Fractional Head of Retention
Senior leadership for your CRM, loyalty and repeat customers, without the full-time hire. I'll own your retention strategy, lead the work and make sure it actually gets done, so customers come back and lifetime value grows.
If retention matters to your business but nobody owns it, this is for you.
Whether you call it retention, CRM, loyalty or lifecycle, it's the same job: getting customers to come back, stay longer and spend more. And in most businesses, nobody senior owns it.
You know repeat customers are where the profit is. You may even know where they're dropping off.
But there's no one senior to lead it.
The founder is stretched. The marketing lead is covering everything. The agency or freelancer runs the sends, but nobody is thinking about retention in terms of revenue, margin and lifetime value.
So it gets done in bursts. A new workflow here, a discount there. Never a programme that builds on itself.
What's missing isn't effort. It's ownership.
That usually means a first retention hire. But a full-time Head of Retention is a big commitment for a business your size, and a junior hire won't have the experience to set the direction.
That's where I come in. I become your retention lead for a fraction of the cost: setting the strategy, designing the programmes, keeping the work on track and showing your leadership team what it's delivering.
“Having support during a difficult sales period, help with forward planning to take pressure off me, technical help like finding different aps to help achieve what we needed, handholding (!) with the live events as these were great and I wouldn't have forced myself to do them without you.
I think the value I got out of it was wonderful for the price. And I also liked the fact that you gave me lots to do (even if I didn't have time for it all), because I think it is better to give too many ideas than to give too few.”
- Founder of @FancifulDoll
A leadership role, with a hands-on edge
Everything is built around your goals, your margins and what your team can realistically deliver. No generic playbooks.
➡️ I lead the thinking. I set the retention strategy, design the programmes (journeys, loyalty, referral, the moments that make customers feel looked after) and decide what gets tested and when.
➡️ Your team or agency does the day-to-day. They build and send. I brief them, review the work and make sure it goes live to the standard we've agreed.
➡️ I explain the why, not just the what. So your team gets more capable as we go, rather than more dependent on me.
➡️ I turn the numbers into decisions. I'll show you and your leadership team what retention is delivering, in revenue rather than open rates, so it gets the investment it deserves.
RESULTS
RESULTS
A few examples of what this kind of thinking has delivered, from independent brands to some of the UK's largest loyalty programmes.
Every business is different. These are examples of past work, shared to show how I think and what's possible, not a promise of the same numbers. Your Roadmap and 90-day plan is built on your own data, so the opportunities it finds will be specific to you.
Signature framework:
Built on my 4Rs of Customer Retention
Everything we do together is built on the 4Rs. It's the framework I developed from what I've seen work, from loyalty programmes with millions of members to independent brands building retention from scratch.
The idea behind it is simple. Retention isn't one thing. It's four stages, and customers can drop out at any of them.
Return.
Getting a first-time customer to come back for a second order. For many businesses, this is where they lose the most customers.
Rhythm.
Turning repeat buying into a habit, so customers keep coming back without being chased.
Refer.
Turning happy customers into a source of new ones.
Reward.
Giving loyal customers a reason to stay, and making sure that loyalty is earned, not bought with discounts.
Your 90-day plan focuses on the stage that's costing you most. Get that working, and every other stage becomes easier to build on.
WHAT’S INCLUDED
The Service
REPEAT REVENUE ROADMAP
I start by finding where your customers are dropping off and what each leak is worth. The result is your 90-day plan, with one clear priority: the stage of the 4Rs costing you most.
STRATEGIC PLANNING
A monthly planning session with you and your team. Together, we agree the focus, milestones and how we'll measure success, then turn the plan into sprints, deliverables and owners.
A simple retention scorecard covering repeat rate, time to reorder, returning-customer revenue and lifetime value, with a short weekly update on what's moved. Ready to share with your leadership team.
KPI TRACKING
Each week, your team can send one piece of work for feedback, such as an email, a landing page or a campaign brief. I'll come back with clear, practical notes, so it goes out stronger.
WEEKLY REVIEWS
LEADING THE BUILD
I design what your customers experience: the emails, the loyalty and referral ideas, the moments that bring them back. Then I brief your team or agency and keep them on track.
Q+A SUPPORT
I don't want unanswered questions holding you back. You and your team can send questions by voice note or email, and I'll reply within 48 hours, Monday to Friday.
