🧠 CHAPTER 1: The Modern Buyer Brain: PLAYING DEFENCE VS DESIGNING MEMBERSHIP

0:00OmniSend just shipped something that I've always wanted. You can now connect OmniSend to ChatGPT or Claude and just say, where can my email and SMS campaigns be making more money? And it actually figures it out. It reads your store data, all your campaign details, your store history, and it tells you and the insights are legit good. And even better, you can then say, okay, let's fix that or build that campaign. And it actually does it right from your chat. It's wild. Now, if you're one of our listeners, you can get 30 % off for three months on OmniSend. Just go to the show notes. There's a link there.

0:31Or you can just use the code J30, J-A-Y-3-0 when you sign up. Now, if you're using another email and SMS platform and you want to switch to OmniSend, which is a great idea, they will do the migration for you. Just give them five days and then you show up with everything set, ready to go. Now, they've migrated thousands of stores from Klaviyo. And on average, they're saving 35 % on their email and SMS bills. If you're listening to this show, you clearly care about your Shopify business. If your store isn't backed up and protected, it could all be for nothing. That's why I tell every store owner I know who cares about their business, you 100 % need Rewind installed.

1:07It's a non-negotiable for me. One bad CSV import, one app that edits your store the wrong way, which has happened to basically everyone I know. One bulk edit gone wrong, and now AI making changes for you. Listen, Shopify does not have an undo button. Rewind is the undo button. Go to shopify1percent.com slash rewind for 30 days free on us. Links in the show notes too. Okay, so we got something different coming up over the next nine episodes. The last episode was an interview of me. The mic was flipped and someone was interviewing me. It was from a different show, but I just posted it through our channel.

1:47But it's actually being broken out into an ebook. And we're going deep into kind of each of the topics that we talked about. because we really just touched on everything at a surface level. So over the next few episodes here, it's going to be nine, but there might be guest interviews mixed in between. We're going to go deep on each of the topics that we talked about in that episode. So if you want, you can listen to that episode that covers everything. But if you really want to go deep on each of the topics, the next ones here labeled chapter one, chapter two, chapter three, you'll see them as they come out is us going deep into each of the topics.

2:24So without further ado, let's get started. Make sure you listen to all of these. We're really just focusing on the buyer brain of the next five to 10 years and how the modern buyer thinks, how they shop, how they make decisions, how they want to belong and really what's going to make you win over the next five years. and how do you tap into that modern buy brain? Because the way that customers are shopping is changing right before us. And if you're still treating customers like you did a few years ago, you won't win in the next five years. So this is really important to get. This is how modern customers are thinking and shopping and how they're making decisions and how you can get ahead of it and win.

3:05So let's get into chapter one. Okay, let's get into this first one here. So most brands today, they're playing defense. They're running around, they're plugging churn leaks, they're fighting every cancellation, which is good. You have to do it. But they're really just chasing that next acquisition hack like it's a scratch lottery ticket. But the whole time, they're really missing the actual point. They're trying to stop customers from leaving instead of designing an experience people actually want to stay a part of. And here's the truth. No one is really willing to say out loud and direct to consumer.

3:37loyalty is usually just convenience wearing a fake mustache. If a customer leaves the moment a competitor offers faster shipping or a better pickup option, like we saw during COVID, that wasn't loyalty. That was inertia. And COVID actually proved this in real time. Before COVID, so many brands walked around bragging about their loyal customer base, but the second curbside pickup wasn't available or shipping took too long, or maybe inventory dried up a little bit during COVID. Those quote unquote loyal customers disappeared faster than my pre pandemic gym motivation. They literally went wherever was easiest.

4:18And this wasn't betrayal. This was just the true hierarchy of modern loyalty, which is convenience, availability, and whatever the store actually had or whatever store actually had toilet paper. McKinsey actually reported that 75 % of consumers switched brands during COVID purely because of fulfillment, not product fulfillment. Let that sink in for a second. Those stores all thought they had loyal customers, 75%. So the lesson is simple. Loyalty wasn't loyalty. It was simply the absence of a better option. And that's where the shift happens. Defense versus offense. Here's how to know if your brand is playing defense.

