I'm Jay Mills, and I'm interested in what happens after someone joins.
That is the short version. The longer version involves a notebook, a few awkward questions about the word “engagement,” and an occasional domestic analogy that gets more attention than I expected.
I work around growth and retention. Retention Notes follows the experience between acquisition, first use, continued usefulness and the customer's next decision.
A signup can tell us the invitation worked. A login can tell us the person arrived. I want to understand when the service became useful for the task they came to do.
The answer depends on the offer. A planning tool, a reference collection and an occasional specialist service may have very different rhythms. I like learning those rhythms before choosing the event that will headline the report.
Otherwise we can become beautifully precise about a thing that is only loosely connected to the customer's purpose.
The beginning deserves a close look
I enjoy trying an unfamiliar task. Read the invitation, follow the signup and attempt the first useful action with the information a new customer would actually have.
The helpful detail might be a clearer instruction, an example or a route back after interruption. A person who leaves halfway through may have encountered a problem. They may also have gone to lunch.
I try to keep both possibilities in the conversation.
A welcome message should help somebody do something sensible. Enthusiasm is pleasant. “Get started” still needs a place to start.
I also like asking what normal use looks like. A quiet spell might mean the service isn't fitting. It might mean the customer has completed a task and doesn't need it again immediately. We need context before assigning a story.
Time is part of the evidence
Annual plans interest me because the next renewal decision is a long way away. There is useful evidence before it, but I don't want to pretend an early usage picture has settled the whole retention question.
I keep groups and observation windows clear enough that the team can tell which question each result is answering. A recent customer and somebody who has reached a renewal point haven't had the same opportunity to make a decision.
The report can still guide work now. Fix an unclear setup. Investigate a recurring question. Improve a message. Put the longer question somewhere it will actually be revisited.
I have a soft spot for reports that can say “too early to tell” and then explain the next step. It's a sensible sentence, rather than an escape hatch.
Listen when somebody leaves
Cancellation reasons are a starting point. A short selected option doesn't reveal the whole experience, but it can suggest a useful question.
A person who finished their project may need a clear goodbye. A person struggling with a feature may need an answer. A person with a price concern may have another decision to make.
I want the response to respect the explanation rather than send every departing customer the same discount.
There is room for humour in this work because the diagrams often become much neater than real life. Houseplants, cupboards and calendars occasionally appear in my notes to restore the scale of an ordinary task.
There is also room for mild cussing when a beautifully named event has distracted us from the useful action it was meant to represent.
The writing is conversational, patient and occasionally a little self-mocking. I like a modest conclusion that fits the evidence and a next question we can explain.
I want the service to keep earning its place in the customer's day.
A damn tidy chart is welcome too, provided we know what it means.
A renewal decision months away should change how we describe the evidence today. Early usage can be informative without settling the whole retention question.
