BrightonSEO 2025 Speaker Recap: Leveraging Customer Intent to Drive Retention
Raycheal Proctor standing in front of a slide that reads, “Yesterday: intent was intuition, today: it’s signals… tomorrow: it will be prediction,” illustrating the evolution of data-driven marketing.
At the end of September, I had the pleasure of presenting at BrightonSEO 2025 in San Diego, building on last year’s talk on post-sale engagement and omnichannel orchestration. While 2024 focused on creating seamless customer experiences post-purchase, this year’s session highlighted the next step: using customer intent to fuel retention strategies. Retention isn’t just about keeping customers—it’s about leveraging insights to predict needs, personalize interactions, and create loyalty that lasts.
Read about last year’s presentation and request the deck here.
From Engagement to Retention:
Last year, we explored how post-sale engagement could increase satisfaction and lifetime value. This year, I emphasized how intent signals, both explicit and implicit, can guide retention-driven actions:
Explicit signals: repeat purchases, loyalty program activity, service requests.
Implicit signals: browsing patterns, time spent on educational content, social engagement.
By connecting these signals across channels, marketers can understand not just who is engaging, but who is most likely to remain loyal, advocate for the brand, or be at risk of churn.
Predictive Intent and Retention
Predictive intent models are revolutionizing how marketers approach retention. Platforms like 6sense, Demandbase, and AI-driven CRMs can identify which customers are likely to churn, which are ready for upsell, and which need proactive engagement. By anticipating needs, marketers can orchestrate personalized touchpoints across email, social, ads, and content—creating a seamless omnichannel experience that strengthens loyalty.
Related Blog: The Future of Customer Loyalty: Harnessing Predictive Intent Across Channels
Omnichannel Strategies That Work
Email & Content: Triggered campaigns based on behavioral intent signals.
Ads & Retargeting: Focused messaging to nurture high-intent customers.
Social & Community Engagement: Encourage advocacy and reinforce brand loyalty.
Cross-Channel Orchestration: Consistent, personalized experiences across all touchpoints.
Key Takeaways from BrightonSEO 2025
Retention is a proactive strategy, not just reactive follow-up.
Customer intent is the foundation for predicting needs and reducing churn.
Omnichannel orchestration ensures your intent-driven campaigns resonate at every stage.
Predictive models allow you to act before customers disengage.
The most important thing you can do is UNDERSTAND YOUR AUDIENCE.
I’ve also included several descriptive examples from real-world retention strategies that illustrate how understanding your audience’s intent can make a long-term impact. These examples highlight how predictive insights and omnichannel orchestration can be applied across industries to nurture loyalty, reduce churn, and create advocacy.
Conclusion
Building on the lessons from BrightonSEO 2024, 2025’s focus on intent-fueled retention strategies reinforces that loyalty is created through understanding, anticipation, and personalization. By connecting intent signals across channels and leveraging predictive models, marketers can craft experiences that keep customers coming back.
If you’d like a deeper look, I’m happy to share the presentation deck from my BrightonSEO 2025 talk.
It includes actionable frameworks and examples that you can apply to your own retention strategies. Connect, request the deck, and let’s discuss how these insights could work for your brand.
Written by Raycheal Proctor
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