I saw this chart from eMarketer that seems to define customer retention, or loyalty, as “up-sell, encourage repeat purchase.” Is that really what retention and loyalty is all about, getting existing customers to buy more? The answer: maybe.

I believe that a clear objective for any marketer is to grow business with existing customers. As they say, your cheapest marketing is what you direct at existing relationships. So selling more to them makes complete sense. What this article doesn’t tease out is how marketers are *engaging* with their existing customers, regardless of whether or not they are directly up-selling or capturing repeat purchases.

There needs to be a healthy tension between keeping customers buying—and buying more—and keeping them engaged. Higher engagement, which can lead to greater trust, will lead to more buying, or at least consistent buying. A retention strategy needs to be one that clearly articulates how the use of different channels will encourage prolonged engagement so that when the time is right, your customer thinks of you first.

Striking a balance is key. If you can find that perfect mix of engaging and up-selling to those who are likely to buy more and keeping those who are likely to continue purchasing from you engaged, then you may just have a winning formula.

Companies are constantly looking for ways to improve their online presence. They want to optimize. They want to enhance. Some want to completely redesign. And some should redesign.

But, given the current conditions of the economy, suggesting a redesign isn’t always an easy sell. Unless you have an organization with plenty of resources—people, money, and time—you need to find creative ways to do what you can with less.

One approach to this issue is to separate design and content. I know, this isn’t always easy, as there is a symbiotic existence between the two. But consider for a moment—regardless of the information design, color palette, and general aesthetic—that you could dramatically improve engagement of your traffic if visitors had a clearer idea of the value you offer.

Re-tooling the content on your site can provide many benefits. As a marketing organization, you’re focusing your message. You can improve the throughput of traffic and impact key conversion opportunities. You may even improve your search engine rankings. And, this can be done inexpensively (relative to a full-blown redesign) and with virtually no technical roadblocks.

I don’t mean to over-simplify. Your site may genuinely be broken and any optimization of content is like trying to polish a turd. It’s wise to take a deeper dive into the perceived issues with your site. Do you need a redesign because your inner-designer is sick of staring at the same home page day in and day out? Is your boss convinced that your competitor’s site is so much “flashier”? Or are you receiving authentic customer feedback telling you that things just ain’t working right?

Each of these can be valid, but they must be validated. Know the issues by soliciting input. Conduct a content audit to understand what you have and what you need. And, consider the possibility that a focused rewrite of content may be just what you need for some short-term satisfaction.