5:03You only talk to your customer when they're trying to leave. That's the first sign. You treat retention as a cancellation flow instead of an experience. Don't get me wrong. Cancellation flows are important, but it's not loyalty. Your onboarding is one lonely order confirmation email. If that's all they get, you're playing defense. Your marketing budget is probably 80 % acquisition and probably 20 % guilt and desperation and trying to win people back. That's defense. Offense looks different. Offense is designing a membership that people would actually miss if you took it away. Offense is building belonging, not bribing people with points.

5:49Offense is engineering and identities customers opt into. Because here's what membership really is. Membership is I choose to stay even though I don't have to. Amazon Prime is a perfect example of this. You're not loyal to Amazon. You're locked into an ecosystem that you'd have to amputate yourself out of. Literally. Prime, Alexa, Prime Video, Amazon Photos, Grocery, Same Day, Early Access. Think about everything that you have connected. Even if you don't use half of it, it all stacks into perceived value. And that perceived value is what creates stickiness. McKinsey actually found that paid membership customers spend four times more annually than non-paid members.

6:38Why? Paid membership actually changes behavior. It trains customers to make your brand their default option. And they actually skip the comparison step. Think about your Amazon Prime membership. You don't price shop everything because you have the convenience of that Prime membership. You know, you're going to get it in a couple of days. It's just easy, convenient. So you don't even bother. Your price sensitivity is completely removed. Now, let me say something you won't hear in most subscription talks. Churn is not the problem. Churn is the symptom. So people say you have a churn problem. No, there's no such thing as a churn problem.

7:16You, the symptom is churn. If your churn is high, the disease actually happened way earlier. That's just the symptom. You're going to go a little deeper on this analogy, but your disease churn, it start, it started at acquisition. It starts early on and it continued and spread through onboarding. And then it probably came roaring back every month because your membership had no emotional connection, no, no connection to the customer. Brands love to say retention starts the moment people want to cancel. no retention starts the second they hit check hit checkout the second before they've even got their first order is when retention truly starts there's actually a dopamine spike that happens like the it's been proven and studies have shown that the second people check out is the peak moment of hit of dopamine when people shop the brain chemistry actually lights up and what do most brands do that moment, they send a generic, thanks for your order email.

8:16And then that's it silence for a week. And then maybe you get your order and maybe 10 days later, you get an email asking for a review. By the time that product arrives, the dopamine is gone. The excitement is gone. And emotionally, the customer barely remembers you. The box shows up at the door and they forget what's in there until they open it. I'm sure you've had that experience. Actually, I just had that earlier here today, a box game. I didn't even know what was in it. That's how little connection I had with the brand. Now compare that to the brands that actually get this right. Email one, the second they place it, reinforce the decision they just made.

8:51Yes, they made the decision online, but your job forever is to continually sell them on that product. In a month, in six months, they still need to be reinforced of that decision they just made. So yes, they just purchased your product, But email number one, reinforce why they just made the best decision. Yes. Show them more case studies, testimonials, videos, everything. Email number two, showcase what other members have done or achieved or done with the product. Now this doesn't just apply to health stuff. It can be like maybe you're selling Legos, anything. Show what other people have built, what other people are doing with the product, how it's changing their lives, how it's helping them, case studies.

9:31Email number three, show some behind the scenes of how the product is made, your company behind the scenes of in your office, like literally anything, like get them connected to you. Email number four, maybe something that makes them want to join a club or a group or a community that you're a part of. You could actually probably send a few emails the first day and that customer is not going to be upset. If you don't email them for two weeks and then you email them three times in a month, they're going to probably report that as spam. But if I place an order and within the first day I get an email, the second I place the order, two hours later, I get another email.

10:08Like here's some communities you should join. A couple hours later, I get another email. Here's three easy ways to get started. Once you get your product in a couple of days, they're not going to be upset. They're excited. The dopamine hit is there. Keep that going. So by the time that first order arrives, they're not just a buyer. They're becoming a member. And that's the whole secret here. That's the shift. Membership changes everything. Membership is identity. It's status. It's access. It's community. It's purpose. Membership. It's an emotional contract. It's not a transactional contract. Membership says you're one of us.

10:47Now, if you get less than five subscriptions a day in your business, you should be calling every single one of them. Every single one. you should call and say, Hey, I just want to thank you for subscribing. I'm curious why you subscribed. What did you, what made you choose it? Is there anything we can improve, do better? If you track the people, the cohort of the people that you got ahold of and talked to versus the people that you didn't, I bet you their LTV is three minimum, three times more than the people that you never spoke to. So when you treat membership as offense and not defense, your relationship with the customer changes because customers don't want more subscriptions.

