What 30 years of running lifecycle programs taught us about building programs that actually work

This article is part of our Lifecycle Leaders series. Subscribe here to get every edition along with expert insights like this and journey breakdowns from the world's largest brands.

Between the two of us (Phi Pham and Carlos Govantes), we’ve spent over 30 years in the lifecycle marketing space, working with brands like Peloton, Casper, Thirty Madison, Imperfect Foods, and Misfits Market. And we’ve seen firsthand what it takes to make programs successful: whether that’s spearheading strategy, standing up infrastructure, integrating new tools, or scaling campaigns to reach millions of customers. We know what works, what falls flat, and what separates high-performing lifecycle programs from those that just check the box.

This post is for anyone working in lifecycle, CRM, retention, or customer experience — especially those who are in the thick of building or evolving their program. We’re sharing the lessons we wish we knew earlier: the foundational principles that hold up across industries, the common traps teams fall into, and the behind-the-scenes details that make lifecycle programs truly effective.