Reactivate Valuable Customers

Bring back the right lost or dormant customers with targeted actions.

What this recipe is for

Identifying which past customers are worth re-engaging and executing the specific triggers that pull them back into revenue—without wasting effort on dead ends.

What you’ll get

A prioritized list of lapsed or inactive customers with real comeback potential

Triggered re-engagement tactics tailored to reason for dormancy

A testing framework to validate what wins them back

Incremental revenue from existing acquisition equity

Key inputs

Customer activity history (last purchase or interaction date)

Lifetime value / past spend

Churn timing and patterns (how long they’ve been inactive)

Segment reason for lapse if available (price, satisfaction, changed need)

Communication history and previous engagement attempts

Available offers or incentives (reasons to return)

Core logic

Not all inactive customers are equal. Some went quiet because of temporary friction or lapse; others are gone for good. By scoring past customers on value and reactivation likelihood and pairing them with the right stimulus (reminder, improved offer, updated value), you capture revenue faster and cheaper than new acquisition.

Step-by-step actions

Step 1: Identify candidates

Segment customers by inactivity window and past value:

High CLV, recently inactive (best first)

Medium value with predictable seasonality

Long-dormant high-value (test selectively)

Step 2: Diagnose why they left or went quiet

Use behavior and feedback:

Did purchase frequency drop before silence?

Was there a support issue or missed follow-up?

Did their original trigger (seasonal need, campaign) expire?

Step 3: Match trigger to cause

Examples:

Value reminder: “You loved X—here’s what’s new or complementary”

Discount/offer: Small targeted incentive for price-sensitive lapsers

Social proof update: Show how others improved since their last buy

Scarcity/urgency: Limited-time restock or seasonal prompt

Re-onboarding: Fresh onboarding or usage tips for confusion-driven dormancy

Step 4: Run reactivation campaigns

Sequence outreach (email, SMS, personalized note) with clear intent: remind, reward, or reframe. Start small (top segment), measure response, then scale.

Step 5: Automate and layer

Set up rules: if a customer lapses for X days but had average order value above threshold, trigger a specific re-engagement flow. Track responses and suppress if reactivated.

Decision thresholds / guardrails

Inactivity window too long without reactivation success → Retire from active pools; move to low-frequency nurture.

Reactivation cost exceeds expected recovery value → Limit or adjust incentive.

Repeated silence after outreach → Flag as low-probability; avoid over-contacting.

High-value lapsers not responding to one trigger → Test alternate angle before writing them off.

Examples

E-commerce: Customers who haven’t purchased in 60 days but previously bought high-margin bundles get a “We’ve improved X” + small complementary gift offer.

Service: Past clients who paused after a project receive a case study on recent similar work plus a “relaunch” discount.

Subscription: Dormant subscribers get a personalized usage tip + “welcome back” limited-time credit to reactivate.

Thinking checks

Are you prioritizing past customers by real value, not just recency?

Is the re-engagement message matched to their likely reason for leaving?

Are you measuring lift vs. cost (incentives, outreach effort)?

Do you suppress attempts after clear non-response to avoid fatigue?

If the answer is no…

Start with your top 10 lapsed high-CLV customers—manually diagnose and test one tailored trigger each.

Build simple rules to automate the next tier based on inactivity and value.

Refine messaging based on what actually brings people back.

What to track (minimum)

Reactivation rate by segment

Revenue recovered vs. cost of re-engagement

Time since lapse vs. success rate

Trigger performance (which stimulus works best per cohort)