At the beginning of the lifecycle, acquisition marketing builds brand awareness, attracts attention, educates audiences, and eventually converts people into buyers. At the end of the lifecycle, retention marketing either brings the buyer back into the purchase funnel if they have jumped ship, or nurtures them in the cycle as an active, engaged customer.

The goals of retention marketing aren’t to increase the number of customers but rather to:

Increase customer return rates and bring past customers back into the buying cycle. Decrease customer churn rates and keep existing customers in the buying cycle. Drive purchase frequency and get customers to enter the buying cycle more often.