In the dynamic world of business, where acquiring new customers often takes center stage, an insidious phenomenon can undermine growth and profitability: customer inactivity. Sometimes, after an initial burst of passion, our beloved customers simply vanish. Those valuable names in our database, once active and engaged, suddenly fall silent, ceasing to interact, purchase, or respond to our efforts. Ignoring this “dormant army” is a costly mistake. But the good news is that, with the right strategy, it’s possible to break this deafening silence and reignite the spark in our inactive customers.
But Who Is an Inactive Customer?
An inactive customer isn’t just a forgotten name in our CRM. It’s a cooled-off relationship, a missed potential sale. Understanding the reasons for this inactivity is the crucial first step. Perhaps their needs have changed, or maybe our offering isn’t as “wow” in their eyes anymore. But here’s the challenging part: winning back an inactive customer often costs less than acquiring a new one. They’re already familiar with our brand; they chose us once. We just need to remind them why they loved us. This is why loyalty marketing is an extremely cost-effective strategy.
It doesn’t have to take years. Sometimes, just 2-3 months of silence are enough to realize something has faded, but it doesn’t mean they’re lost forever. Maybe they simply got distracted, found an alternative, or just need a good excuse to return.
Let’s talk about effective strategies to bring them back — engaged, active, and happy.
Here are some ideas to reactivate “sleeping” customers:
- Make Them Miss You A simple, human communication works! Add a small incentive like bonus points, a personalized discount, or a “welcome back” reward.
- Offer Bonuses Based on Their Tastes Do you have a CRM and a lot of data on their purchase history? Use that superpower! Offer something aligned with what they’ve loved in the past.
- Play with Time A message like: “Your points expire in 48 hours. Use them now and get double!” Simple, direct, effective. Urgency (when used sincerely) stimulates action.
- Refresh Their Memory Often, the rules of the game and what’s at stake need to be reminded. Remember to update your loyalty program with new features and different dynamics. Sometimes, just engaging them with a challenge, a mission, or a leaderboard is enough.
- Ask How They Are Doing This helps you understand, improve, and makes the customer feel heard.
What if they still don’t come back?
It happens. You can’t reactivate every inactive contact. But you can leave the door open to let your customers know that your brand is always there for them.
Inactive customers are not necessarily a sign of failure. They can be considered a second chance. With a little attention, a touch of creativity, the right mix of value, and especially the right platform, you can bring them back on board and perhaps even make them more loyal than before. In this regard, Liberacta can help you with its fully digital platform, BMarkEn, to create the loyalty strategy that’s right for you.
For more info, write to us at info@liberacta.com