The Official Guide to Staying Evergreen in a Deciduous World

Relevancy in marketing is a tricky dance. Stay too rigid, and you risk becoming irrelevant. Chase trends too hard, and your brand burns out faster than last year’s TikTok sensation. But staying evergreen? That’s where the magic happens.

In this episode of The Longer Game, Michal Liberman, CRM Director at The Sak, shares how she transformed their email strategy from a shotgun blast into a surgical strike. Her approach: ditching mass emails for targeted, data-driven messaging. The result? Happier customers, fewer unsubscribes, and long-term loyalty that outlasts fads.

If you’re tired of playing catch-up in a trend-driven world, it’s time to shift your focus. Here’s how.

🌱 Values Are the New Currency

Today’s consumers aren’t just buying products—they’re choosing brands that reflect their values. Sustainability, inclusivity, and transparency are top priorities for many, and not having these can be a dealbreaker for some. 

At The Sak, Michal recognized the importance of weaving sustainability into the brand’s DNA. Rather than shouting about it, they let their actions speak for themselves. Highlighting eco-friendly materials and ethical practices became an organic part of their messaging, resonating with those customers who prioritize these values.

• Pro Tip: Understand your audience. For some, sustainability will tip the scales; for others, it’s an added bonus. Either way, be authentic. Consumers can spot performative efforts from a mile away.

🎯 Brand Loyalty Isn’t About Coupons

The old-school approach of dangling a discount or loyalty points isn’t enough anymore. Real loyalty stems from understanding your customers better than anyone else and creating meaningful interactions.

Here’s the Michal-approved playbook:

1. Segment Deeply: Understand your customers’ buying habits, values, and pain points.

2. Predict Needs: Don’t send an offer for boots to a customer who just bought sandals. Be proactive and show them you understand what they’ll want next.

3. Time It Perfectly: If your timing is off, you’re not just irrelevant—you’re annoying.

The Sak saw loyalty grow when they moved from generic mass emails to highly personalized, segmented campaigns. And their LTV numbers? Through the roof.

🛒 Crushing DTC and Amazon Together

Launching on Amazon feels risky when you’re already running a successful DTC channel. Will it cannibalize sales? Michael’s approach: stop seeing Amazon as the enemy and start using it as a tool for growth.

Here’s how to it work:

• Exclusives That Shine: Offering Amazon-only products encourages discovery while keeping flagship items DTC-exclusive.

• Cross-Promotion: Use Amazon’s audience to pull customers into your DTC ecosystem with loyalty offers and branded experiences.

• Data-Driven Adjustments: Use insights from Amazon’s reviews and customer data to inform your DTC strategies.

The result? Two thriving sales channels that don’t just coexist—they complement each other.

🗣️ Listen Up: Social Listening Is Non-Negotiable

If you’re not listening to your customers, you’re guessing—and guessing is expensive. Michal emphasizes the importance of engaging customers directly, whether through surveys, social platforms, or product reviews.

At The Sak, customer feedback led to improvements that felt bespoke to the audience. For example, customer complaints about strap durability on their best-selling bags didn’t just result in a fix; it became a selling point in future campaigns.

• Pro Tip: Create a process for collecting, analyzing, and acting on customer feedback. And always close the loop—let your customers know their voice made a difference.

📧 The Death of the Email Blast

Email marketing’s cardinal sin is mistaking volume for value. If you’re sending daily emails to your entire list, you’re doing it wrong. Michal’s bold move at The Sak? Killing the blast.

Instead, The Sak adopted a smarter approach:

1. Micro-Segmentation: Group customers by specific interests, buying frequency, or behaviors.

2. Relevant Templates: Pre-build email templates that adjust dynamically to customer data.

3. Timely Messages: Instead of shouting at the crowd, whisper to the right person at the right time.

🌳 Evergreen Content Is Built, Not Born

Trendy content is fun, but it has the shelf life of a ripe avocado. Evergreen content, on the other hand, continues to drive value months or even years down the line. But it takes work.

Michal’s advice for brands building evergreen content:

• Solve Real Problems: What are your customers Googling at 2 a.m.? Create content that answers those questions.

• Focus on Education: Guides, how-tos, and FAQs perform consistently well because they deliver immediate value.

• Refresh, Don’t Replace: Keep your evergreen content updated to stay relevant as the industry evolves.

🚀 On Your Mark, Get Set, LTV!

Customer Lifetime Value (LTV) is the ultimate goal. Every email sent, every campaign launched, every customer conversation—all of it should feed into increasing LTV.

Michal’s approach isn’t flashy or trend-driven; it’s grounded in listening to customers and making data-driven decisions. That’s how you stay relevant in a world drowning in information.

🎥 Want more actionable tips from Michal’s debut on The Longer Game? Follow us now and watch the full conversation for insights you can’t afford to miss.