Latest / The Retention Marketing Podcast with Fexingo: Email, SMS, and Loyalty for Repeat Customers / How a Coffee Brand Uses Email to Build a Subscription Habit
Transcript
- Lucas: Alright, I want to talk about something that sounds almost too simple to work, but the numbers are pretty compelling — how one coffee brand uses email to build a subscription habit, not just a purchase cycle. Luna: I'm intrigued. Which brand? Lucas: It's a direct to consumer roaster called Roast & Revel. They started about four years ago, and like most DTC coffee brands, they had a decent one-time purchase rate but really struggled to get people onto a subscription. Their initial approach was the standard 'subscribe and save' pitch — you know, 'get 15 percent off if you commit.' And it worked okay, but not great. The conversion rate to subscription was hovering around 8 percent. Luna: Eight percent feels low for a consumable product that people buy every few weeks anyway. Lucas: Exactly. Coffee is a textbook subscription category — it's perishable, it's habitual, it's something people reorder naturally. So why weren't they converting? The founder told me they realized the problem was timing. They were asking for the subscription commitment too early, right at the point of first purchase, when the customer hadn't even tasted the product yet. So they redesigned their post-purchase email flow entirely. Luna: What did they change? Lucas: They created a three-email onboarding sequence that starts after the first order ships. Email one is a standard 'your coffee is on its way' — but with a twist: it includes a link to a 'brew guide' specific to the roast they ordered. Not generic, but tailored. Email two arrives on day three — the morning after most people have brewed their first cup. That one asks, 'How was your first cup?' with a simple one-click rating: Loved it, liked it, or not my style. Luna: And then what? Do they push the subscription right after that rating? Lucas: Not yet. That's the clever part. Email three, on day seven, is called the 'brew journal.' It says something like, 'You've had a week to explore this roast. Tell us what you liked, and we'll pick your next bag based on your taste.' It's framed as a discovery service, not a replenishment. They ask three quick questions — body, acidity, flavor notes — and then they recommend a new roast for the next delivery. The subscription is presented as the mechanism to get that recommended bag automatically. Luna: So they're essentially using personalization and curation to make the subscription feel like a benefit, not a commitment. Lucas: Exactly. The psychology is rooted in what behavioral scientists call the 'variable reward' — the same mechanism that makes social media and slot machines addictive. Each delivery feels a little different because the roast changes based on your feedback. The customer isn't just reordering the same thing; they're getting a curated experience. And the data backs it up: after implementing this sequence, their subscription conversion rate went from 8 percent to 34 percent. That's a 4x improvement. Luna: That's huge. But I wonder — does this only work for a category like coffee, where there's genuine variety and taste preferences? Could a brand selling, say, laundry detergent do the same thing? Lucas: It's a good question. The variable reward principle works best when there's actual variety to offer. For a commodity product like detergent, you'd need to find a different hook — maybe a seasonal scent rotation, or a 'refill challenge' that gamifies the habit. But the core insight — delay the subscription ask, and let the customer experience the product first — applies universally. The mistake most brands make is asking for the commitment before the customer has felt the value. Luna: Right. And I think timing is key. Day 7 for coffee makes sense because that's when the first bag is almost gone. The customer is already thinking about reordering, so the email meets them at that moment. Lucas: Exactly. They also added a subtle social proof element: in the brew journal email, they show a line like, 'Our most popular roast among customers who liked what you liked is the Ethiopian Yirgacheffe.' It's a gentle nudge that doesn't feel pushy. And the results beyond conversion were interesting too — churn among subscribers acquired through this flow was 22 percent lower than subscribers who signed up via the old 'subscribe and save' prompt. Because those customers had already developed a habit before committing. Luna: So the habit came first, then the subscription. That flips the typical funnel on its head. Lucas: Completely. And they didn't stop there. They now use the same data from the brew journal to power a 'surprise and delight' email: if a customer gives consistent high ratings to a particular flavor profile, they sometimes send a free sample of a new roast that matches. That's not tied to any purchase — it's just a loyalty builder. Their repeat purchase rate among people who get that surprise email is 60 percent higher than the baseline. Luna: That's smart. It's like they're training the customer to look forward to email from them, not just tolerate it. Lucas: Right. And there's a broader lesson here for any retention marketer: think of onboarding not as a series of transactional messages, but