11:28They actually want more belonging. Subscriptions is the transactional piece that comes along with that belonging. It's not subscription is not belonging. Okay. So let me fast forward to where the world is going because by 2030, almost every major brand will behave like a membership business. We're starting to see it already. Even if they never ship a replenishment subscription, they will have a membership component. Why? Well, because membership is the only model that actually aligns value on both sides. Brands get predictable revenue, which is awesome. Customers get a predictable experience and everyone wins.

12:04It's actually better being treated like a member than it is by being treated like a customer. And you know this with the most elite brands in the world. If you're the highest level of an airline or a credit card, you're a member. You're not a customer. Subscriptions are not about convenience anymore. They're about reducing friction for an overloaded, impatient buyer who expects you to know them. They just expect it. They expect personalization. They expect control. They expect recognition. They expect to get something for being part of the group. And by the way, they'll reward you for it too. Studies show that members are actually four times more valuable, 63 % more likely to choose your brand again, and 53 % more likely to refer someone when they're a member.

12:50Why? Why? Membership programs don't just sell products. Membership programs engineer habits. They train customers to think inside your ecosystem. They anchor spending around your brand. They make your store the first place they look, not the fourth, fifth, or sixth tab they compare because they're a member there. In fact, they might not even compare. This is the future. This is what wins. This is what makes everything else you do 10 times more valuable. Every ad, 10 times more ROAS when someone is a member and not just a customer. But the brands who get here first, the ones who stop playing defense, who stop patching churn holes like landlords in a student apartment.

13:29I have some rental properties, so I know what that's like. They're the ones who stop duct taping their customer journey together with panic and discounts and exit offers and exit intent offers. And you have to do that, but if that's all your strategy is, you can't save your way into loyalty. You design your way intentionally into it. So here's my challenge this week is five. I'm going to give you five concrete steps to build offense this week. Number one, do a defense audit. List every part of your customer experience that exists purely to stop churn. And if it only activates when the customer is leaving, it goes on that list.

14:11So anything you do that is a churn preventer, just identify it. Not saying get rid of it. You have to have them there, but I do a defense audit. So at least you know what you're doing defensively. Now, step number two, define your belonging promise. Write in one sentence, right? Sorry, write one sentence that answers. What does someone gain emotionally or socially when they become a member of your brand? What do they gain? If you can't answer it, I promise you, neither can your customers. What do your customers gain emotionally, socially, community, spiritually? And what do they gain when they become a member of your brand?

14:54Number three, create one member membership benefit beyond product. Okay. So beyond what the customer gets, this is my challenge to you is make sure you have one extra benefit that customers get. Not a discount and not points. That's the key. Something real, something that is a benefit other than the product and not a discount and not points. I do think having a discount on points are important, but something above and beyond that early access, maybe member only pricing. So that's like a little bit different than giving a discount, like VIP pricing, member perks, member access to exclusive products, a private group, exclusive drops, ship one member perk this month that your members get.

15:45Number four, fix your first 24 hours. So I think your first 24 hours should look like that for email sequence that we talked about earlier. Step number one, reinforce the purchase to tell your story, three, educate for preview what's coming. And this is just in the first 24 hours. Just a reminder. This is not the first week. This is the first 24 hours. Okay. And then number five, last one, create a referral mechanic that actually matters. This is no 10 % codes, no share 10, get 10, give your members something worth sharing that they can give to someone in their life, close to them, a free month, a free valuable product, a real benefit that they would be proud to share.

16:33I know you've probably signed up for something and gotten a link, give your friends 10 % off. Would you go post that on social media? It should be something that your members would text a friend or a family member and share with them. If your offer isn't that valuable, it's not a real referral offer that makes a difference. So do these five things and you're going to stop playing defense entirely. You'll be designing a membership that customers actually want to belong to. That's when growth stops being acquisition versus retention. And it starts being, the growth starts being inevitable. Okay, now I'm going to be doing nine more of these.

17:14This is all coming from a concept of the buyer brain membership. This is the first of 10. So if you're interested in how you approach your customers and the new buyer brain of consumers in the modern era, make sure you listen to the next ones they'll be they'll be coming out shortly thanks so much