Win Back Inactive Customers With A Re-Engagement Email Campaign

Although it’s inevitable for companies to lose customers from time to time, a solid re-engagement email campaign can give dormant subscribers the encouraging nudge they need to become loyal fans of your brand. This strategy is both simple and cost effective — in fact, it’s between five to six times more expensive to find a new customer than it is to reactivate an old one. By segmenting your email list and sending disengaged customers snappy, personalised emails that reiterate the value only your brand can offer, you can successfully increase engagement rates and ultimately boost your bottom line.

Segment your inactive subscribers 

Segmenting your inactive customers into different groups can help you better understand their preferences and shopping habits, so you can create tailored emails most likely to win them back. To start, break your email list down into two general groups: engaged customers who purchase from you regularly and inactive customers. You can then segment inactive customers down even further — for example, subscribers who’re signed up to your email list, but haven’t made a purchase yet, and existing customers who haven’t purchased from you in a while (at least four to six months, for example).  

Based on these segments, you could send subscribers who aren’t yet customers re-engagement emails focused on building brand awareness. These could include informative, educational content that highlight the value your products or services provide. On the other hand, for existing customers who haven’t purchased from you in a while, try tempting them with discount codes for similar products. You can also let these customers be the first to know about any new product feature updates.  

Send personalised emails 

Personalising your re-engagement emails ups your chances of customers not only opening them, but also taking the action you want them to take. Mentioning your subscriber’s first name in the subject line is the simplest place to start with personalisation. In fact, emails that do this are over 25% more likely to be opened than emails with impersonal subject lines. The content of your email should then emphasise the value customers will get from staying subscribed to your email list. Based on the segments you’ve already created, give your customers enticing offers, exclusive discount codes, or informative newsletter-style content that they simply won’t be able to refuse. 

You also want to keep your message clear, snappy, and fun to read. Too many words and pointless details will mean readers click off your emails without finishing them, and after that they may be gone for good. Because drafting a perfect email takes a fair amount of time and attention, you may want to consider using a generative AI (genAI) tool to help with the process. In fact, almost 70% of marketers say genAI helps improve personalisation, while 67% say it helps them save time. By feeding a tool like ChatGPT a clear and detailed prompt, it can quickly draft an engaging, personalised email that’s sure to grab the recipients’ attention.

Provide multiple subscription options 

Although it’s unlikely you’ll win back every inactive customer through your campaign, you can still provide multiple subscription options to up the odds of re-engaging as many as possible. So, for example, it’s common for customers to be turned-off a brand due to excessive marketing emails. In this case, you may want to provide subscribers with the option to receive emails on a more sporadic basis. Surveys show 61% of customers enjoy receiving promotional emails at least once a week. You can also provide the option for people to sign up solely for specific updates they’re genuinely interested in.  

But remember, you’re also legally obligated to give subscribers the option to unsubscribe. On the unsubscribe page, ask for more information on why the user made the decision to remove themselves from your list (this should be an optional request). You can then take their feedback into account in all your marketing strategies moving forward.

Re-engagement email campaigns have the power to bring inactive subscribers back on board, and turn them into loyal purchasers. By segmenting your subscribers, crafting personalised emails, and providing a variety of subscription options, you can successfully increase your engagement rate, as well as your bottom line.