Marketing CPR: How to Revive & Reestablish Old Customers!

If a person has bought from you before (but doesn’t anymore), there exists a good chance that they may buy from you again. And if you’re planning to get them back to the funnel, you need to find out the reason they stopped buying from you in the first place. But that won’t be easily accomplished, until and unless you revisit your marketing strategy to analyze the shortcomings and how to create more appeal amongst customers.

Perhaps, they’ve had a bad experience with your organization or staff in the past.  Consider whether your product or service is,

• No longer necessary
• Unsatisfactory
• Too expensive
• Not competitive

Apart from the reasons listed above, many customers often switch to other suppliers because they would like to broaden their range of purchasing options. And if you have lost your customers for this reason, then your first step should be to re-establish contact and prove to them that you are aware and concerned about your customers or buyers, e.g. – a letter expressing regret that they have stopped from you and making them a time-limited offer.

A few other things that can be performed to reconnect with your customers, include,

• Phone calls
• E-mails
• Newsletters
• Mail Shots
• Social Media

Convince Them To Come Back!

When you identify why the customer is no longer with you, reflect on few ways to create a more appealing and alluring deal. For example, if your price was viewed as too high, consider a time-limited discount to encourage them to start buying again, e.g. 30% off for two months.

Refresh their memory in your subject line. Old clients are already familiar with you – grab this advantage and make your subject line more unique and attractive while informing them that you want them back again.

You can try something like “(First Name), we want you back,” “We miss you (First Name)” or “Where have you been (First Name)?” This can be catchy way to get that e-mail opened.

If your service was unsatisfactory, you can ask them about their complaints versus their level of expectations, and then assess if it’s possible for your company to meet those expectations.

However, you should keep track of how much you are spending to win back your old customers. After all, you need profitable customers, not a customer at any cost. It’s not usually a good idea to build long term relationships with customers who don’t contribute any profit.

Respect And Understand Those Who Don’t Want To!

There is a fine line between a ‘win-back drive’ and being aggressively aggravating. Do not send e-mails out to those who are no longer your subscribers.

You might also find that at some point, the customers don’t reply back to you, despite getting multiple e-mails with loads of fresh offers. In this scenario, send them a final e-mail letter expressing thanks for their past purchases.

All the above actions should be taken into consideration while forecasting and building strategies for marketing.  A company should think about how to regain its old customers because you simply can’t let them go!