Define Who Needs Reengaging
The first step on the road to reengaging customers is to decide who from your Email List actually requires it. After all, there’s no point trying to reengage people who are already frequent customers. This would simply be a waste of your time and theirs.
Who you need to reengage will vary depending on your business, but you should have an idea of how often your consumers purchase from you based off data from previous transactions. If you are in an area which gives the opportunity to frequently cross-sell or upsell your clients - such as apparel or foods - a three month period with no purchases may be cause for concern. In other industries, however, this period may be far longer.
Try to make sure that you only target those who actually have begun to disengage and not simply those who you wish would buy from you every day. Remember that no matter how great your product or service, your consumers are only likely to want a certain level of contact outside of the time they spend purchasing. If you begin to send reengagement Emails to customers who are already engaged, you risk turning the client off altogether and losing a revenue stream.
Segment Those You Are Targeting
Once you have decided who exactly in your list is a candidate for reengagement marketing, it’s important to realize that customers may have become less inclined to interact with you for different reasons. And for this reason, you should segment your Email List, so you can send them the best content for the kind of reengagement they need.
Those who have fallen out of love with your brand will need to be handled differently to those who have simply forgotten about a product they once loved. Similarly, customers who used to frequently purchase from you but have moved to a cheaper competitor may be recaptured more easily than those who have begun to purchase in an entirely new product category.
If you cannot discern why a customer has lost interest, try asking them! Emails which actually invite the reader to respond make them feel valued and may provide a break from the barrage of Emails they receive from your competitors trying to lure them into a purchase. If they provide you with feedback as to why they have become disengaged, then you can best assess how to win back their heart.
Build a strategy based around the grounds of the customer’s disengagement rather than assuming everyone on your Email List has disengaged for the same reason.
Offer An Incentive
A popular strategy to reintroduce customers to your Business is to offer an incentive to purchase or get in contact with you. This can be particularly effective in the world of Small Business when your products or services might be constantly evolving.
For example, a customer who last purchased from you a year ago might well be looking for exactly that new product you’ve launched in the last month, if only you could get them to try it.
Remember the aim here is to reopen a dialogue between yourself and the customer and to hopefully build a relationship that will yield further sales down the track. With this in mind ask yourself if something as simple as a huge discount is really going to help you achieve your goals. While a one-off purchase at cost price might seem like a good idea, it’s likely only going to lead to another attempt at reengagement. Instead, you want to offer something that strengthens your relationship with the customer and makes them want to purchase again.
If you know why the customer has become disengaged, try to tailor your offer to their specific desires. Someone who has been lost to a cheaper competitor might be receptive to news of a more budget-friendly range you’ve brought out.
Similarly, a previous purchaser who has stopped shopping with you because they have lost faith in the benefits of your products might be more inclined to make a purchase if new research or news stories seem to support your claims. If this is the case, then you could create an Email Campaign including this information in helpful blog posts or interesting video content, as a way to win their faith back.
Focus Your Energies And Resources
It may hurt your pride but a big part of a successful reengagement Campaign is being able to accept that a customer might be unlikely to return. Once you deduce that this specific customer is unlikely to buy from you again, you can focus all your efforts on winning back those customers who are most likely to convert again.
Target those customers who you believe you have a realistic chance of winning back with offers that not only appeal to their wants, but will also encourage them to open your next Email. An offer that runs for a stated period is far more likely to trigger a repeat purchase than a one-off, heavily discounted option to buy. Carefully consider who you target and how and you’ll be welcoming back customers with open arms.
When it comes to wining back disengaged Customers, Email certainly is an effective marketing tool that can be implemented by any and all small Businesses. Using the techniques above, you can turn those customers who have fallen out of love with you into repeat buyers who sing your Brand’s praises once again!
