EPISODE 60 OF WHAT WOULD THEY DO? THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE PODCAST FOR SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS
NOTE: Some of the tools and resources mentioned in these shownotes could be affiliate links. That means when you click the link to create an account, start a free trial or make a purchase, it won’t cost you any more but I may receive a commission for introducing you. One thing I want to stress is that I would never recommend anything or anyone I haven’t successfully worked with myself or trust unconditionally.
Your traffic is solid. People are clicking, subscribing, even engaging. And yet: Crickets when it comes to sales.
In this episode, I flip the usual narrative on its head and challenge the default advice of “just get more visibility” or “nurture harder.”
Because what if the problem isn’t attracting people, but quietly losing the right ones before they ever buy?
This episode dives into the concept of invisible churn, the silent drop-off happening when your best-fit clients don’t see themselves clearly enough in your messaging, offers, or customer journey.
If your funnel looks good on paper but still isn’t converting, this is the episode that will make you rethink what’s really going on.
What we cover:
Why traffic and engagement don’t automatically lead to conversions
What invisible churn is (and how it’s affecting your business)
The real reason your best-fit clients aren’t buying
The subtle messaging mistakes that quietly push people away
How to diagnose where your customer journey is breaking down
Soundbites:
“We just need more interactions, more touch points, and people eventually are going to buy. And worst case scenario, we’re giving them a deadline or some scarcity, and then they’re going to invest. Not the case. The people who stay usually are the ones who felt seen early on. It’s not coincidental that they buy from you for the first time and then stick around.”
“List growth is great, but if we don’t signal the right things, if we don’t help people feel reassured that you are exactly what they need, your biggest list growth opportunity is going to result in nothing because people are going to quietly opt out.”
😍 Love the show?
Submit your question so I can answer it in an upcoming episode (or invite the perfect guest expert!).
Post a screenshot with your key takeaway on your IG story and tag me @candocontent and #WWTDpod so I can repost your content.
Your next steps:
Join the Retention Lab 🧪, the membership for savvy online business owners determined to grow their revenue, referrals and repeat business without more marketing. Join here!
Find out how you can get my strategic customer experience brain on your brand here.
Grab the FREE State of the Customer online business industry report with first-hand findings, gaps & opportunities PLUS proven strategies to boost your customer experience. Download FREE here!
Check out my favourite CX tools and resources here.
Episode Transcript:
Nadine Nethery (00:01)
Hello, hello and welcome to another episode. I am so glad that you decided to tune in. Let’s get into it. So today’s question we are going to take a closer look at is the following. My traffic is fine. People are clicking. Some are even engaging, but why does it still feel like the right people aren’t converting?
I’m sure we have all asked ourselves this question at some point in our business journeys. But what if we rephrased this question and flip the coin to look at the actual problem? What if the problem isn’t actually who is entering your email list and signing up to your newsletter, but who is quietly without raising their hand opting out before you even notice?
At the core of this problem, lies a broader misconception that is still floating around in the online business space and being pushed by, in inverted commas, the experts. It’s all about more visibility. It’s all about more nurturing. People need more trust points with you.
And the problem is that your audience simply isn’t ready to buy from you. But what if your best fit clients are there? They are in your universe. They are paying attention, but for whatever reason, they’re not seeing themselves clearly enough in your messaging, in your customer journey, in your office suite to stick around and invest in your brand.
We always assume that people don’t buy because they’re not interested, they don’t have money, but so often the problem lies in a lack of self recognition. So seeing themselves in your solution, in your offer, in your messaging and feeling like it is specifically designed for them.
invisible churn shows up in certain ways in your business. The listener question here touched on, people are paying attention, they’re signing up to your list, they’re showing up, they’re engaging somewhat, they’re just not buying. And that’s so true. So often people check out your sales page, they click through from your emails, but for whatever reason, they just don’t feel seen.