as a habit-formation loop. The cue is the empty bag or the empty bottle. The routine is the rating or the journal entry. The reward is the personalized recommendation. If you can build that loop into your email flow, you're not just driving a subscription — you're building a relationship that's harder to leave. Luna: I love that framing. I want to ask about metrics — aside from conversion and churn, did they track anything like average order value or lifetime value? Lucas: They did. The average order value for subscribers acquired through the brew journal flow was about 12 percent higher than other acquisition channels, largely because those customers tended to opt for the 'premium' roast recommendations more often. Their 90-day customer lifetime value was up 40 percent compared to the old flow. And the email open rates on the brew journal itself? Consistently above 55 percent, which is stellar for a post-purchase message. Luna: That's impressive. I think part of why it works is that the email feels like it's for the customer, not from the brand. It's asking for input, not pushing a sale. Lucas: Absolutely. And that feedback loop also gives the brand a ton of zero-party data. They know exactly which flavor profiles resonate with which segments, which informs their product development and inventory planning. It's a virtuous cycle. Luna: You know, as we talk about building these habits and loyalty loops, I'm reminded of something that makes this show possible. We don't run ads — never have — and that's a choice we made early on to keep the conversations focused and honest. Lucas: Yeah, and it's only sustainable because a small group of listeners chips in through buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. It's not a big ask, but it genuinely funds the production, the research, the editing — everything that goes into putting out episodes like this one. Luna: Right. And if these marketing conversations have sparked something you've actually used in your own work, that's exactly the kind of signal that tells us we're on the right track. No pressure, just a sincere thank you to anyone who's already part of that. Lucas: Alright, back to Roast & Revel. One thing I didn't mention is that they also A/B tested the subject line of the brew journal email. The winner was 'Your coffee personality is in.' — it outperformed the control by 18 percent on open rate. Small tweaks, big impact. Luna: That's a great tip. I'm also curious about the unsubscribe rate for that flow. Did they see any increase in opt-outs when they added the brew journal email? Lucas: They were worried about that, but actually the unsubscribe rate dropped by 15 percent compared to the old flow. The theory is that the interactive element makes the emails feel less like marketing and more like a service. People want to give their opinion — especially when it leads to a better product experience. The brand is essentially saying, 'Help us help you enjoy your coffee more.' That's hard to unsubscribe from. Luna: It's almost like a micro-community. Each customer feels like their voice matters. Lucas: Exactly. And that's the holy grail of retention marketing — making the customer feel like they're part of something, not just a transaction. Roast & Revel is a great example of how a simple, well-timed email sequence can do that without any fancy technology or huge budget. Just a clear understanding of human behavior and a willingness to delay the ask. Luna: So for our listeners who want to try something similar, what's the first step? Should they map out their own 'brew journal' moment? Lucas: I'd say start by identifying your product's 'day 7' — the moment when the customer has had enough time to experience the value but isn't yet thinking about repurchase. For a skincare product, that might be day 14. For a snack subscription, maybe day 3. Then design one email that asks for feedback in a way that feels like a conversation, not a survey. Keep it to three questions max. And tie the response to a personalized recommendation. That's the core loop. If you can get that right, you've got the engine for a subscription habit. Luna: And what about the technology? Do you need a sophisticated CRM to pull this off? Lucas: Not really. Most email marketing platforms — Klaviyo, Mailchimp, ActiveCampaign — can handle conditional logic based on survey responses. The key is to plan the flow carefully and test it. Roast & Revel started with a simple spreadsheet and a manual email send for the first 50 customers before automating. So you can prototype it without any tech investment. Luna: That's encouraging. I think a lot of brands overcomplicate retention because they think they need a loyalty platform or a points program. But sometimes it's just about the right email at the right time. Lucas: Completely agree. And the beauty of this approach is that it builds data and trust simultaneously. You're learning about your customer while giving them a reason to stay. That's the kind of retention strategy that compounds over time. Luna: Alright, well I'm definitely going to recommend the brew journal idea to a friend who runs a tea subscription. Thanks for bringing this case, Lucas. Lucas: My pleasure. And if any of you try it, let us know how it goes. We'd love to feature your results in a future episode.