Part of Forge DevKit ecosystem
◇ forge-growth
Retention loops before acquisition tactics
The problem
Churn eats your growth
Acquiring a new user costs 5-7x more than retaining one. But retention strategy is always 'later'.
Referrals happen by accident
Happy users exist but no mechanism to turn satisfaction into referrals. Growth is linear, not compounding.
Upsell timing is guesswork
Users hit limits, see the paywall, and leave. No signal detection, no proactive upgrade nudges.
How it works
Install
One command adds forge-growth to your environment.
Configure
3-gate wizard reads product and analytics context for data-informed growth strategy.
Strategize
Retention loops, referral mechanics, and upgrade triggers - designed as interconnected systems.
Iterate
Measure retention lift, referral conversion, and expansion revenue. Refine what works, cut what doesn't.
Key capabilities
◇3 growth modes
Retain, refer, expand. Each addresses a different growth lever with concrete action items.
◇6 psychology biases
Loss aversion for churn prevention, social proof for referrals, endowment for upgrades.
◇Retention-first approach
Fix churn at the source before adding acquisition tactics. Value delivery first, growth second.
◇Referral mechanics design
Two-sided incentives (giver + receiver both benefit), invite flows with tracking, and viral loops - each with concrete implementation specs.
Sample output
A real-world example of what this module produces.
◆ Retention Loop - taskflow-app
Loop: Weekly Invoice Digest
Trigger: Monday 9am, user has >= 1 unpaid invoice
Channel: Email + in-app badge
Content: Outstanding amount + 1-click reminder to client
Success: User sends at least 1 reminder per week
Compound Effect:
Week 1: User discovers reminder feature
Week 4: Habit formed, checks dashboard weekly
Week 8: 70% of users with loop active still retained
Bias alert: Don't optimize for email opens - measure actual reminder sendsWho is this for
Product Lead
Design retention loops and referral mechanics as systems, not afterthought hacks.
Founder
Fix churn at the source before spending on acquisition - retention-first growth.
Growth Marketer
Get concrete referral mechanics and upgrade trigger specs with psychology-informed design.
forge-growth vs Growth hacking playbooks
| Dimension | Growth hacking playbooks | Forge DevKit |
|---|---|---|
| Approach | Acquisition-first, hope for retention | Retention-first, then compound with referrals |
| Referrals | No mechanism or generic 'share' button | Designed mechanics with two-sided incentives |
| Upsell strategy | Hard paywall when limits hit | Signal-based upgrade nudges at the right moment |