At Manchester Digital, we like to interview our members to find out a bit more about what they do and their work in the Greater Manchester digital and technology sphere. This week we're speaking with Lee Smorthit, Retention Strategy Lead at Bring Digital.
Customer retention is a critical component of business success. Can you elaborate on the financial implications of customer retention versus acquisition and how Bring Digital helps businesses optimise their customer lifetime value (CLTV)?
The bottom line is that retaining customers is more cost-effective than acquiring new ones. It can be 5-7 times less expensive to maintain existing relationships, especially as CPC costs continue to rise. Loyal customers tend to spend more over time, increasing their lifetime value (CLTV).
By increasing repeat purchases at higher AOVs, you can see improved profitability compared to relying solely on new customer acquisition. A lot of the businesses we’re speaking to right now are seeing that as their biggest opportunity in marketing.
At Bring, we optimise CLTV through personalised retention strategies across email, SMS, and other channels to ensure consistent engagement and purchase continuity. We leverage segmentation and data-driven insights to target high-value customers, driving long-term profitability.
Bring Digital specialises in email and SMS retention strategies. How do you balance personalisation and automation to deliver effective campaigns that drive customer engagement and loyalty?
We balance personalisation and automation with tools like Klaviyo and Attentive, which allow us to automate behaviour-triggered campaigns such as abandoned cart reminders and post-purchase follow-ups.
With dynamic audience segmentation based on purchase history, engagement, and preferences, we can deliver highly relevant, customised messages. This allows us to enhance engagement while maintaining scalability.
While seasonal or promotional campaigns can generate immediate engagement, our focus is on the long term. Good retention marketing is about developing strong relationships with your users, so trust and loyalty—which take time to build—are the priority. Personalised messaging reflects individual customer needs and behaviours, driving deeper loyalty.
How does Bring Digital measure the impact of retention campaigns? Can you share specific metrics and KPIs that you use to demonstrate ROI to clients?
To be honest, our metrics depend on a client’s business objectives. We’ll work to define them through workshops with the client to align expectations on both sides. Our key metrics include conversions (assisted or actual), repeat purchase rates, and average order value (AOV). Email and SMS-specific metrics like open rates, click-through rates (CTR), and conversion rates are also tracked to evaluate campaign effectiveness.
One tactic we promote is A/B testing. In my experience, it’s the very best way to refine flows and maximise returns. Ultimately, success is measured by improvements in CLTV and reductions in churn, so we also track deliverability metrics. Campaign visibility is crucial for engagement: if your emails or SMS messages aren’t reaching your customers in the first place, you can’t possibly expect a return.
Can you discuss a successful case study where Bring Digital has helped an ecommerce client significantly improve customer retention rates and revenue?
One standout case involved an ecommerce coffee brand with high churn due to customers joining email lists via in-store WiFi logins. These users had low engagement as their opt-in was driven by WiFi access, not genuine interest.
We actually implemented a strategy recently that included a segmented welcome series for store visitors, separate from other flows. By targeting these users with relevant store offers, we improved engagement and reduced unsubscribe rates, which in turn boosted deliverability. This segmentation also helped convert more store users into active ecommerce customers.
How does Bring Digital leverage the power of data and analytics to identify customer segments and tailor retention strategies accordingly?
Data is central to our retention strategies. We use advanced analytics to segment customers based on purchase history, frequency, lifetime value, and behavioural engagement.
For more mature clients, we recommend Klaviyo CDP, which offers deeper insights like funnel behaviour, Recency/Frequency/Monetary (RFM) reports, and predictive CLTV models. These insights enable us to tailor retention strategies for each segment, whether that involves personalised promotions, win-back emails for dormant customers, or loyalty rewards for top-tier clients.
We’re lucky to have some real data geniuses working with us at Bring so we can deliver best-in-class campaigns backed by watertight analytics.
More information on Bring’s retention services here.
Thank you Lee!
Learn more about Bring Digital here.
