Between The Big Moments: How To Give Customers a Reason To Engage in 2027

TelecomsFinancial ServicesInsuranceUtilitiesArticle

October 19, 2026

Acquisition and renewal campaigns often dominate marketing departments’ attention, not to mention the budget. But don’t forget it's what happens in between that makes customers decide whether or not to stay, warns, Kim Walsh, Managing Director ANZ at TLC Worldwide.

For most subscription businesses, the customer relationship has two big moments – the day a customer joins, and the day they decide whether or not to stay.

Understandably, that's where most of the effort goes. Generous switching incentives win the customer in the first place, and retention offers try to keep them when the contract ends. But between those two moments there's often a long stretch – the ‘quiet middle’ – where the brand barely features in the customer's life at all.

And if we're being honest, it's easy to see why.

Once your bank account is set up and your direct debits are in place, how much do you think about your financial services provider? Does your telecommunications supplier come to mind unless the contract is up for renewal, or something has gone wrong? Utilities are a grudge purchase, with almost every interaction centred on the ups and downs of the bill. And we hope to speak to insurers and private health providers as little as possible, because it usually means we’ve a claim to make in the event of the unexpected.

In other words, most of these interactions happen only because the customer needs something, not because there’s any desire to connect with the brand on a deeper level.

But this means the relationship only comes alive when there's a problem or a price to compare, which leaves the subscription economy in a fragile state. In telecoms alone, Deloitte reports that up to 77% of consumers feel no loyalty to their provider. So, when the renewal moment arrives, there's little reason to stay.

So how do you give your customers reasons to engage positively with your brand, when they don't need anything from you?

Smiling young woman looks at her smartphone

Creating more reasons to engage

In our latest white paper – which draws upon global insights from market reports and case studies worldwide – we argue that the strongest propositions start with the customer behaviour a brand needs to change. Then, they curate a value-exchange designed to shift it.

So, if the behaviour you want is more frequent, positive engagement, what kind of value does that require?

Despite common misconceptions, customers are rarely looking for big, once-a-year gestures. A pair of concert tickets, for instance, might create a memorable moment, but it won't bring a customer back next week, next month or next year.

Instead, from our experience, working alongside remarkable brands worldwide, everyday engagement depends on three things:

Infographic titled “Everyday engagement depends on…”

1. Frequency

If you want customers to come back regularly, you have to give them a reason to return, again and again.

That means providing recurring value every time a customer does something habitual. Instead of a one-off reward creating a spike in activity, a higher cadence of reward keeps the brand front of mind long after a welcome offer has been forgotten.

2. Relevance

The benefit has to fit naturally into people's lives, reflecting the things they already enjoy, want, or do.

Subscription businesses typically hold more customer data than almost any other sector, so they're well placed to get this right. But having customer data and using it well are two very different things. Capgemini's 2025 World Retail Banking Research found that 73% of customers feel rewards programs are insufficiently personalised, and 52% feel all rewards programs look the same.

We must therefore remember that the most effective rewards show your customers you understand them. Then you can deliver moments that matter.

3. Simplicity

The experience should be immediately understood and easy to use.

If a customer has to work out how many points they need, read the small print, or jump through several steps to redeem a reward, the moment has already passed. In fact, in one study Capgemini's research found that 62% of customers found promotional offers and rewards confusing.

So don’t overcomplicate. The best everyday benefits can be explained in a sentence, and used in seconds.

Get all three right, and your brand has the potential to become an effortless part of a customer’s routine, which they soon don’t want to live without.

Case study on VodafoneThree £1 Coffee Network

How Three turned coffee into a weekly customer benefit

The telco market is fiercely competitive, with differentiation increasingly hard to come by and price-led incentives dominating. That’s why UK provider Three wanted its loyalty proposition to deliver real value in everyday life, not just in occasional moments.

Through its Three+ app, the brand set out to move beyond one-off experiential rewards, such as concert tickets that might only resonate once or twice a year. Instead, it strived to create habit-forming, repeatable reasons for customers to engage, in an attempt to reduce churn, increase app usage, and attract and retain the right customers.

Working with TLC, Three launched the £1 Local Coffee Network, playing into the UK's ever-growing coffee culture. And it ticked all three boxes.

Frequency. Customers could treat themselves to a barista-made coffee for just £1, once a week. The weekly rhythm gives customers something to look forward to, and a regular reason to open the Three+ app.
Relevance. Coffee is one of life's simple, everyday pleasures. Rather than relying solely on the obvious chains, TLC built a first-of-its-kind network of more than 1,000 independent and high-street cafés nationwide. That meant customers could enjoy their reward at their own neighbourhood favourite, as well as recognised names such as Paul, Kaspa's and Wenzel's.
Simplicity. One coffee, one pound, once a week. Customers accessed the offer in the app and redeemed it instantly, without the need to collect any points or reach any particular thresholds.

The coffee network sat alongside the brand’s initial always-on proposition, Three+ Eats, which offered £5 off a £20 spend at more than 3,500 restaurants, available twice a day, 365 days a year. Together, they positioned Three+ as a practical, everyday companion, rather than an occasional perk platform.

Both became integral parts of the Three+ loyalty proposition, encouraging frequent, habitual engagement and reinforcing the value of being a Three customer. The £1 Local Coffee Network's innovation was also recognised with a Supplier/Vendor Innovation award at the European Loyalty Awards 2025 and Best Loyalty Campaign at the Institute of Promotional Marketing (IPM) Awards 2026.

Finding your everyday reason to engage

This stand-out example shows that Three didn't need a grand gesture to change customer behaviour. But the right gesture – a frequent, relevant and effortless reward – is what successfully drove that all-important engagement during what could otherwise have been a ‘quiet middle’.

Every subscription brand has its own version of this scenario. For a bank, it might be the months between opening an account and the next big financial decision. For a utilities provider, the gap between bills. For an insurer, the long stretch between buying a policy and making a claim.

But give customers a reason to engage in between – something that happens often enough to become a habit, fits naturally into their lives, and is effortless to enjoy – and that engagement could become lasting loyalty.

It doesn't have to be expensive. It just has to be right.

So, what would your version of Three's £1 coffee be?

Want to explore this topic further?

Download our latest white paper, “Investing enough in reasons to stay: Three principles that see global brands changing behaviour, for more examples of global brands nurturing behaviour to acquire, engage and retain customers.

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