Fractional retention team for subscription & CPG brands
We engineer lifetime value for CPG & subscription brands.
Optimail is the senior retention team your brand doesn't have in-house. We build the offer, onboarding and retention systems that turn first orders into fourth orders, and we measure our work in LTV, not email attributed revenue.
Our clients
Subscription and CPG brands we've built retention programs for.
You paid to acquire them. Most never place a second order, let alone their third or fourth order.
For most subscription brands, the first order loses money. The profit comes on orders two, three and four, and that is where most customers leave.
In almost every retention curve we look at, the steepest drop happens before month four.
The usual dashboards rarely show it. Attributed email revenue climbs, meanwhile subscription churn goes up, which results in less and less people paying you each month.
Where subscribers leave
Typical curve · illustrativeIf growth feels like a cash problem, it is usually a retention problem.
What we believe
-
LTV is the only scoreboard.
We judge our work by LTV, LTV:CAC and payback period. Opens, clicks and Klaviyo-attributed revenue are signals at best.
-
The first 90, more specifically the first 30 days decide everything.
A customer who reaches their fourth order is far more likely to stay for the year. Everything we build is aimed at getting them there.
-
Retention starts before checkout.
Your offer, product page and ad angle decide who subscribes and why. Better emails can't fix a weak offer.
-
Subscribers should know they are subscribed.
We don't build on accidental renewals or hidden billing. We give people a reason to stay that they would choose again.
-
Diagnose before prescribing.
We start with your Shopify cohorts, your subscription data and your customers' own words, then recommend the few changes worth the most money.
A senior retention team, without the hiring
Hiring a Head of Retention, a lifecycle strategist, a copywriter, a designer and a technician takes months and a six-figure payroll. Optimail gives you that team on a fractional basis. We sit inside your Slack, join your planning calls, and own retention as a business outcome, not a list of deliverables.
You get one accountable team that answers for subscriber lifetime value, working across the offer, the post-purchase experience and every retention channel.
Hiring in-house
- Head of Retention
- Lifecycle strategist
- Copywriter
- Designer
- Technician
Optimail, fractional
- Inside your Slack
- On your planning calls
- Offer
- Post-purchase
- Every retention channel
The CPG Retention System
One system built for subscription CPG, adapted to your brand. It has three stages, and each one is tied to a number you can check yourself.
1. Subscribe
- Subscription take rate
If most first orders are one-time purchases, no retention program can fix the economics.
We rebuild the offer so subscribing is the obvious choice: subscription-first product pages, plans where the quantity matches how fast the product is used, and positioning built around the result the customer wants rather than a discount. Then we add upgrade points at checkout, on the thank-you page and in the first post-purchase messages.
Book a Free Retention Audit
2. Onboard: day 0 to day 30
- 30-day repurchase rate
- 30-day LTV
- Subscription churn
From the moment someone orders, the goal is to make the product part of their routine before the first rebill.
That means founder-led messages before delivery, a clear timeline of what to expect and when, short how-to content after delivery, habit-forming content and gamification, and check-ins that catch doubts early. We ask why each customer bought, then everything they receive around that reason.
Book a Free Retention Audit
3. Retain: day 30 to 90 and beyond
- 90-day LTV
- 12-month LTV
Most churn happens before the fourth order, so the goal is to get every subscriber past month 4.
That means one-click reorders, billing reminders built around what's in the next box, rewards in early shipments, upgrades to longer plans, and failed-payment recovery. The cancel flow in the subscription portal and win-back respond to why each customer leaves and how much they've spent. One-time buyers get weekly campaigns that turn them into subscribers.
Book a Free Retention AuditRetention is a whole-company job
Churn often starts outside email.
As your fractional retention team we work with product, customer experience, paid media and finance, and every recommendation we bring is backed by your own data.
We also train your in-house team, so the way you think about retention stays in your company after the work is done.
- Product
- Customer experience
- Paid media
- Finance
- Your in-house team
-
A confusing plan pickerProduct page & offer
-
An unboxing that doesn't explain the productPost-purchase experience
-
An unanswered support ticket in week oneCustomer experience
-
An ad that promises more than the product deliversPaid media
Stuff we've shipped
What our clients are saying
True Sea Moss has been working with Optimail for over a year, and it has truly been one of our best partnerships. Their attention to detail, fresh ideas, and proactive approach were exactly what we needed. The ability to meet us halfway made a real difference, helping us close key gaps along the way. Working with Optimail Team has been an absolute game-changer and we're keep going this way!
Leila AbbasovaBrand & Product Marketing Lead, True Sea Moss
Working with Optimail has been a great experience. The results have clearly improved, and their support has freed us up to focus more on branding and positioning rather than getting lost in the details. The whole process feels much smoother and more effective.
Salvatore NotaroFounder, Vivo Life
Filip and his team did a great job optimizing our Klayvio flows for my 20M/yr wellness company. We were looking to push Shopify harder. The lifecycle flows were essential to taking the next step to 100M/yr
Michael AndrewsFounder, Plus+Ultra
We’ve really appreciated the collaborative approach and fresh perspective the team has brought to our work together. They’ve introduced new ideas across our campaigns and supported us in building a smoother onboarding experience for our subscribers — something that’s especially valuable for us as a subscription-focused brand.
Regina RedinaCreative Team Lead, Celtara
FAQ
Still unsure if we're the right fit? The Retention Audit is the fastest way to find out.
Book a Free Retention AuditWhat does a fractional retention team do?
We do the work an in-house retention lead and their team would do: strategy, offer design, onboarding, lifecycle/email marketing, subscription settings, analytics and testing. You get senior people on retention every week without the cost and time of hiring them.
How is this different from hiring an email agency?
An email agency is measured on campaigns sent and attributed revenue. We are measured on how long your subscribers stay and how much they spend with your brand. Email and SMS are two of the many tools we use, alongside popups, direct mail, your subscription portal, Typeform and much more.
Do we still need an email agency if we decide to work with you?
No. We cover email marketing entirely. Sending emails will still be a big part of our work, but it's only one piece of what we deliver. We replace your email agency and add significant value across your entire retention program.
But why would you be different? Every email agency these days claims they’re a retention agency.
Because we were trained and certified by Thomas Lalas, the author of Retention Economics (you should read the book if you still haven’t!). We’re one of the only two companies in the world trained by him and we have already successfully deployed his systems across many of our own clients.
What if we already have an inhouse email team?
Not a problem - we work alongside them. They handle execution under our strategic direction, and because there's less execution on our side, our fee comes down accordingly. There will be a lot of work outside email anyway.
Do you only work with subscription brands?
Preferably, because that’s when our frameworks work the best. But we will also work with any type of CPG brand. The important thing is that the product is replenishable, because otherwise retention doesn’t make sense.
What’s the minimum brand size you work with?
The service we provide is typically not the biggest ROI for brands doing less than $200k MRR. Our ideal client is doing at least $500k MRR.
How soon will we see results?
Leading indicators such as 30-day repurchase rate show up within the first 60 days of a new cohort. Confirming a change in LTV takes at least 3 months of cohort data. We show you the leading indicators every month while the longer numbers mature.
What access do you need?
Shopify, your subscription platform and Klaviyo to start. Analytics tools help, but aren't required, because we have our own.
How do we start?
With a Retention Audit. It shows where subscribers are leaving and what fixing it is worth, before you commit to anything ongoing.
Find out what churn is costing you.
In the Retention Audit we review your cohorts, your offer and your post-purchase experience, then show you where subscribers are leaving and what it is worth to fix.
Book Your Free Retention Audit