This week I was asked to research an audience segment with a view to increasing their engagement ratio and customer lifetime value.

It got me thinking but from a completely different angle, mainly due to the audience segment I was trying to understand.

Have you ever wondered why, when visiting elderly relatives, that they greet you so warmly, listen to everything that you say, engage you in meaningful conversation and look you in the eye as you say goodbye?

Let’s say (made up) Uncle Bob is 76 years old and you typically see him twice a year (his birthday and Christmas) for 4 hours of which 20 minutes is face to face conversation.

(made up) Uncle Bob has more than likely come to terms with the fact his life expectancy in the U.K. is 80 years (bonus points for anything thereafter)

This means you are likely to be in face to face conversation with Uncle Bob for another 2 hours and 40 minutes before he ever-so-beautifully pops his clogs.

No wonder (made up) Uncle Bob cares about your conversation.

It puts into perspective, with a brutal simplicity of thought, the value of conversation and time – and how much more valuable it becomes as it begins to run out.

So.

If you have a few (real) Uncle Bobs, pay them a visit and pay attention to everything they say.

Want to increase your engagement ratio?

Easy!

Visit more often and have longer conversations, because the (real) Uncle Bob variable is fixed.