EP 68: A practical framework for profitable email and SMS in 2026

Acquisition is harder. CAC keeps climbing. Attribution feels like guesswork.The brands still growing profitably are not “sending more” to fix it. They’re building retention systems that move customers forward, one step at a time.In this episode of Send It, Jimmy Kim and Chase Dimond teach a practical 8-step retention framework built from real brand work and Omnisend benchmark data. You’ll also get a downloadable worksheet to map your customer journey, audit your lifecycle gaps, and turn retention into something repeatable.This is not a “run more campaigns” episode. It’s how to build a retention engine that makes revenue more predictable.Download the worksheets here: https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6735048599b05e098e178c8f/6952c64d53f794174c3fa62d_Retention%20Redefined%20Worksheets.pdf Access Omnisends full report here: https://www.omnisend.com/resources/reports/2026-ecommerce-marketing-report/?utm_source=SendIt&utm_medium=Promo EP 68: A practical framework for profitable email and SMS in 2026Here's what we're diving into:- The modern customer journey most brands ignore after first purchase, and how to fix it- How segmentation should mature from basic to predictive- Strategy for making email and SMS work in tandem- How to leverage AI while maintaining the human touch to build trust- The 8 automations that form a real retention engine- The 2026 retention scorecard- A simple 90-day plan to implement the frameworkThank you our friends at Omnisend, Inboox and eCom Email Certified for sponsoring the podcast!Omnisend is an all in one eCommerce email and SMS marketing automation platform that enables marketers to engage customers and drive sales through personalized experiences. https://www.omnisend.com/sendit/eCom Email Certified is a hands-on, results-driven program with a step-by-step guide to mastering retention marketing and driving serious results. Access over 25 hours of learnings and become a certified email & SMS marketer. Use code: SENDIT! for $300 OFF https://www.ecomemailcertified.com/Explore Inboox.ai, the AI-powered database of 1M+ real ecommerce emails with full HTML, performance data, and trend insights from the fastest-growing Shopify brands. https://inboox.ai/______00:00 Welcome to The Show04:04 The Importance of Retention Marketing09:58 The Modern Customer Journey15:06 Effective Segmentation Strategies18:37 Channel Pairing: Email and SMS21:05 Leveraging AI in Retention Marketing25:11 Personalizing Messages at Scale26:52 Optimizing Key Flows for Retention28:35 Advanced Retention Strategies32:58 Metrics That Matter in 202639:35 Implementing a 90-Day Retention Plan42:19 Final Thoughts and Resources______Enjoying the pod? Subscribe to The eCom Email Marketer Newsletter for your weekly dose of retention strategy, actionable insights, & exclusive industry news! http://ecomemailmarketer.com/______Follow Jimmy & Chase on social!Follow Jimmy Kim at: https://x.com/yojimmykimhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/yojimmykim/https://www.instagram.com/yojimmykim/https://www.tiktok.com/@yojimmykim Follow Chase Dimond at: https://x.com/ecomchasedimondhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/chasedimond/https://www.instagram.com/chasehunterdimond/https://www.tiktok.com/@chasehunterdimondContact us at [email protected] for sponsorships, appearance requests, interviews, or general information!