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Updated: 3 hours ago
The Marketing Hourglass: An Eight-Stage Retention Framework
By Trayan Hristov | Reviewed 6 October 2026 | 7 min read
The Marketing Hourglass is the eight-stage model Thrivelia uses to connect acquisition with product adoption, repeat purchasing and advocacy. Its stages are Know, Like, Trust, Try, Buy, Adopt, Repeat and Advocate. The first purchase sits in the middle of the relationship, so the programme has a clear job on both sides of the sale.
Most funnel diagrams narrow towards the purchase and end there. The Hourglass makes the next part visible: what helps the customer get value from the first product, why they would return and how they might recommend the brand. It is a planning framework, not a claim that every customer moves through the same steps in a straight line.
IN THIS GUIDE Eight stages · Account use · Example · Measurement · FAQs |
The eight stages
Stage | Customer question | The programme's job |
|---|---|---|
Know | Does this brand exist and is it relevant? | Reach the right people and make the proposition understandable |
Like | Is this worth my attention? | Establish a useful first impression through product, creative and tone |
Trust | Can the brand deliver what it promises? | Provide accurate guidance, relevant proof and credible expectations |
Try | What is a sensible first step? | Help the customer take an appropriate lower-commitment action |
Buy | Am I ready to place the order? | Make the purchase decision and the handoff coherent |
Adopt | How do I get the value I bought? | Support product use, expectations, care and service needs |
Repeat | Why and when would I buy again? | Connect the product experience with a relevant next purchase |
Advocate | Would I recommend this to someone else? | Make appropriate reviews, referrals and participation easy |
Try may mean a quiz, a sample, a trial or a small first order where the business offers one. The framework does not require adding a sample programme to a brand that does not need it. The stages identify jobs; the account architecture should reflect the actual product and customer journey.
Why the shape matters
A first order is an important outcome, but it does not establish a durable customer relationship. The buyer still needs the product to meet expectations. A relevant second purchase then depends on the product, the customer's situation and the reason to return.
Customer value depends on several factors, including order frequency, order value, contribution and the length of the relationship. Acquisition brings people into that relationship. Adoption and repeat-purchase work aim to make the relationship more valuable. The appropriate budget split depends on the business and the evidence, rather than a fixed rule that retention always returns more than acquisition.
The Hourglass gives the team a shared map for those decisions. It makes a gap in product adoption or repeat purchasing as visible as a gap in welcome or checkout recovery.
How we use it on an account
An account review maps existing flows, campaigns and service handoffs onto the stages. We inspect both coverage and coherence. A programme can have several welcome flows while leaving the first buyer with little product guidance. It can also have a large number of flows whose entry and exit rules compete for the same person.
Before purchase, the work may involve a clearer proposition, useful product advice, preference capture or a better welcome experience. After purchase, it may involve education by product, support routing and a next-order journey based on observed customer behaviour.
The map does not prescribe a flow for every box. It helps identify which customer transition needs work and what evidence should decide the priority. Use the Klaviyo audit checklist to review the data, delivery and logic that make the map usable.
A worked example: the first apparel purchase
This example is hypothetical. It shows how to turn the framework into decisions, rather than claiming a measured result for a specific client.
A new subscriber is interested in a core top. The pre-purchase programme explains fabric, fit and styling, then helps the shopper choose. When an order occurs, first-purchase recovery stops and the relationship changes.
After arrival, the programme supplies useful care and styling advice. The team analyses mature first-product cohorts to find a plausible companion purchase and an appropriate observation window. It then tests whether a relevant follow-up helps more eligible customers place a second order.
Transition | Action to investigate | Evidence to review |
|---|---|---|
Trust to Buy | Improve accurate fit and product guidance | The chosen first-purchase outcome and a fair comparison |
Buy to Adopt | Provide useful arrival-stage education | Timing, product context and the defined customer outcome |
Adopt to Repeat | Present a relevant companion product | Equal-age first-order cohorts and second-purchase behaviour |
Repeat to Advocate | Offer an appropriate review or referral opportunity | Eligibility, customer context and the actual response |
The practical difference is the focus on a transition. A sequence exists to help the customer do something useful, rather than simply to fill a missing automation name.
Define the next decision before building
For each proposed piece of work, record the stage, customer need, required information, owner and outcome. Check whether the underlying events, product information and permissions support the plan. Define a sensible fallback when the information is missing.
Then distinguish repairs from experiments. Incorrect purchase exclusions are a defect to fix and retest. A new product-education sequence is a hypothesis whose outcome needs evaluating. Give each a clear place in the action register.
Order the work around the account's condition. Reliable sending, data and journey logic support the later creative and personalisation work. More messages are useful only when they serve the agreed priorities and remain coherent with the rest of the customer's experience.
Measure the transition, not just the channel
Use attributed revenue to understand which messages receive credit under the configured reporting model. Use customer measures to investigate whether new buyers return, when they return and which products appear next. These questions are related, but their answers are not interchangeable.
The perfectwhitetee case reports a 36.3% blended second-purchase figure and 61.5% among customers with at least twelve months of tenure. Those are different populations. The finding explains why customer age matters in diagnosis; it is not an email-caused improvement from one percentage to the other.
Our first-to-second-purchase guide provides an equal-window calculation. The email revenue share guide explains how attribution and total-store performance should be reviewed together.
Connect the map with progressive personalisation
The Hourglass identifies the relationship stage and the job to be done. Progressive personalisation changes the next interaction using what the brand learns about the customer.
Purchased product, order count, timing and a reliable stated preference can change the advice or next product. Keep the decisions understandable and the information current. A more elaborate customer profile is useful when it produces a better action.
Frequently asked questions
Does every stage need a separate Klaviyo flow?
No. One journey may serve several stages, and some stages involve the website or service team rather than marketing automation. Build the architecture around customer needs and reliable events.
Is the Hourglass only for repeat-purchase products?
The reasons and intervals for returning differ by product. A durable-goods brand may emphasise product adoption, accessories, another use case or advocacy. Adapt the jobs and measures to the actual business.
How should a subscription brand use it?
Review product adoption and progression through billing cycles alongside acquisition. Define what counts as a successful rebill, and compare customers with equal time to reach it. Do not treat a first subscription order as proof of a lasting relationship.
Where should we start?
Map the current experience, identify the transition that needs attention and check the evidence supporting the diagnosis. Then assign the work and a review point. The framework is useful when it changes a practical decision.
Acquisition fills the top; the relationship continues
The Hourglass keeps both sides of the first purchase visible. Thrivelia is a UK-founded lifecycle and retention agency with a hybrid team across London and Sofia. We use the framework to connect account diagnosis with the next useful stage of customer development.
Explore the Retention Resources hub, or see Thrivelia's retention marketing services. UK-founded, with a hybrid team across London and Sofia.
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