5 tips for reengaging past clients

One of the best ways to drum up new business and increase sales is to reengage past clients. Former customers who haven’t done business with you for a while are an excellent source of leads and sales. 

Selling to people who already know, like and trust your business is easier and less expensive than finding new customers. Reengaging past clients also helps boost your customer retention rate, which can lead to higher profits and long-term success. We’ll highlight some tips for reengaging past customers and explain how this strategy can save your business money.

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5 tips for reengaging past customers

Every customer is unique, but specific market segments tend to exhibit similar behaviors and respond to the same strategies. For this reason, you’ll discover commonalities among previously loyal customers as you begin your reengagement strategy. Here are five ways to recapture the interest and attention of past customers.

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 when reaching out to customers in your target audience who have made multiple purchases in the past than with those who have been involved in a single transaction.

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 occasions. Email marketing software makes 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 will be to consider your offerings.

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 top of mind. 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.

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

Lindsay Tramel, founder of Fierceified Creative & Consulting, said reengaging past customers is about creating logical, intentional next steps in their journey with your brand. “For some businesses, that may be providing consultation on a regular basis, and for others, that may include upgrading the amount of data they access to use on your platform,” Tramel explained.

5. Offer an apology.

Sometimes, the key to reengaging past customers is to acknowledge where your business may have fallen short. Mistakes happen — whether it’s a delayed order, a customer service misstep, or a product that didn’t meet expectations. Ignoring these errors can lead to long-term damage to your brand reputation, but addressing them head-on can rebuild trust.

Marty Bauer, director of sales at Omnisend, emphasized the importance of a direct apology. “Acknowledge the mistake, and inform clients about the improvements you’ve made,” Bauer advised. “This is a lot more personal and shows you care about customer satisfaction, possibly rebuilding trust and loyalty in the long run.”

How reengaging past customers saves businesses money

Keeping existing customers is always less expensive than chasing new ones. According to a commonly cited statistic, acquiring a new customer is six to seven times more expensive than keeping an existing one. And a well-known report by Frederick Reicheld of Bain & Company found that a 5 percent increase in customer retention can result in a profit increase of 25 percent or more. It’s also generally acknowledged that returning customers spend more than new customers. 

Here are some reasons why reengaging past customers makes good business sense:

• Repeat customers can find you. Repeat customers have already purchased from you, which means they know how to find you and are aware of what you sell.
• You can reach past customers. You already have your past customers’ contact and purchasing information, which makes it easier for you to reach them with targeted email marketing campaigns and advertising.
• Customers prefer familiar brands. The average customer is more comfortable purchasing from a familiar company or brand than from an unknown one.
• Returning customers lower your operating costs. As customers continue buying from you, they require less convincing, consume fewer resources for onboarding or support, and are less likely to return items. This efficiency reduces overall operating costs.
• Loyal customers send referrals. Satisfied, loyal customers often become brand advocates who recommend your products or services to others. This word-of-mouth marketing can save you money and reduce the need for paid advertising. 

Determine why customers stopped buying from you

Your churn rate — the rate at which customers stop doing business with you — is an essential metric. It’s the percentage of customers who no longer engage with your business within a specified period. Most churn rates are measured over years, quarters or even months. 

The formula for determining your churn rate is simple: Based on the period you’re measuring, divide the number of customers who stopped engaging with your business by the total number of customers you started with. 

After you determine your churn rate, it’s crucial to learn why customers left — and then address those issues. Julie Thomas, author and CEO of ValueSelling Associates, recommended reaching out to customers directly. 

“Companies’ biggest mistake often comes from conflating usage with customer satisfaction,” Thomas said. “They believe value is realized if a customer actively uses a product or solution. In reality, there are many reasons why product usage does not connect to value, and you’ll never know until you ask.” Consider gathering survey data from former customers via email or text and asking why they stopped buying from you.

Here are a few reasons customers may have left: 

• 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 problems: If they cite product quality problems, look into your product creation process.
• Pricing: Did your customers find a better price elsewhere? Compare your pricing to competitors’. Do you offer excellent value for the price? 

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