Profit From Losing Customers
đź‘€ Designing Funnels That Profit from Refunders and One-Timers, Google Launches AI Max: Smarter Search Campaigns with One Click, and more!
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In this newsletter, you’ll find:
đź‘€ Profit From Losing Customers: Designing Funnels That Profit from Refunders and One-Timers
🤖 Google Launches AI Max: Smarter Search Campaigns with One Click
🏆 Ad of the Day
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đź‘€ Profit From Losing Customers: Designing Funnels That Profit from Refunders and One-Timers
Retention is overrated. What matters more: recognizing when a customer was never a good fit, and using that signal to sharpen your acquisition, creative, and product strategy.
This isn’t about being provocative. It’s about being precise.
What “Negative LTV” Actually Means
This isn’t about losing money on purpose.
It’s about:
- Filtering poor-fit buyers early to protect CAC and reduce retention costs
- Extracting value from their behavior to inform paid media, product, and messaging
- Designing exit experiences that minimize damage and redirect energy (UGC, referral, data, word-of-mouth)
It’s retention reimagined, not everyone should stay, and that’s a strength, not a flaw.
3 Tactics That Actually Work
1. Refund-Cohort Segmentation
Identify top refund triggers (product type, channel, hook) and run creative exclusion or pre-purchase friction (e.g., quizzes, bundles, reviews) to screen better-fit buyers upfront.
→ Save CAC and reduce churn before it happens.
2. “Critics as Content” Loop
When people leave harsh reviews, use their language to refine positioning.
→ “Too intense” becomes a badge of honor for others.
→ Invite them into post-purchase feedback flows—fuel for future creative, not shame.
3. Exit Funnels with Embedded Utility
Instead of generic refund confirmation, offer giftable credits, affiliate-style referrals, or exclusive access to community/Q&A.
→ Lower negative word-of-mouth.
→ Capture brand value even after purchase rejection.
Why This Should Be in the Playbook
- Reduces waste by improving media and messaging precision
- Builds brand clarity by surfacing natural polarity
- Extracts compounding value from “non-buyers” who still influence the brand conversation
Final Word
You don’t need to retain every customer. You need to design systems that know who not to keep, and why.That’s how great brands become efficient, sharp, and hard to ignore.
🤖 Google Launches AI Max: Smarter Search Campaigns with One Click
Google just unveiled AI Max, a new Search campaign tool that combines broad match, keywordless targeting, and real-time creative updates to unlock high-intent queries and boost conversions.
The Breakdown:
1. Reach Untapped Searches Instantly - AI Max uses broad match and keywordless tech to surface high-performing queries missed by exact match. It dynamically generates headlines and descriptions tailored to each user’s intent. Final URL expansion sends traffic to the most relevant landing page.
2. More Control, Cleaner Insights - Advertisers get geographic targeting, brand filters, and expanded reporting on search terms, CPC, and asset performance. Real-time data highlights which creatives and keywords drive results. Everything’s built directly into the Search campaign workflow.
3. Proven Results for Leading Brands - AI Max boosted conversions by up to 27% for brands using exact match. L’Oréal doubled conversion rates while cutting costs by 31%. MyConnect drove 16% more leads with 13% lower CPA.
AI Max streamlines the complexity of Search campaigns while unlocking net-new opportunities. It’s automation without the tradeoffs, and it may soon become essential for staying competitive as user behavior shifts beyond keywords.
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🎥 Ad of the Day
What Works:
Featuring a quote from Bon Appétit immediately builds trust and legitimacy. The quote uses high-emotion, high-impact language: “revolutionizing my morning” signals transformation, not just coffee.
The icy vapor, sharp lighting, and stark contrast evoke scientific precision and a premium feel. They trigger visual curiosity, and people stop scrolling to figure out what this mysterious frozen object is. That moment of pause is gold in performance marketing.
The bold yellow "$30 Off" badge is perfectly placed for visibility and adds urgency with the "Expires at Midnight" ring. Scarcity and incentive layered together drive direct conversions, especially for first-time buyers.
Broader Insights:
This ad nails the positioning, bold, premium, and disruptive. It uses psychological anchors (authority, scarcity, mystery) to trigger intrigue and trust in under 3 seconds.
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