Dose #163: The Death of Growth-at-All-Costs

Why Retention Is the New Acquisition

Matt here with your weekly Subscription Prescription 💊

Retention isn’t just about keeping people. It can also be a way to increase your revenue. This week we dive into getting more revenue from retention, winning back past subscribers, and leaning into personalization.

This week’s dose is also an interview with Lina Tonk, the CMO of Recurly. We sat down at SubSummit, and even with some of the recording issues, it’s an incredible interview. Listen to it on your favorite platform:

💊 Retention Isn't Just a Strategy: It's the Future

I sat down with Recurly's CMO Lena Tonk at SubSummit, and we got into some major themes I've been seeing play out across subscription brands, especially the shift from chasing acquisition to doubling down on retention. Here's what's top of mind for me coming out of that conversation.

1. Retention is the new growth engine

For years, the conversation has been dominated by acquisition: CAC, paid channels, influencer spend. But now we're seeing a shift. Subscriber acquisition is slowing, and the brands that are winning are the ones putting serious energy behind retention.

This isn't just about keeping churn low. It's about creating systems and experiences that make your subscribers feel seen, valued, and in control. Retention is the layer where brand loyalty lives, and it's where LTV multiplies. When you start looking at your current subscribers as the biggest lever for growth, everything changes.

The math is compelling: increasing retention by just 5% can increase profits by 25% to 50%. Instead of constantly hunting for new customers, you're nurturing the ones you already have and creating advocates who refer friends, upgrade to premium tiers, and stick around for years instead of months.

2. Cancellation doesn't equal goodbye

Here's a mistake I see way too many brands make: assuming that when someone cancels, they're gone forever. In reality, cancellation is often just a pause. The customer still likes the brand. They might just have too much product, or their needs have shifted temporarily.

What matters most is the experience they have during cancellation. If that experience is full of friction, they'll remember the pain and avoid you in the future. But if you make it easy and give them options to pause for a week, a month, or even a year, then you're keeping the door open. You're creating a long-term customer journey that includes natural ebbs and flows.

Smart brands are building "pause" options into their cancellation flows and creating comeback sequences that reach out when pause periods end. The data backs this up: brands that implement win-back campaigns see 20-30% of cancelled subscribers return within 12 months.

3. Personalization and tech aren't just buzzwords

We're in a moment where personalization isn't a nice-to-have. It's table stakes. But personalization doesn't just mean product recommendations. It means giving subscribers the ability to manage their subscription the way they want. It means understanding usage behavior and adjusting frequency or engagement accordingly.

The tech is finally catching up to the vision. AI tools are starting to predict churn with remarkable accuracy and surface the right offers at the right time. Whether it's through lifecycle emails, portal controls, SMS, or AI-driven insights, the brands that win are the ones using their tools to listen and adapt to individual customer needs.

The retention revolution is here

If you're still putting all your resources into acquisition and ignoring retention, it's time to rebalance. The future of subscriptions is being built right now by brands that know how to listen to their customers, personalize experiences, and make leaving feel like just another step in the journey back.

This isn't just about surviving current market conditions. It's about building the kind of customer relationships that create lasting competitive advantages.

Until next Tuesday, that’s your Subscription Prescription. 💊

 - Matt Holman 🩺

The Subscription Doc