4 Tips for Reengaging Past Clients

4 tips for reengaging past customers

Every customer is unique. However, specific market segments tend to exhibit similar behaviors and respond to the same things. For this reason, you’ll discover commonalities among previously loyal customers as you begin your reengagement strategy.

Here are four ways to reengage past customers via email marketing.

1. Identify former customers to reengage.

Your first step is to identify which past customers are candidates for reengagement. Not every former client is worth pursuing just because they did business with you in the past.

Generally speaking, look for promising customers who still exhibit signs of interest in your brand. For example, check your email open rate data to identify former customers who have opened your emails multiple times over the past six months. 

You’ll also have better results targeting customers in your target audience who made multiple purchases in the past versus those who’ve only been involved in a single transaction or deal.

2. Reach out to former clients on special occasions.

You don’t want to overdo communication with past clients or make them feel like you’re invading their privacy by contacting them too much. However, stay on the lookout for good excuses to put your brand in front of them.

Try reaching out on special occasions such as holidays, big industry events, anniversaries and seasonal events. Email marketing software will make it easy to customize email templates with your logo, special offers for returning customers and personalized details. 

3. Start an email drip campaign to reengage past customers.

If you want a good chance of reengaging past customers, you must stay on their minds. The more familiar they are with you, the more likely they are to think of you when they experience a need or want.

A straightforward email drip campaign is one of the best techniques for customer reengagement. A drip campaign is a series of emails you send over a specific period to slowly build trust and move the recipient to action.

Email marketing software lets you send strategically timed emails to past clients to keep you on their minds. While every business differs, sending one or two monthly emails is a good starting point. You can increase this number after studying email analytics and identifying trends in email open rates, read rates and click-through rates.

4. Give former customers a reason to return.

Giving customers a reason to return is crucial. The onus is on you — not the customer — to provide incentives and value. You can incentivize customers to return and earn repeat business in the following ways: 

• Offer discounts.
• Present new products and services similar to their past purchases.
• Provide free shipping. 
• Invite them to an event.

Examine your data and take some time to craft a reengagement strategy that will appeal to your dormant customers. 

The cost savings of reengaging

Hanging on to existing customers is always less expensive than chasing new ones. The most commonly cited statistic says acquiring new customers is six to seven times more expensive than keeping an existing one. Additionally, returning customers spend more than new customers. 

This makes sense when you consider the following:

• Repeat customers can find you. Repeat customers have already purchased from you in the past, which means they know how to find you and are aware of what you sell.
• You can reach past customers. You already have these customers’ information, which makes it easier for you to reach them with targeted marketing and advertising.
• Customers prefer familiar brands. The average customer is more comfortable purchasing from a company or brand they’re familiar with than a new one.

However, the previous statistic may actually be on the conservative side. According to research from Bain & Company, a 5 percent increase in customer retention can result in more than a 25 percent increase in profit. 

That’s because as customers continue buying from you, your operating costs decline. And loyal customers are more likely to refer your business to other people, which saves you money on marketing. 

Find out why customers stopped buying from you

Taking time to understand why customers left your business in the first place — called your churn rate — is crucial. A churn rate refers to the percentage of customers who no longer engage with a business within a specified period. Most churn rates are measured in years, quarters or even months.

The formula for determining your churn rate is simple. Based on the period you’re measuring, take the number of customers who stopped engaging with your business and divide it by the total number of customers you had in the beginning.

Once you understand this number, work on ways to actively reduce the churn rate, drive repeat business, and significantly increase your profitability. For example, you can gather survey data from former customers via email or text about why they stopped buying from you. 

Some reasons customers may have left include the following: 

• Poor customer service. Customer service pitfalls can derail a brand. If former clients reveal they experienced poor customer service, take steps to address and mitigate the issue. 
• Product issues. If they cite product quality problems, look into your product creation process.
• Pricing issues. Did your customers find a better price elsewhere? Examine your product or service pricing and compare your offering to the competition. Do you offer excellent value for the price? 

When you understand why some customers left in the first place, you can take steps to prevent current and future customers from leaving.