Whether you’re a retailer in Raleigh or a consultancy in Kokomo, sales growth is essential to your long-term success.
Common growth strategies employed by today’s small-businesses include:
- Acquisitions–a costly and often onerous method of finding and qualifying customers who haven’t previously bought from you.
- Cross-selling/upselling–increasing current customers’ sales volume, transaction value and/or purchasing frequency.
- Loyalty and retention programs–because it cost less to keep existing customers than to find and convert new ones, reducing attrition is a popular and profitable strategy among businesses willing to invest the time.
But what about the other strategy: customer reactivation?
Remind, Renew, Restart
The goal of reactivation is simple–to remind dormant or inactive customers of why they once preferred you (value, price, service, selection); then persuade them, through targeted messaging and offers to rejoin the fold and buy from you again.
A proven way to restart the dialog is through integrated marketing–reaching out through online and offline channels like these with a clear, consistent and unified appeal.
- Direct mail–make it a colorful postcard or simple, old-school sales letter; to increase reader interest, include a QR code, promo item and/or targeted “win-back” offer based on previous purchase or behavioral data. Remember to purge your list prior to the drop to save postage and minimize bounces.
- Text-based marketing–do you have dormant customers’ cell phone numbers on file? Consider an SMS or MMS campaign to support reactivation in other channels.
- eMail–still consumers’ preferred channel for receiving promotional messages.
Customers come and go, no matter what business you’re in. But if your timing is right and your message rings true, many will welcome you back, with open arms and open wallets.
The secret is making sure you ask.
