7 Practical Ways to Re-Engage Your Online Customers

Silence — a serial killer of your conversions. How? Look at your inbox. How many abandoned products, apps, and tools are there? It’s time to turn the table around with the best re-engage online customer strategies for your store.

Take the initiative — speak first on email or socials, send in-app messages, etc. Here is a list of seven tactics for how businesses engage customers.

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Why Do You Need To Re-Engage Online Customer?

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Stat proves that it is better to engage current customers than attract new ones. Thus, customer re-engagement helps you to:

• Save budget. Selling to existing customers has 60-70% conversion while acquiring new ones ends with 5-20%.
• Grow conversions. Depending on the chosen strategy, it can be 5.3% or more.
• Turn existing customers into referrals.
• Increase revenue from 25% to 95%.

Impressive, heh? Time to practice. We’ve collected the best strategies on how to achieve that success within your business.

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7 Ways To Re-Engage Online Customer You Can Apply Today

1. Send them valuable information in a newsletter

You probably already send your customers/subscribers a weekly newsletter. And it’s ok that some of them don’t read it. The red flag is when they ignore you for more than 30-60 days.
That’s time for “sad eyes” and sophisticated re-engagement techniques.
The right content can bring you a 2,13% average order rate. There are even cases with 30% success.

What content can re-engage sleeping email subscribers?

• Share the best of your books, articles, or lead magnets to remind them why they subscribed to your emails. Or list the reasons to stay in touch, as YouTube Premium did:

Pro tip: To boost the open rate, send a re-engagement email from the CEO’s name.

• Give your subscribers the option to select. Ask if they want to update newsletter frequency and topics or let them go. Here is how ReturnPath lets people update their newsletter preferences:

Pay attention to how this brand demonstrates preference choice in a .gif animation. It increases CTR because people know it is easy.

If you want to keep subscribers from unsubscribing, appeal to emotions. “Sad eyes” are in the past. Time to reach a new level with Urban Outfitters store:

This chat drama makes your newsletter stand out from the crowd. Let’s be sincere, it’s impossible to take your thought from the “Yes, our love is REAL” option.

• Do you know why people don’t want to change partners after 20 years of marriage? FOMO of time and progress. The same thing with changing apps or services.

Remind inactive subscribers how far you have come together. Showcasing the progress they may lose is a great motivation to come back. And it is the strategy American Airlines use to re-engage inactive users:

Too many benefits to refuse from a service. Take a highlighted miles number for example.

• Show what they missed in your service/app being inactive. Yes, classic FOMO. But it works. You see it each time in notifications from Twitter or Facebook. The same thing with emails. Thus, Path reactivates subscribers with the latest app updates:

Due to the specific of the product, they show images primarily. However, updates seem so easy to implement that you probably already have some content ideas to test.

• Make your email eye-catching. Subscribers receive a big volume of emails daily, so your email should be informative and eye-catching. Visuals matter. Whether you hire a designer or use stock images, do your best to create stunning email design that grabs attention and re-engages users.
• Another strategy to present updates is adding intrigue. It fits e-stores best. Just look how BrooKlinen announced new items in their shop to inactive subscribers:

Pro tip: Don’t limit your attempts to one newsletter. A classic re-engagement sequence includes 3-4 different emails.

2. Wish a happy birthday

One more excuse to remind customers about your love is their birthday. Usually, it has a 3% conversion with a 45% open rate.

• Look through the info you’ve collected about customers. Track consumer behavior, define interests, and offer a relevant gift. For example, if a subscriber visited the “Desserts” category several times, send her/him a relevant recipe book.

It is essential to give it for free.

• If you don’t track customer preferences, offer something free or discount. Just like Chipotle did:

Pro tip: Launch an email sequence. 1st is before the birthday delight offer, like a free cup of coffee, 2nd is a birthday discount, 3rd is a reminder.

3. Offer a discount

Discount is a great power. So don’t limit yourself to holiday time only. There are several ways to present it:

• X% OFF on something/everything in the following order. Paul Smith fashion brand re-engaged inactive subscribers with a classic “We miss you – 10% off everything” email.