They also read social media posts, but for whatever reason feel like it won’t work for people like me. She’s talking about someone else. And the problem is that they never hit reply to tell you like, I’m super interested, but this is not going to work for me. And ultimately they quietly lower their expectations.
in your offers around your brand, and around your solutions. And they ultimately stop engaging because they feel that disconnect between you and them is widening. So why is this happening? Why are people landing on your list with the best intentions, but for whatever reason are lacking the self-recognition in your offers?
as I touched on before, people are constantly scanning your content, your emails, your sales pages for an answer to the question, is this actually for me? And if that answer is not obvious and instant in your messaging, they answer the question for themselves. And often that looks like
Probably not. And unfortunately, you’re often far too close to your offer to identify whether the way you package it and the way you present it genuinely connects and resonates with your audience. And what’s crystal clear to you simply doesn’t seem that obvious to your audience and your best fit clients and customers ultimately don’t need more convincing. They need
faster reassurance that they’re the right place, that they’re looking at the right offer and that your expertise is going to help them and that it’s exactly what they’re after.
So how do you diagnose your invisible churn problem? I like to start with a few questions, which can seem somewhat confronting, but if you don’t address them in your business, you’re always going to be stuck with this disconnect where people are clicking, engaging, but somehow quietly disappearing because they simply don’t find the right answers and the right reassurance they’re looking for. So first question here, where are you assuming that people will
figure it out. Right? They’ll find out for themselves, they’ll work it out. Secondly, where are you speaking about your offer instead of to your people? So where are you focusing on, features, benefits, deliverables, etc. instead of highlighting why these are important and how these are relevant to your people? And thirdly,
Where are you unintentionally filtering out the exact people you want to turn into customers? So which step on your customer journey is unintentionally a huge deal breaker for your audience?
The problem is often we look at our funnel as something that needs to convert people and needs to sell people into our offers. But if we’re not intentional about the way we design them, the messaging in those funnels, then we are quietly disqualifying people because the messaging is off.
they’re not recognizing themselves and they are answering that question, is this for me themselves? And come to the conclusion that no, this is not for me and they are quietly disappearing. So ultimately, invisible churn is a customer experience and messaging issue rather than a visibility issue because we’ve established, you you’re getting people into your universe.
they’re simply not hearing the right things and seeing the right things and experiencing the right things to take a step closer to your brand. The problem is retention starts before the first purchase. So it’s easy to ignore all those things, the sales messaging, that nurturing because…
It just seems to automatically happen, right? We just need more interactions, more touch points, and people ultimately eventually are going to buy. And worst case scenario, we’re them a deadline or some scarcity, and then they’re going to invest. Not the case. So the people who stay with your brand and invest in your brand usually are the ones who felt seen early on in their relationship with you.
it’s not coincidental that they buy from you for the first time and then stick around. Everything you communicate to them genuinely resonates with them and makes them feel reassured that they have made the right choice to join your email list. And if the right people don’t recognize themselves in your world, in your universe early on, they actually don’t stick around long enough to become your best customers.
So instead of asking how do I get more people through the door, is that, you know, hyper-focus on list growth, on visibility at all costs. I totally think it’s worth asking yourself how many of the right people have already come through the door. They’ve already put their hand up. They’ve already joined your list, but are quietly deciding it’s time to opt out.
they’re disappearing because they’ve decided themselves that it simply isn’t for them. take away from this episode. list growth is great, but if we don’t signal the right things, if we don’t help people feel reassured that you are exactly what they need, then, your biggest list growth
opportunity is going to result in nothing because people are going to quietly opt out. The invisible churn is going to grind you into the ground in the long run. I am literally obsessed with fixing this invisible churn problem. I’m obsessed with helping my customers, whether it’s one-on-one or my incubator.
members in Retention Lab to diagnose those customer journey moments, those messaging misalignments, so we can fix them and make sure people are hearing the right things all across your customer journey. So they stick around, they buy from you for the first time and they buy again and again. So if this is something you’re interested in, you can check out Retention Lab via the link in the show notes, or if you want to have a conversation around
diagnosing your invisible churn problem and what that might look like for your specific circumstances. Hit up my website, reach out by the contact form and we can have a conversation from there. Totally no pressure and we can have a conversation from there. So this is it for today. Something to hopefully spark some thought and make you reflect on
your business, and whether it might need some fixing. Thank you so much for tuning in. I will be back in your AirPods next week. Have a fabulous week and I’ll see you then.
