From churn to return

A churned customer, also known as lapsed, dormant or inactive, refers to customers who previously transacted with your company but have stopped purchasing. Understanding why customers are not returning is crucial for creating an effective win-back strategy.

Understand the Reason Behind Customer Churn

Begin by gaining insights into the reasons behind customer churn. If your business operates on a subscription model, a practical method to achieve this is by incorporating a survey into your cancellation process. Within this survey, inquire about the specific reasons causing customers to churn. We recommend using a multiple-choice format, allowing customers to select from predefined options tailored to your business. This could include factors such as cost considerations or if they've recently stocked up on your products. Understanding the reason for churning provides valuable insights into customer motivations and facilitates more targeted retention strategies.

Digging into historical customer data is another powerful method to unveil the reasons behind churn. By identifying common patterns within your churn segment, you can pinpoint where they typically disengage.

When you have analysed information about reasons for customer churning, it’s time to act on it. Consider these suggestions when implementing your win-back journey:

Diversify Your Offers

Experiment with a variety of win-back offers to capture different interests within your churned audience. Tailor incentives, promotions and exclusive deals based on customer segments and past behaviours. For example, if you know that a customer recently stocked up on a specific product and has not returned to your store since, consider proposing complementary items to enhance their shopping experience. Elevate your approach by incorporating engaging content, such as "Customers who love X product also enjoy Y product". This not only adds a personal touch but also allows you to extend a targeted offer for the Y product, increasing the likelihood of re-engagement.

Multi-Channel Approach

Relying solely on email may result in missed opportunities, as some customers may not regularly check their emails or may have preferences for other communication channels. Therefore, we recommend exploring a multi-channel approach. Consider integrating retargeting ads, push notifications or in-app messages in your win-back journey to re-engage customers through their preferred channel.

Craft Persuasive Win-back Messages

Use persuasive copywriting to communicate the value proposition and address potential concerns. Create a sense of urgency and highlight what customers have been missing to encourage them to return. Employ tactics like sending refill reminders for recurring purchases or highlighting untapped app features. Craft a clear and concise call to action to streamline customer understanding and encourage prompt response.

Timing Is Crucial

Identifying the optimal timing for win-back messages enhances the likelihood of engaging customers when they are most receptive. This optimisation can significantly impact the success of your win-back efforts, leading to higher engagement and conversion rates. This could be achieved through running a multivariate test of send times. If your company uses Braze, their Intelligent Timing feature is perfect for marketers who want to achieve optimal timing. The feature streamlines the process and minimises the manual effort traditionally associated with optimal send timing. Interested in learning more about Intelligent Timing? Read more about the Braze feature here .

Continuous Monitoring and Adjustment

Continuous monitoring allows you to assess the effectiveness of your win-back strategies. By tracking key performance metrics, such as conversion rates, open rates, and engagement rates, you can measure the success of your efforts and identify areas that need improvement.

We recommend monitoring the performance of the implemented win-back journey with a control group. A control group is a group in an experiment that does not receive the variable you are testing. Control groups serve as important benchmarks to compare the results of the audience that in this case would receive winback messaging compared to the audience that would be fully excluded from the journey.

Conclusion

Winning back churned customers is a strategic process rooted in understanding their reasons for leaving and tailoring their win-back experience based on your findings. This proactive, customer-centric approach explained above ensures a dynamic journey to re-engagement and sustained business growth.