Ep 216: The power of community and why retention means growth

Advi Bishnoi, Head of Consulting at Social Plus, argues that in 2025, retention has overtaken acquisition as the real growth engine for apps. From Ulta Beauty to Harley Davidson, Advi has helped brands turn community features into measurable revenue streams. In this episode, he explains why micro-communities and in-app social layers transform loyalty programs, how first-party data becomes indispensable in a privacy-first world, and why marketers need to stop fixating on CPMs and CAC. The conversation maps out how fitness apps, travel platforms, sports teams, and retailers all harness community differently and why organic engagement often beats promotions or retargeting in driving long-term retention.

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• What is Social Plus, and how do its in-app social features work?
• Why is retention ‘the new acquisition’ in 2025?
• What mistakes do marketers make when they think about retention?
• How do community features increase CLV across verticals like fitness, travel, and retail?
• How can first-party data from in-app communities transform marketing and personalization?
• Who inside a company should ‘own’ retention marketing, product, or success?
• How can loyalty programs be built on organic engagement instead of just promos?
• What is the ‘spaces model’ for understanding community ROI?
• How should marketers balance personalization with scale across millions of users?
• What metrics should marketers stop obsessing over, and which deserve more focus?
• What new revenue opportunities do brand partners unlock inside communities?

• (0:00) – Intro; Advi’s background and Social Plus overview
• (1:38) – Micro-community examples: surf shops, fitness apps, Nike sneakerheads
• (7:03) – Why ‘retention is growth’ in 2025: CAC vs CLV
• (9:30) – Marketing silos and the ownership problem in retention
• (13:40) – Why promos and events are less effective than organic engagement
• (17:21) – First-party data: insights, sentiment analysis, and privacy advantages
• (20:00) – Loyalty vs. hypergrowth: why CLV is a long-term play
• (22:37) – Signals of churn, and how to intervene before users leave
• (25:41) – Balancing personalization and scale with AI-driven sentiment and clusters
• (28:20) – Metrics that marketers overvalue (CAC, ad spend) versus those they undervalue (LTV, frequency, order size)
• (31:00) – Brand partnerships inside communities: CPM rethink and new revenue models
• (33:32) – Rapid fire: food in Thailand vs Italy, habits, dream jobs, favorite brands

(12:50) – “Promos and gamified events help, but organic engagement helps more. People join a 30-day fitness challenge not for the discount, but because others are posting daily and they want to participate.”

(21:22) – “Customer acquisition is measurable and fast, which is why VCs love it. Retention is a long-term play, it’s demand gen, brand equity, and profitability over three to five years.”

(28:30) – “Marketers need to stop obsessing over CAC. In my world it’s 30% CAC, 70% retention and lifetime value.”

(32:23) – “For sponsored posts in-community, we’ve seen brands charge $15 to $60 CPMs, because the audience is hyper-focused and conversion rates are so much higher.”