The Membership Blast — 012
The 3 Buckets Every Marketing Strategy Needs
Hey Friends,
Today, I’m writing you from the Colectivo Coffee patio, here in Chicago (Google Street View). Great weather, good coffee, and a quiet moment to think about growth.
Growth doesn’t usually come from throwing more people at your website. Most growth comes from being smart about what happens after someone finds you.
Today, I’m writing you from the Colectivo Coffee patio, here in Chicago (Google Street View). Great weather, good coffee, and a quiet moment to think about growth.
Growth doesn’t usually come from throwing more people at your website. Most growth comes from being smart about what happens after someone finds you.
I’ve found that organizing marketing into three simple categories makes everything clearer and more effective.
1. Market (Drive targeted traffic)
This is where most people start. You’re getting eyes on your product or service. That includes SEO, paid ads, social, PR, affiliate partners, and everything in between. It’s important, but it’s also the most expensive and competitive.
According to Wordstream, website conversion rates sit around 2.35% across industries. The best-performing sites might reach 5%. That means even if you double your traffic, it might not change your business unless your site is converting.
2. Convert (Turn traffic into customers)
Conversion is where the real leverage starts. Improving your messaging, signup flow, onboarding, pricing, and CTAs can instantly lift results without spending more.
Here’s the kicker: personalized CTAs convert 202 percent better. A simple tweak in your offer, layout, or language can mean the difference between someone bouncing or buying.
3. Retain (Turn customers into repeat buyers)
This is the most overlooked bucket, but it has the biggest payoff. Retention is where long-term growth happens.
A few real stats to put this in perspective:
- Existing customers are 60–70% more likely to buy again, compared to 5–20% for new leads. Source
- Increasing retention by just 5% can boost profits by 25–95%. Source
- Loyal customers spend about 67% more than new ones…and your top 5–10% of customers can generate over 35% of revenue. Source
- It costs 5 to 7× more to acquire a new customer than to keep an existing one. Source
So if your growth feels stuck, it might not be a traffic issue. It’s probably a conversion or retention issue.
Final Takeaway
If you’re only focused on getting more traffic, you’re missing where most of your growth actually lives. Start optimizing how you convert and retain the people already showing up. That’s where the magic happens.
Talk soon,
Marvin
Chief Growth Officer
MemberSpace