Hey Andy, 

The more I use AI, the more I’m beginning to realize just how valuable true expertise is — real human input articulated by someone who has actually done the work and made the mistakes.  

That’s why I was thrilled to talk with Phi Pham and Carlos Govantes. Together, they have a combined 30+ years of managing lifecycle programs at some of the most renowned brands, including Peloton, Casper, Thirty Madison, Imperfect Foods, and Misfits Market. And I’m sharing all of their biggest lessons and practical tips.

Scroll below to get the highlights, but I'd recommend reading the full blog post they wrote up to get all their wisdom.

Short on time? If I had to condense everything down into one succinct takeaway, it would be this: 

“There isn’t a linear path to build a great lifecycle program. Lifecycle is about solving real problems for your customers, one message at a time. That means you need to build systems that scale, adapt, and respond to what your customers actually need. The more you treat lifecycle as a way to serve the customer — and not just as a lever you can pull to hit this week’s numbers — the more durable and effective it becomes.” — Phi Pham & Carlos Govantes

With that, here are the five key takeaways:

#1 Lifecycle isn't a silo; it's core to the customer experience

 → The best messages can't fix a disjointed experience.

#2 Most lifecycle programs are overbuilt, but under-optimized

 → Focus on the most important behaviors and use cases for your business and continuously improve and optimize them over time.

#3 Your data foundation is everything

→ Data is the heart of your lifecycle program, which means every decision you make will have ripple effects for the future — positive or negative.

#4 Build habits, not just clicks

→ Long-term retention is built by reinforcing customer behavior, not chasing clicks.

#5 Your data foundation is everything

→ Every send is a chance to learn. Don’t overcomplicate things. Focus on isolating one variable at a time.

☕ Coming up next

I’m currently breaking down 6+ months of emails from Starbucks (it’s taking me a while 😅). Truthfully, I’ve never seen a program this sophisticated and advanced, so stay tuned because I’ll be dropping that in a couple of weeks. And there’s much more ahead…

Here's a tiny sneak peak of what I've been working on.

🙌 Call for feedback

This newsletter is all about the community. I’d love to know what topics you want me to cover,  which brands you want me to breakdown, and who I should be talking to. So, please make sure to reply here or connect with me on Linkedin.

I promise I do actually read the emails and respond.

Lastly, I just wanted to thank to each and everyone of you who subscribed. Last week when I announced this newsletter, I had no idea the community would get behind it so fast.

Hundreds of people subscribed when I announced it last week — which just shows the real depth and curiosity of this community.

Thanks again.

— Luke Kline

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