Winback Customers with Predictive Analytics
Customer winbacks, winback campaigns, or lost logo winback campaigns are when a company re-engages with an inactive customer and can recapture lost revenue opportunities. The primary goals of a customer winback campaign are to effectively lower customer churn, increase customer lifetime value and improve CSAT.
Strategies for Winback Campaigns
There are many strategies to consider when planning and executing a customer winback campaign. A few examples of winback initiatives include:
- Email Winback Campaigns
Email winback campaigns are the most common type of winback initiative. The data for these types of campaigns is usually readily available and accessible to any email manager or marketing team. With an email winback campaign, an email manager can analyze the customers who recently churned and why they churned. The manager can then design a message that addresses their needs to encourage a repeat purchase. - Survey Campaigns
Survey campaigns are another great way to execute winback initiatives. By asking a recently churned customer for feedback, a brand can not only create a conversation with a customer but also open the door to listen for improvements. Asking for feedback could help win the customer back, while it also enables you to improve your product. - Retargeting Campaigns
One of the lesser-known tactics to support winback initiatives is retargeting. Working within your ad platforms (Google, Facebook, Twitter, The Trade Desk, etc.), you can create data segments you can target across the internet. Below are a few examples of audience segments to retarget in your customer winback strategy.
Retargeting Campaign Strategies
- CRM Retargeting: Build a first-party dataset of churned customers using your CRM data. Upload this dataset into your ad platforms to aid targeting.
- Site Login Retargeting: If your website offers a login functionality, set cookie rules to retarget users who have not logged in for 30 days, 60 days, 80 days, etc. When building out the retargeting window for these campaigns, cross-tabulate this with how users typically engage/log in with your site. With this threshold in mind, you can properly assign your retargeting window.
- Sales Retargeting: In some instances (e.g., larger lost deals), it might make sense for your sales teams to get involved. They can send more personalized emails, schedule meetings, or plan customer events. This approach is usually more relevant in high luxury or B2B sales.
Developing a Winback Campaign Strategy
There are two crucial elements in developing a winback campaign strategy.
- Audience Segmentation: One of the most critical aspects of your winback strategy is audience segmentation. You can power offers, channel mix, and communication plans with proper audience segmentation. In addition, the right segmentation can also help predict customer churn before you need a winback campaign, which we will explore below.
- A Communication Plan: Once your audiences are segmented, segment your messages (e.g., sales or marketing), channel use, etc., to align your offers with the audience most receptive to them.
In many industries — like subscription video streaming services and mobile games/apps — messaging new content within your winback email is a great way to encourage repeat purchases. In other industries, like CPG and retail, special offers and price discounts are also great messaging techniques to win back customers.
How Predictive Analytics Supports Customer Winback Campaigns
A growing trend in customer winback campaigns is the use of predictive analytics software. With the power of predictive analytics, brands can provide more accurate audience segmentation and build more specific communication plans. This refined approach can win the customer back and produce higher customer lifetime value.
Example of Predictive Analytics for Customer Winback Campaign
Hydrant, a subscription energy drink company in the consumer wellness industry, recently used Pecan AI to help create an email winback campaign. With Pecan’s predictions informing their email marketing efforts, Hydrant generated a 260% higher conversion rate for a winback initiative. This initiative also resulted in a 310% increase in revenue per customer.