exactly what products they need. But personalization goes beyond selling a “custom” routine—it’s about fostering habits.

For subscription businesses, habitual use equals retention. When customers incorporate your product into their daily lives, they’re more likely to stay subscribed. Think about your own product: are you solving specific problems and making it easy for customers to build a routine around your solution?

What additional ways can you lean into product adoption? Product inserts, mailers, email + SMS, content, retargeting ads… there are a lot of ways you can get reminders out there for your product.

2. Onboarding and Education are Everything

Customer education isn’t a one-time deal—it’s a journey. Geologie uses their onboarding flows to teach subscribers how to use their personalized products effectively, ensuring they see results and feel confident in their purchase.

The lesson here? Over-communicate value at every stage of the funnel. Use onboarding emails, product tutorials, or even free trials to help customers feel empowered. If they know how to use your product and understand its benefits, they’re more likely to stick around—and even expand their purchase to other offerings.

Many brands are scared to email their customers, and when you have few subscribers it feels important to hold on as tightly as you can. But as you learn more about what’s resonating with subscribers, and what isn’t working for them at times, then you can lean harder into what works and educate them to prevent those friction points.

You’re much better off onboarding effectively and educating them to create habits and make your product a part of their daily lives.

3. Analytics: The Secret Weapon You’re Underusing

Stephen’s background in analytics shines through in how Geologie approaches growth. They analyze cohorts to understand who their most profitable customers are and use tools like Google BigQuery and Littledata to optimize acquisition. By tracking lifetime value (LTV) and churn metrics, they fine-tune their approach to bring in the right customers.

Data doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Start simple: track key metrics like LTV-to-CAC (customer acquisition cost) ratio, churn, and average order value (AOV). Instead of just thinking about people that churn versus people that stay, start paying attention to the more valuable customers that stay versus the average.

If you can be more effective at acquiring more profitable customers, you’ll have better margins to fuel growth for your business.

A Final Thought: Loyalty Requires More Than Discounts

Customers are increasingly subscription-averse. The average person already has a handful of subscriptions, so yours needs to stand out. Geologie does this by delivering quality products and rewarding loyalty—not just with discounts, but with meaningful perks like free gifts or exclusive offers.

Ask yourself: are you giving your subscribers a reason to stay beyond the product? Surprise-and-delight tactics and loyalty rewards can go a long way in turning subscribers into long-term advocates.

While discounts are a great and often necessary lever, look for more creative ways to make your subscription engaging. It will help with acquisition AND retention.

That’s it for this week’s dose! Skincare is a tough industry, so I hope this week’s info is helpful. See you next week with Dose #134.

 - Matt Holman 🩺

The Subscription Doc