How it works
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Please answer a few questions so I understand your business, then let's have a conversation to see whether we're a good fit.
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The first two weeks are the Repeat Revenue Roadmap. I read your customer data, review your retention engine against the 4Rs, and we agree your 90-day plan.
In the second two weeks, I work with your team to turn that plan into sprints, deliverables and owners, so everyone knows what they're doing from day one.
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I lead the work, your team builds it, and you get a short performance update every week: what moved, what we're testing and what's next.
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At the end of the four months, we review your retention scorecard together and I hand over a clear playbook, so your team can keep it running.
And if you'd like to carry on working together, whether that's another 90 days or lighter ongoing support, I'm always happy to talk about what would help most.
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Start with the Repeat Revenue Roadmap. It works on its own, and it's always the first step here too. Click here to find out more about that.
Why fractional?
You need someone senior to own retention. Here's how the options compare:
Fractional Head of Retention
- Cost
- £1,497 a month for four months
- Seniority
- 20+ years, including experience with loyalty programmes with millions of members
- Time to start
- Diagnosis and set-up in month one
- Focus
- One of only four businesses I work with
- Judged on
- Revenue from the customers you already have
- Term
- A defined four-month engagement, paid monthly
Full-time Head of Retention
- Cost
- A senior salary, plus recruitment, onboarding and employer costs
- Seniority
- Senior, if you can find and afford them
- Time to start
- Months of hiring
- Focus
- Your business only
- Judged on
- Whatever the role is set up to measure
- Term
- Employment contract
Agency
- Cost
- Monthly retainer, often priced on sends or hours
- Seniority
- Varies, often juniors doing the work
- Time to start
- Weeks
- Focus
- Spread across many clients
- Judged on
- Campaigns delivered
- Term
- Often a fixed term
‘I just wanted to say thank you so much for the wonderful insights in the business audit report. I'm still going through them all and actioning them, but it has all galvanised activity and it feels like I have a clear path forward. I'll definitely reach out with more questions around some of the aspects, but for now I'm just focusing on the marketing and website.’
- Founder, Coeur et Maman
Investment and next steps
4x monthly payments of £1,497, or USD$1997.
Month one covers your Repeat Revenue Roadmap and setting up with your team. Months two to four are spent delivering your 90-day plan.
I plan the work in 90 days because retention changes take a quarter to show up properly in the numbers. You're billed monthly, and if it isn't working for you, you can stop before your next payment.
That's senior retention leadership for a fraction of the cost of a full-time hire.
I only work with four businesses at a time, so places are very limited. If I'm fully booked, I'll let you know when a place opens.
If you're ready to stop losing customers after their first order, and turn retention into a revenue channel you can plan around:
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"Without Vicki - her patience, accuracy, extensive knowledge, being available and willing to help and all round can and will do attitude, it wouldn't have come together. I'm forever in your debt. And looking forward to working together again, and again.. thanks so much"
– Rosey, Founder of WeareNativ
Apply Now
Please tell me a bit about your brand and we can go from there
Hi, I'm Vicki.
I've spent 20+ years in retail and digital marketing, from leading brand activity in one of the UK's largest loyalty schemes to building retention from the ground up for independent brands. I've also run businesses of my own, so I know what it's like when every spend and every hour counts.
I think in revenue and margin, not just sends. Strategic enough to set the direction, hands-on enough to make sure it goes live, and clear enough for the team to work from.
And I care about the part most retention work skips: the moments that make customers feel looked after, because that's what makes them stay.
Let's grow your business from the customers you already have.
FAQs
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This service is best suited to you if:
You're an established business, not a new startup.
Customers can buy from you more than once: new products, repeat orders, rebookings, subscriptions or memberships
You have at least 3 months of customer and/or order data, even if it's messy
Nobody owns retention yet, or the person who does is stretched across everything else
Health and beauty ecommerce businesses: because of an existing non-compete, I can only take on clients in this space from May 2027.
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Yes. It's the first half of month one in every engagement. Leading retention without first understanding where your customers drop off would be guesswork. The Roadmap gives us the diagnosis and the 90-day plan, so we start with the right priority.
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No. We'll start with setting up your team on the plan, then move straight into delivering it.
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It's the senior version of those roles. A CRM manager or loyalty lead runs the programme day to day. A Head of Retention sets the direction for it: the strategy, the priorities, and how it ties back to revenue and lifetime value.
