Cracking the Retention Code: The Hierarchy of Needs Approach

The retention hierarchy of needs is my go-to concept for solving retention problems.

Here’s how it works:

The idea is retention is a pyramid. You have to satisfy the lower layers first before tackling the one’s above them:

𝗟𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿 𝗢𝗻𝗲: 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗩𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲 𝗗𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 (𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻)

If you can’t build a great core product and an excellent onboarding into it, then you’re generally toast as it’s related to retention over the long-term.

The solutions lie in your core product teams, but you can also deploy a growth activation team to work on:

- Onboarding
- Quick time to value
- Strong guides for different types of users

This is the first layer of the hierarchy of needs — and going to a later layer is usually not worth your time until you nail this layer.

𝗟𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿 𝗧𝘄𝗼: 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 (𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗕𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗸𝘀)

Once users get your core value, it’s time to keep them coming back for more.

Engagement turns one-time users into regulars. It’s the difference between a fling and a long-term relationship.

If you’re working to move this, you’ll want to do things like:

- Gamify key actions
- Create more regular use cases
- Create reasons to keep coming back

It’s the second layer — important to get right before you move on.

Ready to go deeper on moving retention? Check out the deep dive with case studies and an encyclopedia of tactics to try.

𝗟𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿 𝗧𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗲: 𝗛𝗮𝗯𝗶𝘁 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 (𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗞𝗲𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗻𝗲)

This is where your product becomes part of users’ daily lives. It’s not just useful; it’s necessary.

Working in this layer entails doing things like…

Integration with Daily Routines
↳ Becoming part of existing behaviors

Creation of New Rituals
↳ Establishing new behaviors centered around your product

Leveraging Existing Habits
↳ Piggybacking on habits users already have.

Habit formation is a major unlock — and many of the product businesses that we all admire, like Figma and Notion, have nailed it.

𝗟𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗿: 𝗖𝗵𝘂𝗿𝗻 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 (𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻)

Once you’ve got users hooked, many people stop there. But it’s a mistake. Keeping paying users long-term usually requires active defense against churn.

And this matters. It’s far cheaper to keep existing users than to acquire new ones.

There’s basically two types of churn prevention:

Voluntary Churn Reduction
↳ Addressing active decisions to leave

Involuntary Churn Prevention
↳ Tackling passive user loss (e.g., payment issues)

It’s not something you focus on right away — but at a certain scale, it’s a must.

If you can diagnose what layer your retention problem is, you’re much better equipped to target investments at the right level.

Otherwise, you’re often working too high on the pyramid.