This video covers
Why activation is the most under-invested area in retention — and why that's a mistake
The three goals of good activation: frequency, correct use, and multiple use cases
Why email alone isn't enough, and how to take an omnichannel approach to activation
The biggest problem in activation
Activation is probably the most under-invested step in retention — and the core reason is that there are no good leading indicators to measure it.
In a SaaS product, you can track how often someone logs in and how far they get through onboarding. In ecommerce, the product exists in the physical world. You can't see whether a customer is actually using what they bought. The only signal you have is whether they buy again — and by the time you find out they didn't, it's too late to do anything about it.
Take the classic supplements example: a customer buys, they're excited, they start using the product — and then gradually they forget, stop using it, and never come back. The reason they didn't return wasn't acquisition or logistics. It was activation.
The three goals of good activation
Good activation as part of your retention strategy comes down to three things:
Frequent use — if customers use your product every day, it becomes part of their routine. The more embedded it is, the harder it is to stop.
Correct use — customers need to use your product the right way to get the benefits you promised. If they don't get the benefits, they won't come back.
Multiple use cases — where your product has more than one way to be used, customers who discover all of them get more value and have a higher likelihood of returning.
All three come down to two things: timing and education. You need to reach your customer with the right message at the right moment — and what that looks like differs from person to person. Customer research matters here: different customer segments may need to use your product at different frequencies, in different ways, or for different reasons.
Why email alone isn't enough
Email is important — but you can't guarantee that the right person reads it at the right time. Sending an onboarding sequence is a good start, but it's not enough on its own to ensure activation, especially for customers who aren't inbox-driven.
Activation is too important to leave to chance. The answer is an omnichannel approach.
Omnichannel activation: what it looks like
1. The unboxing experience
Most brands underinvest here. The moment a customer opens your package is one of the highest-attention moments in the entire customer journey — they're excited, curious, engaged. Use that moment to educate them on how and when to best use your product. A well-designed unboxing insert or card can do a lot of activation work before the first email even lands.
2. Communities and challenges
Invite customers to join a community — a challenge to use your product daily, a group where people share experiences and results. Not every customer will join, but those who do will have significantly better activation than those who don't. It keeps your brand top of mind and builds habitual use through social reinforcement.
3. Social ads for education
This is one of the most underutilised activation levers in ecommerce. Run retargeting ads on Meta, TikTok, or YouTube that target recent buyers — not to upsell them, but to educate them. A short video from a founder or team member reminding customers to use the product, explaining why it works, and reinforcing the benefits they were promised does three things at once: it activates, it builds brand affinity, and it keeps you present during the critical early weeks after purchase.
💡 The key insight here is that the content of these ads isn't promotional — it's educational. You're talking to existing customers, not trying to acquire new ones. The message is: "Here's how to get the most out of what you already bought."
The bottom line
Activation is the most under-invested area in retention marketing. Most brands know they should be doing more of it but don't have a clear playbook. The playbook is: identify the three activation goals for your product, build education around them, and deliver that education across multiple touchpoints — not just email.
If you're experimenting with any of these approaches, we'd love to hear how it's going.
All parts of this series: