Gone but Not Forgotten: How to Win Back Lost Customers

Whether or not you track how many of your previous customers have lapsed, there’s a good chance it’s a fair few. If you don’t have a comprehensive CRM system to back you up, keeping track can be difficult. But just because a customer has vanished from your radar doesn’t mean they can’t be brought back to the fold. Here are our recommendations for turning those missing customers into paying ones again.

Step 1: Build a list of lost clients

Whether or not you have a CRM system in place, you should have a list of previous customers somewhere. For some businesses, this could be a list of thousands; for others, just a handful. It all depends on your industry, pricing, and so on. But the logic is still the same: you need to identify clients that haven’t placed an order in ‘X’ amount of time (let’s say over a year), then create a list. This will become your play sheet, from which you’ll take the next steps.

Step 2: A little bit of segmentation

Using the data you prepped in the first step, it’s time to do a spot of segmentation. As any business knows, segmenting customers is a vital step to providing the right level of customer service based on the ‘value’ of that customer. Your historical data should allow you to report on your lapsed customers based on the total revenue that they generated. In this way, you’ll end up with a list that has your VIPs at the top. Break your lapsed customers down into logical groups, then it’s time to decide how best to tempt each of these groups back into the fold.

Step 3: Prepare your strategy

The next step in bringing back lost customers is to prepare an irresistible offer to entice them. There are a few options here, and the one for you will depend on lots of factors, but here are some starters-for-ten:

• Significant one-off discount (potentially up to 75% for VIP customers)

• A self-effacing email or letter explaining what’s changed since they left

• A free gift incentive

• Life-time discounted rate (generally for VIPs only)

• …anything else you can think of!

Step 4: Keep things going

Once you’ve got your unstoppable strategy, it’s time to pull the trigger… metaphorically speaking. Get in touch with those lapsed clients either by email, telephone, or even in person if you’re feeling brave. By making an offer they can’t refuse, you’re sure to get at least some of them back through the door – but it doesn’t stop there. This is an ongoing process as long as you have churn (and which business doesn’t). So never stop optimising and trying new things – eventually you’ll find that perfect formula.

By following these simple steps, you’ll not only be able to prevent further loss of custom, but you’ll also know how to tackle it again. For a slightly simpler way of managing customers, check out the AutoVu platform today.