Podcast Summary: Special Ops – "Your Retention Sucks! Fix It With Custom Experiences That Skyrocket Your Revenue"

Release Date: March 11, 2025 | Host: Emma Rainville | Guest: Mark Stern, Founder of Custom Box Agency

Introduction

In this episode of Special Ops, host Emma Rainville welcomes Mark Stern, the founder of Custom Box Agency, to discuss innovative strategies for enhancing customer retention through strategic onboarding and custom experience design. Emma sets the stage by posing a critical question: "Is your onboarding process helping you retain customers or driving them away?" (00:02).

The Crucial Role of Onboarding in Customer Retention

Emma dives straight into the heart of the topic by asking Mark why onboarding is pivotal for retaining customers, especially in the direct response and e-commerce sectors where the sales-to-delivery process often halts post-purchase (01:31).

Mark Stern emphasizes, "If you don't have a clear, here's the journey that you're about to go on and let me set you up for success from the get-go," highlighting how a well-structured onboarding process can prevent customer overwhelm and reduce churn (01:53). He explains that without a defined onboarding strategy, customers might either disappear or request refunds due to feeling lost or unsuccessful from the outset.

Mark further elaborates on the benefits: "By doing that, you reduce the overwhelm and get people into momentum and start really incentivizing the behavior," (02:55) illustrating how effective onboarding fosters customer loyalty and continuous engagement.

Mark's Journey: From Corporate America to Custom Box Agency

Emma prompts Mark to share his personal journey, curious about what inspired him to develop Custom Box Agency (03:18).

Mark recounts his transition from a corporate environment to entrepreneurship:

"I was a corporate junkie... I thought I was doing everything right, except in 2012 I was $165,000 in student loan debt... I just wish these people would send me the tools and resources I need and stop making it so hard for me to just get started with your products and services." (03:39)

Frustrated with cumbersome virtual summits and overwhelming content dumps, Mark launched his first summit with a tangible element—a physical publication. This innovative approach not only enhanced user engagement but also organically promoted his program as participants shared their unboxing experiences online (05:06).

He continued refining his model, creating High Ticket Online, where he bundled insights from expert interviews into a physical box, receiving a "60% take rate on the bump," which transformed attendees into brand ambassadors through memorable, shareable experiences (06:55).

Blending Physical and Digital Experiences for Enhanced Onboarding

Emma steers the conversation towards the integration of physical and digital elements in onboarding, seeking Mark's expertise on creating more engaging customer journeys (11:17).

Mark shares his philosophy on anchoring digital experiences with physical touchpoints:

"Think about it like playing a board game. If you just jumped into playing a board game and not knowing the rules, it's going to be chaos that pursues. But if I can guide you and set the rules to say, here's how to navigate this experience, at least we're minimizing that chaos and giving people a path to follow." (10:29)

He cites P90X as an inspiration, where the physical box contained essential tools like a welcome note, journey map, and DVDs, all designed to guide users through a structured program. This blend of physical and digital elements not only enhances retention but also fosters a sense of community and achievement among participants (12:01).

Practical Application: Designing Custom Boxes for Various Businesses

In a creative segment, Emma and Mark engage in a game where Emma presents hypothetical businesses, and Mark devises tailored box experiences to boost retention and decrease churn.

1. Supplement Company in the Health Space:

   • Challenge: Monthly shipments with minimal engagement materials.
   • Mark’s Solution: "I would gamify the first 30 days, create a journey map with a visual for day one through 30, and include interactive elements like scratch-offs with QR codes leading to educational videos." (18:20)
   • Outcome: Encourages daily usage, fosters habit-building, and incentivizes continued engagement through rewards and digital interactions.

2. Travel Blogger with a Membership Program:

   • Challenge: Low engagement and high churn despite valuable content.
   • Mark’s Solution: "Create a physical passport for members to collect and store memories from their adventures, supplemented by monthly additions that encourage ongoing participation." (21:00)
   • Outcome: Provides tangible milestones for members, fostering a deeper connection and reducing the likelihood of churn by making the experience collectible and interactive.

3. Association Newsletter:

   • Challenge: Monetizing and increasing engagement without overcomplicating the onboarding process.
   • Mark’s Solution: "Develop a general onboarding pack that outlines the 12-month journey, including sponsor-branded materials to offset costs and provide value without being intrusive." (23:59)
   • Outcome: Enhances the value proposition for members, leverages sponsorships for cost efficiency, and clearly communicates the ongoing benefits of membership.

Evaluating Onboarding Success: Key Metrics

As the episode nears its conclusion, Emma asks Mark about the essential metrics businesses should monitor to assess the effectiveness of their onboarding processes (28:16).

Mark outlines several critical metrics:

1. Conversion Rate on the Front End:

   • Measures how effectively leads are converted into customers during the initial sales process.

2. Attrition Rate Within the Trial Period:

   • Tracks the percentage of customers who drop off within the first 30 days or during the trial phase.

3. Marks of Engagement:

   • Evaluates active participation, such as feedback submissions, progress tracking, and meeting attendance relative to total membership.

4. Progress and Results Indicators:

   • Assesses how many customers are visibly progressing towards their goals versus those who fade away.

By focusing on these metrics, businesses can pinpoint areas where their onboarding processes may be faltering and implement targeted improvements to enhance overall retention (28:52).

Conclusion and Call to Action

Emma wraps up the episode by highlighting Mark’s offer of a free consultation and directing listeners to customboxagency.com to book a call. She expresses appreciation for the insightful discussion, reinforcing the value of strategic onboarding in driving business growth and customer loyalty (29:29).

Key Takeaways

• Strategic Onboarding: A clear and structured onboarding process is essential for minimizing customer overwhelm and reducing churn.

• Blending Physical and Digital: Combining tangible elements with digital interactions enhances engagement and fosters a deeper connection with customers.

• Gamification and Incentives: Incorporating gamified elements and rewards into the onboarding journey can significantly boost retention rates.

• Customization Across Industries: Tailoring the onboarding experience to fit the unique needs of different businesses ensures relevance and effectiveness.

• Measurable Metrics: Monitoring conversion rates, attrition rates, and engagement levels is crucial for evaluating and refining onboarding strategies.

Notable Quotes

• Mark Stern (01:53):

  "By doing that, you reduce the overwhelm and get people into momentum and start really incentivizing the behavior."

• Mark Stern (10:29):

  "If I can guide you and set the rules to say, here's how to navigate this experience, at least we're minimizing that chaos and giving people a path to follow."

• Mark Stern (18:20):

  "I would gamify the first 30 days, create a journey map with a visual for day one through 30, and include interactive elements like scratch-offs with QR codes leading to educational videos."

• Mark Stern (28:52):

  "I would want to know, what is your conversion rate on the front end? How are you converting?... How many people are showing progress and results versus those that kind of fade away."

For more insights and to implement these strategies in your business, visit customboxagency.com and take advantage of Mark Stern’s expertise in creating custom onboarding experiences that drive retention and revenue.