Retention
Most visitors leave and you never hear from them again.
You paid to get them there. Ads, search, social, a mention in someone's newsletter. Then they close the tab. Retention starts with having a way back to them, and most websites don't have one.
Start 14-day install trialWhat retention means for a website
Customer retention is the share of people who visited, bought or read once and then come back. An app has its icon on the home screen. A SaaS product has a login and an email list. Most websites have nothing. The visitor leaves, and the only way to see them again is to pay for them again.
EngageNudge gives a website a direct line back. Visitors opt in to browser notifications once, and you can reach them later when there is a real reason: a new article they would want, an update they asked about, something that is finally ready. Every send is checked per person first, so the line stays open instead of getting worn out. Every campaign also keeps a holdout group, so you can see how many return visits the notification actually created.
Retention is a channel problem first
Most retention advice skips a step. It talks about loyalty and personalization, but you can't personalize a message to someone you have no way to reach. The first question is plain: when this person leaves, what do you have?
Email is the usual answer, and a good one when you get the address. Most visitors never give it. Social reach is rented, and the landlord changes the rules without asking. Retargeting works until you divide the spend by the return visits.
Browser push is the channel nobody has to type anything for. One click on allow. That is why lists can grow quickly, and also why they burn quickly. A list you got cheaply is a list you can lose cheaply.
How EngageNudge helps you keep people
A way back with no per-send cost
You pay for reachable subscribers, not for messages. Reaching the same person again next week doesn't cost more.
Welcome first, then quiet
A welcome notification right after someone subscribes, so they know what they signed up for. After that they hear from you when there is a reason.
Rest instead of lose
People who ignored several messages in a row get a pause instead of more of the same. They stay subscribed, and you stop teaching them to switch you off.
Send to the people it's for
Segments by what people read, how often they visit, country, language and device. The group that cares gets it. The rest don't.
See what it changed
A holdout group on every campaign separates the visits you caused from the people who would have come back anyway.
Know when the list is in trouble
A reputation score with the reasons behind it, and an email to the owner if the site drifts toward at-risk.
A retention setup that holds up
- 01Decide what is worth coming back for. New articles, updates, a weekly pick. If you can't name it, start there.
- 02Ask at the right moment: after someone read or clicked something, not when the page loads.
- 03Send a welcome so people know what they will get and how often.
- 04Cap what one person gets per day and per week, and let quiet people rest.
- 05Judge it by the holdout, not the click rate.
What we won't claim
I don't have a percentage to promise you. Retention depends on what you publish or sell, and anyone quoting a lift before seeing your site is guessing. What you get is the means to measure it yourself, on your own audience, against a group that didn't get the message.
Questions people ask
What is a good customer retention strategy for a website?
Start with a way to reach people after they leave. Then send less than you are tempted to, only to the people it's relevant for, and measure return visits against a group that got nothing. Most strategies fail at the first step, not the last.
Can push notifications improve customer retention?
They can bring back people who would otherwise be gone, because they reach someone without an email address or an app. Whether they improve retention on your site is something to measure, not assume. That is why EngageNudge keeps a holdout group on every campaign.
Is web push or email better for retention?
Email needs an address and competes in a full inbox. Push needs one click and lands on the screen, but it is short and easy to turn off. They work well together. Our guide on web push, email and SMS goes through when to use which.
Will push notifications annoy my visitors?
They will if every message goes to everyone. Daily and weekly limits per person, quiet hours and a pause for people who stopped clicking keep it useful. EngageNudge applies those before each send.
How do I measure retention from notifications?
Compare people who got a notification with a similar group who didn't, and count return visits in both. The difference is what the notification caused. Clicks alone include people who would have come back anyway.
Keep reading
Know when to nudge.
Know when a notification is worth sending.
The useful question is who should not get this one.