Free
The live check
Twenty minutes on a video call with your own export. We pick a row and ask the five questions. You see the gaps for yourself, then decide whether to go further.
customers_export.csv
#
name
town
last_order
last_contact
35
J. Okafor
Leeds
Mar 2025
Mar 2025
36
A. Mackay
Perth
2024
—
37
S. Rahman
Glasgow
Jan 2025
Feb 2025
38
?
?
?
?
39
K. Fraser
—
2023
—
40
R. Byrne
—
—
—
41
…
…
…
…
An example export. Row 38 is the one nobody has looked at in a while.
Line 38, in short
Line 38 is a five-question test of how well you know your customers. Export your customer list, go to row 38 and see how many questions you can answer about that person. Most owners manage two.
It works with any CRM, booking system or spreadsheet. Obvi-us offers a free 20-minute check on your own list, a fixed-fee Line 38 Review and a weekly habit to keep the list warm.
The test
What are the five questions? Most owners answer two.
Pick row 38, not your favourite customer. Answer from memory first, then from your records. Then try rows 39 and 40. By the third row the pattern is clear.
Each gap is a #whathappensnext moment that nobody owns yet.
1
Who is this person?
A name is not the same as knowing who they are.
A name is not the same as knowing who they are.
2
Where are they?
Location shapes what you can offer and when.
Location shapes what you can offer and when.
3
What did they last buy, and when?
The clearest signal of what might come next.
The clearest signal of what might come next.
4
When did you last get in touch?
Silence is where good customers quietly drift away.
Silence is where good customers quietly drift away.
5
What else do you know about them?
Preferences, referrals, family, the reason they came.
Preferences, referrals, family, the reason they came.
Why row 38
Why do customers in the middle go quiet? Because nobody is watching them.
You know your best customers and you remember the difficult ones. The people in between are a blur, and they are the ones who drift away without anyone noticing.
row 38 lives here
Your best customers. You know them.
The ordinary middle. A blur of names and dates.
The tricky ones. You remember them.
Meet Ruth
Ruth (a fictional example) has been going to the same concert hall for years. In the export she is one row: a name, an email address and a date. Nothing says how long she has been coming, or that nobody has written to her since.
Line 38 turns a row back into a person, and asks what happens next.
“So far nothing has dropped. It’s made it a lot easier, and a lot less stress.”
Esther Gambrell, Shining Star Studios, on working from a clear process rather than Post-its and spreadsheets
Do it yourself
How do I run a Line 38 check? Five steps, twenty minutes.
STEP 1
Export your list
A CSV from your CRM, booking system or spreadsheet.
A CSV from your CRM, booking system or spreadsheet.
STEP 2
Go to row 38
Not your favourite customer. Whoever is there.
Not your favourite customer. Whoever is there.
STEP 3
Ask the five questions
From memory first, then from your records.
From memory first, then from your records.
STEP 4
Repeat for 39 and 40
Write down every question you could not answer.
Write down every question you could not answer.
STEP 5
Sort by last contact
Bought before, silent for a year? That is a quiet customer.
Bought before, silent for a year? That is a quiet customer.
Working together
Start free. Leave with something to send.
Fixed fee
The Line 38 Review
- A list of customers who have gone quiet
- The gaps in your records and contact history
- Three messages ready to send
- A simple rule for staying in touch
Fee agreed before work begins.
Ongoing
The weekly line
One customer a week, looked at properly and contacted. A light rhythm so the list never goes quiet again. Scope agreed with you.
Who is Line 38 for?
- Owner-run service businesses where customers come back or refer others
- Photographers, music schools, bridal designers, coaches and small practices
- A few hundred to a few thousand customers and a list nobody has opened lately
- Any system that exports a CSV file
Is my data safe?
Customer records are personal data. Before any work starts we agree how yours is handled: work in your own system, or share a sample with the names removed.
Who is behind it?
Neil Gowans, founder of Obvi-us. Around 20 years improving processes with airlines at Rockwell Collins and SITA, then Obvi-us since 2018. Line 38 works with any CRM, not one in particular.
Questions people ask
A way of testing how well you know your customers. Export your customer list, go to row 38 and ask five questions: who they are, where they are, what and when they last bought, when you last got in touch, and what else you know. Then try rows 39 and 40.
You already know your best and worst customers. Row 38 lands in the ordinary middle, where customers drift away without anyone noticing.
Sort your export by last purchase date and by last contact date. Anyone who has bought before but has not heard from you in a year or more is a quiet customer.
No. Any CRM, booking system or spreadsheet that can export a CSV file will do.
A list of quiet customers, the gaps in your records and contact history, three ready-to-send messages and a simple rule for staying in touch. The fee is fixed and agreed first.
It only multiplies the numbers you enter: customers × share gone quiet × share who would return × average repeat value. It is a prompt to look, not a forecast.