One of the quickest ways for your small business to increase sales is to get past customers to buy from you again. Research shows that it cost five times as much to attract a new customer as it does to retain an existing one, which makes it a strategy well worth pursuing

While it’s not always easy to pinpoint why a customer stopped buying from you, there’s usually always a reason.

The good news is that as long as the customer is in your database, you can still reach them. Since the hard work of getting these customers to know, like and trust you has already been done, all you need to do now is entice them to come back.

1. Use Direct Mail to Surprise and Delight

Unlike email and digital marketing, which is largely contested and overcrowded, direct mail is reasonably clutter-free and cost-effective. The average response rate for direct mail is 9%, whereas e-marketing, social media, and paid advertising garners only 1%.

The reason direct mail performs better is because it’s much more memorable and unique. In an age where everything is digital, receiving something physical in the mail becomes exciting and intriguing. Most customers can’t wait to see what’s inside, and best of all, they want to share this experience with friends and family.

So when everyone else is bombarding their customers’ inboxes, be different and get their attention with direct mail. They’ll be back shopping with you in no time.

2. Pique Their Interest With a Compelling Offer

You need to strategically create an offer that’s too good for your customer to refuse. It needs to basically override any pre-existing feelings they have toward you. Once you’re able to knock down that barrier, they’ll start doing business with you again.

Typical examples would be a buy one, get one free offer, a gift card or a coupon to put toward their purchase. Take the time to really think about what would appeal to them. If you give them something they’ll never use, you’ve lost a golden opportunity.

3. Lay it All Out

Sometimes the best way to really bring back a customer requires setting your ego aside and being direct. Send them an email or give them a call and ask where you went wrong.

Here are some popular reactivation email subject lines:

• We Miss You
• Have We Done Something Wrong?
• Long Time No See
• We’ve Made Some Changes We Think You’d Like

It could be that your product’s features didn’t fulfill a need they had, so describe what changes you’ve made and what they can expect going forward. Or perhaps an unfortunate incident resulted in a poor customer experience. Own it. Say you’re sorry and explain the measures you’ve taken to prevent something similar happening in the future. The goal is to show them that they matter to you.

Trying to find new customers requires far more work than making up with old ones. Go through your database, find those customers who haven’t bought from you in a while, and strategize how you’re going to win them back.

Source: https://www.business.com/articles/reactivate-dormant-customers/