• “XX products for free” discount strategy works better because it doesn’t suggest a purchase. Businesses give something to existing customers like a gift. For example, Hello Fresh meal-kit provider offered six meals free to unsubscribed clients who’ll update their subscription.

• A mystery offer is a great way to spark inactive customers’ interest. It can be a secret discount or product. Just look at the Peel store offer. They showed a part of their product but hid the price.

• Buy 2, get 1 free is the best for e-Commerce. This overused scenario is a safe bet. That’s why Loot Crate chose it to re-engage their re-subscribers:

4. Invite them to an exclusive event

Let your existing customers feel special. Show them you care, face-to-face.
Here are some ideas for the event occasion:

1. Announce special shopping hours for the best customers. Attract their attention with exclusive customer service (cocktail party) or hot discounts.
2. Invite a special guest, like a fashion stylist, to explain to your store customers the secrets of the suitable cloth and accessories choice.
3. An exclusive master class on how to do something. It can be theoretical with a Q&A session after or a 100% hands-on event.
4. “For the sake of charity” event. It can be a sale of shoes where you donate each second pair to kids who can’t allow it. Or a puppies party for kids in a local pet shelter.

5. Share user-generated content on your social

UGC is a cost-effective way to generate more likes and wake up customers. Statistically, 70% of us trust other online-customers experiences. That’s why we read testimonials and watch unpacking.

To turn UGC into a controlled marketing channel, consider these tips:

1. Explain to your audience why they should post content about your brand. For example, joining a community of top content creators like GoPro offers, some trends, competing with others in a challenge, support some charity ideas.
2. Set clear guidelines: deadlines, whom to tag, and what hashtag to use.
3. Offer a reward. 32% of customers will love to post content about your brand if they have an opportunity to win something.

Noted? Now, here are the best practices on how to engage customers to post that content:

• Invite followers to be your product testers. Ask them to share their experience after product usage on social, as Burt’s Bees did:

• Spotlight a social/environmental cause to support. It is a PR thing that will show that your brand is more than just money-making. For example, just type #withoutshoes hashtag on Instagram. You’ll see a ton of UGC under in terms “One Day Without Shoes Campaign” from the TOMS store. The aim is to donate shoes to kids in need:

• Create a topic your followers would be interested in. Starbucks chose the most straightforward way — combine several ones into a game:

6. Create customers community

Live communication matters. But do your managers have enough time to answer customer queries instantly? Of course, you can hire more people, use a chatbot, or implement IVR to speed up caller representative conversations. But there is a free solution: involve your customers.

A forum is a great way to engage customers via live communication. If they don’t listen to you, there is a chance others will engage them.

Here are basics to consider before a start:

• What to offer? Updates, educational content, place to answer questions that aren’t addressed in your knowledge base or FAQs.
• How to manage? Will it be you or a community admin?
• How to engage customers? Will you provide rewards?
• Where to launch it? Among great platforms for community management are Slack, Facebook, LinkedIn, Quora, Reddit, Discord.

A cool example is the Xbox community forum, where its users help each other:

Moreover, there is a system of rewards for active participants: an opportunity to become Xbox Ambassador or get free merch or games:

In return, these clients promote your brand everywhere on the internet.

Live communication matters. But do your managers have enough time to answer customer queries instantly? Of course, you can hire more people, use a chatbot, or implement IVR to speed up caller representative conversations. But there is a free solution: involve your customers.

Denis Ristić, General Manager at AskGamblers

7. Send a customer survey

Don’t want to manipulate with tricks? Just ask them if everything is ok. Here are some questions to ask:

Tips to consider:

• Offer a reward. Here is an example:

• Think over a significant date to offer a survey. For example, 30-days silence, warranty expiration, etc.
• Keep it short and simple. A perfect survey includes no more than five questions.
• Be honest when asking their opinion about your competitors. Customers feel that you’re sincere with your goals, so they’ll talk to you more openly.
• Make your survey mobile-friendly.

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In sum

Usually, customer re-engagement comes to email marketing. But it would be a mistake to ignore the power of socials, Ads, text messages, and web push messages. Consider all possible ways to get their attention. Anyway, it will cost you less than attracting new clients.