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The Repeat Revenue Roadmap. In the first two weeks, I read your customer data, review your retention engine against the 4Rs, and we agree your 90-day plan.
Planning session with your team. In month one, we agree the focus, the milestones and how we'll measure success, and turn the plan into sprints and owners.
A focused 90-day plan. One clear priority, tied to the stage of the 4Rs that's costing you most.
Leading the build. I design what your customers experience after they buy, brief your team or agency, and check the work before it goes live.
Your retention scorecard. A simple weekly view of repeat rate, time to reorder, returning-customer revenue and lifetime value.
Weekly performance updates. A short written update on what moved, what we're testing and what's next.
Leadership reporting. Help showing the wider business what retention is delivering, in revenue.
A weekly review. One piece of work each week, such as an email, a landing page or a campaign brief, with clear, practical feedback.
Q+A support. Questions by voice note or email, with replies within 48 hours, Monday to Friday.
A handover playbook. At the end, a clear record of what's working, how it runs and what to do next.
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I don't sell days or specific hours. You get the planning, the weekly updates, the weekly review, programme oversight and message support listed above, focused on the outcomes we agree at the start.
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Your retention scorecard tracks the numbers that matter every week, and we review them properly together at the end. You'll always know what's moved and why.
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Usually an export of orders and customers from your store, booking system or subscription platform, plus read-only access to your email platform. It doesn't need tidying up first. Messy data is normal, and reading it is my job.
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You're billed monthly. If you're not happy, you can stop before your next payment.
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This service works whatever you use. I'm certifying in Klaviyo and have hands-on experience with ActiveCampaign, Kit and Circle, alongside Shopify, Squarespace, Teepee and subscription and booking tools. The diagnosis comes from your customer data, not from the platform.
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Yes. The 4Rs apply to any business where customers can buy more than once, whether that's repeat orders, rebookings, renewals or memberships. For subscriptions, I also look at failed payments, pausing and cancellations.
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Yes. I run a service business myself, so I know from the inside how much depends on clients who rebook, renew and refer. Coaches, consultants and professional services firms like legal and finance all face the same question: what happens after the first piece of work? I'll look at where clients drift, and how to turn happy clients into a steady source of referrals.
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Yes. I'm a regular customer of these businesses myself: a nutritionist, a reformer Pilates studio, a gym, a spa and wellness retreats. I've had great experiences and frustrating ones, and I bring both to this work, along with my experience as a service provider. Whether you're a studio, an independent instructor or a wellness brand, I'll look at how new members settle in, when regulars start to drift, and how to spot them before they stop booking.
Please note: I am not currently taking on any ecommerce clients in the health and beauty space until May 2027 due to a non-compete.
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Yes. I've run my own online brand and work with a lot of e-commerce businesses, including one where returning-customer revenue grew by 320% within 2 months of working together. For most online brands, the biggest leak sits between the first and second order. I'll look at that gap, how often customers in your category naturally reorder, and how much of your repeat revenue relies on discounts.
Please note: I am not currently taking on any ecommerce clients in the health and beauty space until May 2027 due to a non-compete.
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Yes. I currently support a direct-to-consumer brand running a subscription model, so I'm close to the day-to-day reality of recurring orders, where every cancellation counts. As well as the 4Rs, I'll look at failed payments, skips and pauses, cancellation journeys, and which groups of subscribers stay longest, so you know where to focus.
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Yes. Memberships live or die on whether people feel part of something. Whether you run a community, a course library, a paid newsletter or a club, I'll look at how new members settle in during their first few weeks, which parts they use and which they ignore, the early signs someone's about to leave, and what makes members renew.
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That depends on what's working. If they're doing a good job, I'll work alongside them, brief them and review the work, so everyone is pulling in the same direction. If they're not the right fit, I'll tell you, and help you decide whether to bring the work in-house or find someone better suited.
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Someone who can build and send, whether that's a team member, a freelancer or an agency, and a decision-maker who can sign things off quickly.
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We review your scorecard together and I hand over the playbook, so your team can keep things running. If you'd like to keep working together, whether that's another 90 days or lighter ongoing support, I'm happy to talk about what would help most. There's no expectation either way.
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"Vicki was all I had hoped for and even better! Had a great call with her which was very efficient and focused on my needs. Her follow up notes were amazing. I would recommend"
- Camila, Founder of Lewina Swimwear