When customers check out: How brands in Philippines can better retain consumers

From recognising when silence signals disengagement to using AI to prevent churn, marketing leaders say retention depends on understanding the customer journey, not simply collecting more data. For marketers preparing for 2027, the challenge is knowing which signals matter, when to intervene and what will give customers a reason to return.

At DMA Philippines 2026, Roshan Nandwani, head of marketing and commercial at Ayala Land Hospitality; Chad Sotelo, group CMO at Filinvest Development Corporation; and Paolo Serrano, vice president of operations at Gerry's Group of Restaurants, discussed how brands can identify disengagement and build lasting loyalty.

The discussion highlighted three priorities: interpreting customer signals in context, using AI to support rather than replace human judgement, and addressing problems in the customer experience before they lead to churn.

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For Sotelo, the first step is distinguishing between fast-moving businesses, such as hotels and malls, and slower transactions, such as residential property, mall tenancy and power generation.

"Sometimes silence means that they're actually being loyal," Sotelo said.

A property buyer who pays on time may be demonstrating a healthy relationship without actively engaging with the brand. However, delayed payments or completing documentation merely to fulfil requirements could indicate a more transactional relationship.

Because loyalty in those slow sides is demonstrated by choosing another transaction rather than just repeatedly praising you in public, so different signals depending on the clock or the speed of the transaction.

For hospitality brands, however, silence can mean something different. Nandwani said hotels typically send post-stay surveys, including questions about whether guests would return. A lack of response may indicate dissatisfaction or little interest in maintaining the relationship.

"In ours, silence sometimes shows a level of disengagement," she said.

The contrast illustrates why brands cannot rely on universal engagement benchmarks. A lack of interaction does not automatically mean dissatisfaction, just as email opens and advertising clicks do not necessarily indicate loyalty.

Marketers must first understand normal customer behaviour before identifying deviations that could signal churn.

More signals, less certainty?

The growing volume of customer data presents another challenge. Sotelo recommended classifying signals into three categories: attention, voice and value.

Attention signals include email open rates and clicks. Voice signals capture customer feedback through social media and customer service, while value metrics include outcomes such as churn.

"The problem nowadays is that there are too many signals. We're drowning in data, and there are so many tools, free or paid, that can bring you so many more signals," he said.

Rather than collecting more indicators indiscriminately, marketers should identify which ones correspond to problems at specific points in the customer journey.

Serrano offered a more personal perspective from the restaurant industry, where frontline employees can recognise regular customers through repeated visits and direct interactions.

When regulars stop visiting, restaurants need to establish whether the cause is a change in circumstances or dissatisfaction. Serrano said businesses can combine frontline observations with tools such as Google reviews, Facebook Messenger and social media comments to identify potential problems and encourage customers to return.

The lesson is to connect digital data with human insight rather than treating either as a complete picture of customer sentiment.

AI can accelerate responses, but not replace judgement

AI can help brands identify disengagement and respond faster, but its role should reflect the value and complexity of the customer relationship.

Sotelo said AI agents can provide an immediate first response to social media comments or messages in fast-moving businesses, where transactions are generally lower in value and risk.

"The job of AI there is to help bridge the response right away because speed is of essence," he said.

For higher-value relationships, such as residential property, AI should gather information quickly and comprehensively to help employees address customer concerns.

"The role and the tools that we use depend on the speed of the transaction and of the relationship being built."

In hospitality, Nandwani said AI can help brands identify behavioural trends and understand booking preferences. Hotels seeking to build direct relationships with guests, rather than relying heavily on online travel agents, can examine shifts in booking channels to better understand customer behaviour and decide where to invest in experiences that encourage repeat stays.

However, technology cannot compensate for every service failure.

In fact, sometimes you have to step back to allow the clients to relax, to calm down, to compensate, and then you start to build a relationship.

She argued that personalisation is most valuable when it anticipates preferences and prevents problems. Serrano agreed that service recovery is essential in restaurants: brands may need to apologise, follow up and demonstrate that service has improved, but digital campaigns alone cannot overcome a persistently poor experience.

Sotelo added that mapping the customer journey helps businesses determine whether to resolve a problem immediately, give customers time before approaching them again or follow up later.

Relevance matters more than constant engagement

Long purchase cycles also require a different retention strategy. For residential property buyers, Sotelo said, communications should address specific concerns about construction progress, delivery timelines and the security of their investment.

"You shoot them an email that updates them on the project. You sometimes hit them with an add-on social that just reminds them of the overall promise, and occasionally it's someone from customer service or the seller reaching out and saying, 'Hey, just checking on you,'" he said.

The combination of human and digital contact works when it remains focused on the customer's needs, rather than generating engagement for its own sake.

Nandwani similarly argued that brands should prioritise relevance at different stages of the purchase journey.

You're more relevant at certain points closer to purchase, while at other points, you don't necessarily need to constantly pursue engagement. The expectation is simply to maintain saliency, she said.

Ultimately, the panel agreed that customer loyalty depends on consistently delivering the right product and experience.

For Serrano, good restaurant service is what turns repeat visitors into loyal customers, regardless of how many digital campaigns a business runs. Nandwani similarly said trust develops over time through product and service experiences, with digital marketing and AI helping brands maintain relationships.

Sotelo also sees trust as a potential growth driver across a group of businesses, allowing confidence built in one part of the organisation to support another.

"Trust might be something vague or amorphous, but when you're able to leverage that trust and to expand it to other parts of the business, it's a real growth driver," he said.

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