Finding Your Rinse, Repeat

Jim James

Welcome back to AI @ Work. I’m Jim James, and if you joined us last time, we talked about reclaiming your weekends by letting AI do the heavy lifting with your pitch decks. Today, though, I’m straying from slides and getting a bit, well, soapy. Let me start with a legend in the marketing world—a surprising place for a lesson about growing revenue.

Jim James

There’s this story—I mean, it’s probably apocryphal, but stick with me—about a marketing consultant in the shampoo business. The tale goes, he charged an absolute fortune for one game-changing idea. When the bigwigs finally handed over the cheque, they got the advice: just add “Rinse, Repeat” to the instructions on every bottle. Think about that. “Rinse, Repeat.” Suddenly, shampoo sales double, not because of a new product or fancy ad campaign, but simply by changing how existing customers use what’s already in their hands. Pure genius, right? Or maybe a bit cheeky, but still—a real masterstroke in shifting behavior, not market share.

Jim James

Now—why am I going on about shampoo, especially as I haven't used the stuff for decades? Because, honestly, most founders I meet are obsessed with getting more and more new customers. It’s always about the next cold lead, the next ad, the next audience. But what if we’re missing a trick? What if, tucked away in our email lists or tucked into our CRM, we’re sitting on customers ready to buy from us again... if only we asked?

Jim James

So, as we kick off today, I want you to ask yourself: where is your “rinse, repeat” moment—what tiny shift could double your sales, just by serving your existing customers a bit better or, maybe, just a bit more often?

Jim James

Let’s ground this with something real. Recently, I was working with an optician—lovely gentleman, very dedicated, but utterly stuck in the pattern of seeing clients every two years, because, well, that’s how often people have an eye test, right? But as we sat together, we realized... why does it have to be that way? Why not encourage folks to view eyewear like seasonal fashion, something to refresh more often? They may have an eye test every 24 months but surely they could have new spectacles like they would buy a new coat or pair of shoes. Especially if we made it affordable with a monthly plan instead of the one off high ticket sale.

Jim James

Diving into his data, two things jumped out. First—his customers were loyal, sometimes driving over 80 miles just to see him. That’s not a 10-mile neighbourhood business, it’s a small tribe of raving fans. Second—and this bit made me laugh, kind of a head-slap moment—over half his contacts hadn’t been contacted at all in a year. Not a peep. That’s like inviting people to a party and then forgetting to unlock the front door.

Jim James

The answer? Subscriptions. Instead of begging for attention every other year, we turned the offer into something fresh: annual eyewear, paid monthly, with the option for two stylish pairs—a bit of fashion, a bit of function. Suddenly, these weren’t customers on a timer. They’re members of a club, and I tell you, the demographics worked in his favour—mostly women, ages 49 to 69, who wanted to invest in how they look as much as how they see.

Jim James

Here’s the thing: every founder has that recurring revenue opportunity somewhere. I might be wrong, but I suspect there’s space in any business model for a subscription, a bundle, something to change the frame from one-off transactions to ongoing relationships. But—and this is crucial—none of this works if your only tool is mass email blasts. This is where we need a little help from our AI friends.

Jim James

And before we move along, if you’re wondering, “Yes, but how can I do this at scale? Can I really speak personally to hundreds or thousands of people?”—that’s the right question. Hold onto it. Because the next step is about making those moments feel personal, even when you’re not the one hitting send.

Jim James

So let’s talk about that next level: using AI to nurture those relationships, not just automate them. In the case of my optician, and he does my eyes too by the way, we're starting to build a dedicated landing page and an AI-generated monthly newsletter —something that creates highly personalized email campaigns from content that he doesn't have to write himself. Not just “Hello, valued customer,” but actually segmenting messaging by age, fashion preference, distance from the shop... you name it. Instead of an annual reminder, every customer gets an offer and some inspiration tailored for them every month, as if the optician himself were penning every note.

Jim James

Let me hit you with a stat that kind of shocked me: over 50 percent of his customer list hadn’t heard a word from him in over a year. That’s not just missed revenue, that’s—what’s the right word... laziness? No, maybe neglect. It’s certainly a graveyard of opportunity, all because our poor optician was overwhelmed by the workload of writing the monthly newsletter, and even more so at the idea of reaching out one by one. He's back to back every day seeing patients. He's not lazy by a long chalk, he's just not figured out yet the potential impact of AI to help him.

Jim James

And listen, I’m not immune to these headaches either. Fun story—I once tried to export the CRM data from The UnNoticed Entrepreneur. I have a ZOHO CRM and a different site where podcast guests register to come on the show. You’d think, years of running my own PR agency and being a bit of tech geek that I’d have everything organized, right? It was chaos! I’m scrolling through CSV files with names like, er, “List_final_FINAL_v3.” But the difference now? AI turns that mess into treasure. Tools comb through the data, create segments, trigger nurture sequences, and suddenly, my dusty list is a proper asset.

Jim James

So before you sink your next pound, dollar, or yuan into Facebook ads, just stop for a minute. Ask yourself: is my biggest growth lever actually sitting right in my own database, quietly waiting for a little attention and the right message? AI can do the heavy lifting, but it’s up to us to find that “rinse, repeat” moment—and to treat our customer lists, not as a stack of contacts, but as a living, breathing community.

Jim James

That’s it for today’s episode—go take a look at your own “shampoo bottle,” and see where a repeat might just change your business. Thanks for joining me on AI @ Work, and we’ll dig even deeper next time. Until then, take care and, well, rinse and repeat what works.